4 min read Astronauts To Patch Up NASA’s NICER Telescope NASA is planning to repair NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer), an X-ray telescope on the International Space Station, during a spacewalk later this year. It will be the fourth science observatory in orbit serviced by astronauts. In May 2023, scientists discovered that NICER [...]

This photo shows the entire optics system for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. It consists of 10 mirrors, including the 7.9-foot (2.4-meter) primary mirror seen at the base in this image, and is called the IOA (Imaging Optical Assembly). Engineers recently integrated and tested the IOA at L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York.Credit: NASA/Chris [...]

2 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Credit: NASA/Jordan Salkin This composite image shows the dazzling phases of the total solar eclipse, seen above the Flight Research Building at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland on April 8, 2024. Glenn was the only NASA center in the eclipse path of totality, [...]

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, right, stands near the apex of a sand ripple in an image taken by Perseverance on Feb. 24, about five weeks after the rotorcraft’s final flight. Part of one of Ingenuity’s rotor blades lies on the surface about 49 feet (15 meters) west of helicopter (left of center in the image).NASA/JPL-Caltech/LANL/CNES/CNRS [...]

Deep space exploration requires a paradigm shift in astronaut medical support toward Earth-independent medical operations. Currently, astronauts rely on real-time communication with ground-based medical providers. However, as the distance from Earth increases, so do communication delays and disruptions. Deep space exploration crews will need to autonomously detect, diagnose, treat, and prevent medical conditions. One [...]

1 min read Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater) Spaceflight Atrophy Studied with Machine Learning Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria Found on ISS Mutating to Become Functionally Distinct On-demand Nutrient Production System for Long-duration Missions A Clinical Decision Support System for Earth-independent Medical Operations in Space Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA NASA Biological [...]

iss068e036727 (Jan. 3, 2023) — NASA astronaut and Expedition 68 Flight Engineer Nicole Mann works in the International Space Station’s Harmony module on the BioNutrients-2 investigation that uses genetically engineered microbes to provide nutrients, and potentially other compounds and pharmaceuticals, on demand in space.NASA On-demand nutrient production system for long-duration missions When astronauts embark on [...]

ISS032-E-011701 (4 Aug. 2012) — NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Expedition 32 flight engineer, equipped with a bungee harness, exercises on the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (COLBERT) in the Tranquility node of the International Space Station.NASA Background: Even intense exercise by astronauts cannot compensate for muscle atrophy caused by microgravity. Atrophy occurs, in [...]

A video abstract of this International Space Station investigation is available on the publisher website (see link below). In a new scientific paper funded by an Ames Space Biology grant, Principal Investigator Dr. Kasthuri Venkateswaran of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory strains of the bacterial species Enterobacter bugandensis isolated from the International Space Station (ISS) were [...]

3 min read Comet Geyser: Perseverance’s 24th Rock Core Mastcam-Z image (Sol 1088, zcam05068) of the Comet Geyser core. The partially illuminated core is visible in this image of Perseverance’s coring bit. The diameter of the core is 1.3 cm. NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU After investigating the high-standing bedrock at the Bunsen Peak workspace deep within the [...]