https://phys.org/space-news/space-exploration en-us Space exploration news and updates. Space missions and science news. Planet exploration and more. Drones are being raced against the clock at Delft University of Technology's "Cyber Zoo" to test the performance of neural-network-based AI control systems planned for next-generation space missions. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-drone-neural-network-ai-space.html Space Exploration Thu, 20 Jun 2024 10:48:15 EDT news638099289 As space travel becomes more common, it is important to consider the impacts of space flight and altered gravity on the human body. Led by Dr. Ana Diaz Artiles, researchers at Texas A&M University are studying some of those impacts, specifically effects on the eye. The findings are published in the journal npj Microgravity. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-impacts-space-astronauts-eye-health.html Space Exploration Wed, 19 Jun 2024 12:25:14 EDT news638018711 How bad for your health is space travel? Answering this question will be crucial not just for astronauts aiming to go to Mars, but for a booming space tourism industry planning to blast anyone who can afford it into orbit. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-human-bodies-recover-space-tourist.html Space Exploration Tue, 11 Jun 2024 15:56:20 EDT news637340169 The first all-civilian space mission is shedding light on the potential health risks facing private astronauts. The takeaway is short-duration spaceflights appear to pose none that are significant. The study sample was small—four people who spent three days in low-earth orbit (LEO) on the 2021 Inspiration4 mission. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-short-commercial-space-flights-big.html Space Exploration Tue, 11 Jun 2024 13:43:34 EDT news637332211 The structure and function of the kidneys is altered by space flight, with galactic radiation causing permanent damage that would jeopardize any mission to Mars, according to a new study led by researchers from UCL. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-astronauts-kidneys-survive-roundtrip-mars.html Space Exploration Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:00:01 EDT news637313941 As long as humans have been traveling into space, astronauts have experienced significant health effects from the extreme conditions of space flight, notably the reduction of gravity. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-explore-immune-awry-space-implications.html Space Exploration Tue, 11 Jun 2024 11:00:01 EDT news637313701 While roboticists have developed increasingly sophisticated systems over the past decades, ensuring that these systems can autonomously operate in real-world settings without mishaps often proves challenging. This is particularly difficult when these robots are designed to be deployed in complex environments, including space and other planets. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-method-multi-robot-teams-autonomously.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Sun, 09 Jun 2024 10:30:01 EDT news636981562 Virgin Galactic on Saturday successfully completed its last spaceflight before heading into a two-year pause on commercial operations to upgrade its fleet, as the space tourism company seeks to finally turn a profit. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-virgin-galactic-spaceflight-year-1.html Space Exploration Sun, 09 Jun 2024 05:58:16 EDT news637131486 On Feb. 22, a lunar lander named Odysseus touched down near the moon's South Pole and popped out four antennas to record radio waves around the surface—a moment University of Colorado Boulder astrophysicist Jack Burns hails as the "dawn of radio astronomy from the moon." https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-earth-radio-moon.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 07 Jun 2024 14:54:29 EDT news636990793 Boeing's new capsule arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday, delayed by last-minute thruster trouble that almost derailed the docking for this first test flight with astronauts. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-boeing-astronaut-capsule-space-station.html Space Exploration Thu, 06 Jun 2024 14:10:01 EDT news636901630 SpaceX's massive Starship rocket achieved its first ever splashdown during a test flight Thursday, in a major milestone for the prototype system that may one day send humans to Mars. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-spacex-megarocket-starship-succeeds-ocean.html Space Exploration Thu, 06 Jun 2024 11:12:15 EDT news636891129 Astronauts driving a vehicle around the landscape of the moon must not only face dangers related to zero gravity and falling into craters, but also the problem of extreme fluctuations in temperature. The lunar environment oscillates between blistering highs of 127°C (260°F) and frigid lows of -173°C (-280°F). https://phys.org/news/2024-06-device-boosts-lunar-rover-longevity.html Space Exploration Thu, 06 Jun 2024 10:29:03 EDT news636888541 Boeing launched astronauts for the first time Wednesday, belatedly joining SpaceX as a second taxi service for NASA. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-boeing-nasa-astronauts-years-delays.html Space Exploration Wed, 05 Jun 2024 11:51:08 EDT news636807041 China said its lunar spacecraft unfurled the country's red and gold flag for the first time on the far side of the moon before part of the vehicle blasted off early Tuesday with rock and soil samples to bring back to Earth. