Copernical Team
Keeping mold out of future space stations
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Mold can survive the harshest of environments, so to stop harmful spores from growing on future space stations, a new study suggests a novel way to prevent its spread.
Antarctic research supports healthy space for astronauts
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Astronauts and Australian Antarctic expeditioners are working together to advance human health in space, and on Earth.
Today, four astronauts are orbiting Earth on the Polaris Dawn mission, undertaking a range of research projects to better understand the effects of long-duration spaceflight on human health.
At the same time, expeditioners and doctors at Australia's Antarctic and sub-Antarctic stations are collecting data for two of the projects, involving ultrasound and body scanning technology.
Australian Antarctic Division Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jeff Ayton, said the two projects were part of a collaboration with the US-based Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH).
"Antarctic expeditioners and astronauts are both isolated, confined populations in extreme environments, doing hazardous work, dependent on technology for survival, and with limited scope for evacuation," he said.
"This makes Australia's Antarctic Program an excellent analog for understanding the risks to humans in space, and for testing and developing technologies and methodologies to reduce these risks.
Polaris Dawn project aims to prevent bone loss in space
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Dartmouth researchers have a project aboard the Polaris Dawn mission they hope will help address two major health risks of space flight—the breakdown of astronauts' bones in zero-gravity conditions and the resulting danger of developing kidney stones.
When subjected to weightlessness, bones freed from the burden of supporting the human body leach calcium. The shedding of this critical element reduces bone density and, as the calcium enters the urine, heightens the chance of painful kidney stones forming in the urinary tract.
Through Polaris Dawn, which launched from Florida on Sept. 10, researchers at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and Thayer School of Engineering are testing a critical element of a handheld device the team is developing that would alert crew members to high levels of calcium in their urine during space flight so they can take action.
A Soyuz craft with 2 Russians and 1 American docks at the International Space Station
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A Soyuz spacecraft carrying two Russians and an American docked at the International Space Station on Wednesday, a little more than three hours after its launch.
Space travel: Protection from cosmic radiation with boron nitride nanotube fibers
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NASA's EZIE mission set for 2025 launch
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In 2025, NASA will launch its first mission to image the magnetic fingerprint of intense electrical currents that flow high in our atmosphere when auroras shimmer above Earth's poles.
The EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is designed to make groundbreaking measurements of the auroral electrojets, electrical currents about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the ground in a layer of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere, which separates Earth from surrounding space.
The mission features a trio of CubeSats, or small satellites, with an orbit that goes pole to pole to map the electrojets. Mapping the electrojets can give scientists greater insight into the physics of Earth's magnetosphere and help create better models for predicting the effects of space weather phenomena such as geomagnetic storms and auroras in the upper atmosphere and at Earth's surface.
Starship Super Heavy breezes through wind tunnel testing at NASA Ames
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NASA and its industry partners continue to make progress toward Artemis III and beyond, the first crewed lunar landing missions under the agency's Artemis campaign.
SpaceX, the commercial Human Landing System (HLS) provider for Artemis III and Artemis IV, recently tested a 1.2% scale model of the Super Heavy rocket, or booster, in the transonic Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.
9 phenomena NASA astronauts will encounter at Moon's south pole
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NASA's Artemis campaign will send the first woman and the first person of color to the moon's south polar region, marking humanity's first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years.
Spacewalking is the new domain of the rich as billionaire attempts first private spacewalk
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First came space tourism. Now comes an even bigger thrill for the monied masses: spacewalking.
The stage is set for the first private spacewalk Thursday. Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman will pop out of the hatch of his orbiting SpaceX capsule, two days after blasting off from Florida on a chartered flight that lifted him and his crew higher than anyone since NASA's moonwalkers. He partnered with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to buy a series of rocket rides and help develop brand new spacesuits.
SpaceX is the first private company to attempt a spacewalk, until now the domain of just 12 countries. There's a reason why it's such a niche and elite group: Spacewalking is considered the most dangerous part of any flight after launch and reentry, and demands extensive training.
Hera CubeSats’ touchdown
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Hera CubeSats’ touchdown 