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-craft-unfurls-china-flag-side.html Space Exploration Tue, 04 Jun 2024 04:33:12 EDT news636694380 A Chinese spacecraft landed on the far side of the moon Sunday to collect soil and rock samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-chinese-spacecraft-moon-side-space.html Space Exploration Sun, 02 Jun 2024 06:44:29 EDT news636529463 Like humans, fruit flies (a model organism for spaceflight research) also exhibit immune system dysfunction in space. Despite decades of studies on fruit flies and wasps, little was known about how their immune systems interact with natural parasites in space. Drosophila parasitoid wasps modify blood cell function to suppress host immunity. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-iss-spaceflight-affects-tumor-fruit.html Space Exploration Thu, 30 May 2024 09:56:41 EDT news636281799 A new study by Brown University researchers may help redefine how scientists map the surface of the moon, making the process more streamlined and precise than ever before. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-technique-precise-moon-surface.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Wed, 29 May 2024 13:24:13 EDT news636207848 Scientists have come a step closer to identifying the mysterious origins of the "slow" solar wind, using data collected during the Solar Orbiter spacecraft's first close journey to the sun. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-mystery-solar-unveiled-orbiter-mission.html Astronomy Space Exploration Tue, 28 May 2024 05:00:01 EDT news636020932 NASA's Psyche spacecraft passed its six-month checkup with a clean bill of health, and there's no holding back now. Navigators are firing its futuristic-looking electric thrusters, which emit a blue glow, nearly nonstop as the orbiter zips farther into deep space. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-nasa-psyche-sci-fi-worthy.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Wed, 22 May 2024 13:24:15 EDT news635603051 After a nearly two-year hiatus, Blue Origin flew adventurers to space on Sunday, including a former Air Force pilot who was denied the chance to be the United States' first Black astronaut decades ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-blue-flies-thrill-seekers-space-1.html Space Exploration Sun, 19 May 2024 15:46:22 EDT news635352375 Need a moment of levity? Try watching videos of astronauts falling on the moon. NASA's outtakes of Apollo astronauts tripping and stumbling as they bounce in slow motion are delightfully relatable. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-robotic-superlimbs-moonwalkers-recover-falls.html Space Exploration Wed, 15 May 2024 15:37:38 EDT news635006254 Astronomers have discovered black holes ranging from a few times the sun's mass to tens of billions. Now a group of scientists has predicted that NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could find a class of "featherweight" black holes that has so far eluded detection. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-nasa-roman-mission-primordial-black.html Astronomy Space Exploration Tue, 07 May 2024 13:11:59 EDT news634306314 The first crewed flight of Boeing's Starliner spaceship was dramatically called off just two hours before launch after a new safety issue was identified, officials said Monday, pushing back a high-stakes test mission to the International Space Station. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-boeing-starliner-crewed-mission-postponed.html Space Exploration Tue, 07 May 2024 01:42:41 EDT news634264954 The stage is set for some space history to be made tonight as two veteran NASA astronauts aim to launch in a spacecraft that has never flown with humans before. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-boeing-starliner-mission-humans-historic.html Space Exploration Mon, 06 May 2024 15:10:46 EDT news634227041 Launch day is finally here: Boeing's Starliner capsule blasts off Monday to the International Space Station on its first crewed mission—several years after SpaceX first achieved the same milestone. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-boeing-starliner-ready-crewed-mission.html Space Exploration Sat, 04 May 2024 04:18:42 EDT news634015114 The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, remnants of Halley's comet, peaks this weekend. And with just a waning crescent moon in the sky, it should be visible. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-eta-aquarid-meteor-shower-debris.html Space Exploration Fri, 03 May 2024 11:34:00 EDT news633954835 China on Friday launched a lunar probe to land on the far side of the moon and return with samples that could provide insights into differences between the less-explored region and the better-known near side. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-china-probe-samples-explored-side.html Space Exploration Fri, 03 May 2024 03:54:15 EDT news633927246 A group of crop systems analysts at Wageningen University and Research, in the Netherlands, has found evidence that intercropping on Mars could be a viable option for optimizing vegetable production. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-intercropping-viable-optimizing-vegetable-production.html Space Exploration Thu, 02 May 2024 11:20:01 EDT news633864718 A small team of pathophysiologists and human locomotion specialists at the University of Milan has found that it should be possible for astronauts on the moon to prevent muscle and bone deterioration by running horizontally in a cylinder. In their study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group mimicked the effects of the moon's gravity on volunteer runners inside of a borrowed "wall of death." https://phys.org/news/2024-05-horizontal-lunar-astronauts-retain-physical.html Space Exploration Wed, 01 May 2024 08:55:52 EDT news633772533 Japan's first moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, Japan's space agency said Wednesday after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the moon. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-japan-moon-lander-wasnt-built.html Space Exploration Wed, 24 Apr 2024 04:15:53 EDT news633150948