Space Exploration, features and articles | Educational Science

Feb 5, 2024

Robot surgeon sent to the International Space Station to dissect simulated astronaut tissue

Very soon, a robot surgeon may begin its practice in orbit — and though it won't quite be a metallic, humanoid machine wearing a white coat and holding a scalpel, its mission is fascinating nonetheless. On Tuesday (Jan. 30), scientists sent a slew of innovative experiments to the International Space...

Feb 6, 2024

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononeko breaks record for longest time spent in space — and he still has 6 months to go

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko recently broke the record for most cumulative time spent in space while circling Earth in the International Space Station (ISS). The new record, which will continually extend until he returns to Earth later this year, could remain unchallenged for years to come. On Feb. 4, 59-year-old...

Feb 11, 2024

Space photo of the week: Bruce McCandless II floats untethered as the 1st 'human satellite' in history

Who it is: Bruce McCandless II, a NASA astronaut, testing the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) during space shuttle mission STS-41-B When it was taken: Feb. 7, 1984 Where it is: Low Earth orbit Why it's so special: This week is the 40th anniversary of the first untethered spacewalk. On Feb....

Feb 12, 2024

Big, dead European satellite will come crashing back to Earth this month

A dead European satellite will come crashing back to Earth later this month, in a fiery death dive that its handlers will monitor carefully. The incoming spacecraft is the European Space Agency's (ESA) European Remote Sensing 2 (ERS-2) satellite, which launched to Earth orbit in April 1995 and wrapped up...

Feb 14, 2024

5 beguiling heart-shaped objects found in space

From a teddy bear on Mars to Godzilla in a gas cloud, it's easy to see pretty much anything you want on the seemingly infinite canvas of space. And this year, on Valentine's Day, we choose to see love. Heart-shaped objects are plentiful across the cosmos and come from a...

Feb 14, 2024

NASA's Voyager 1 probe hasn't 'spoken' in 3 months and needs a 'miracle' to save it

Voyager 1, one of NASA's longest-lived space missions, is suffering a communication malfunction, and the mission team is growing concerned that the far-flung spacecraft may not recover. Engineers are currently working to fix a computer error that is preventing the craft from transmitting data back to Earth, but software limitations...

Feb 16, 2024

Can we refuel 'dead' satellites in space? Bold new missions aim to try.

Running out of gas is annoying at the best of times, let alone if you're a satellite traveling at speeds of up to 17,500 mph (28,200 km/h) high above Earth's surface. At the moment, a satellite that burns through all its fuel simply becomes space junk, adding to the vast...

Feb 16, 2024

'Stepping stone to Mars': Minimoons may help us become an interplanetary species, says MIT astrophysicist Richard Binzel

More than 30,000 asteroids are traveling on paths that bring them close to Earth. Some are giant boulders with the potential to smash into our planet, and others are little rocks known as minimoons moving harmlessly alongside Earth. For half a century, Richard Binzel, an astronomer at Massachusetts Institute of...

Feb 16, 2024

Undiscovered extra moons may orbit Earth. Could they help us become an interplanetary species?

In 2006, astronomers with the NASA-backed Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona discovered a peculiar body floating amid the sea of thousands of human-made satellites orbiting our planet. After taking a closer look, they determined that the object wasn't just another piece of space junk. Rather, it was a natural satellite...

Feb 16, 2024

Russia is developing a space-based nuclear weapon to target satellites, U.S. Congress reveals

Russia is reportedly developing a space-based nuclear weapon designed to disable or destroy satellites. The United States Congress and America's European allies were informed of Russia's plans to develop the anti-satellite capability on Wednesday (Feb. 14). It's unclear what the exact nature of the planned weapon is — that is,...

Feb 17, 2024

What would happen to a dead body in space?

Let's imagine an astronaut suddenly collapses during a spacewalk and dies of cardiac arrest only minutes later. Thankfully, this has never happened. While 21 people have died in space, spacecraft malfunctions that killed the entire crew, rather than health issues that affected only one person, have been to blame. But...

Feb 17, 2024

An astronomer's lament: SpaceX 'megaconstellations' are ruining space exploration for everyone

I used to love rocket launches when I was younger. During every launch, I imagined what it would feel like to be an astronaut sitting in the spacecraft, listening to that final countdown and then feeling multiple gees push me up through the atmosphere and away from our blue marble....

Feb 18, 2024

Space photo of the week: Astronomers make an 'artificial star' over Hawaii

What it is: The Gemini North telescope When it was published: Feb. 7, 2024 Where it is: The Gemini Observatory at the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii Why it's so special: Stars twinkle — and that isn't good if you want to study them using large telescopes. The twinkling...

Feb 20, 2024

Big, doomed 'TIE fighter' satellite seen from space just days before crashing back to Earth

Photographs taken in space show a big dead satellite as it tumbled towards a fiery end in Earth's atmosphere. Australian commercial imaging company HEO Robotics was able to capture images of the European Space Agency's (ESA) ERS-2 Earth observation satellite on Feb. 14, 2024 as the satellite made an ungraceful...

Feb 21, 2024

5,000-pound European satellite burns up over Pacific Ocean after 30 years in orbit

A defunct, 5,050-pound (2,290 kilograms) satellite has tumbled uncontrollably back to Earth after spending three decades in space. After slowly falling to Earth for more than 12 years, the European Space Agency's (ESA) ERS-2 satellite reentered Earth's atmosphere at 12:17 p.m. ET (5:17 p.m. GMT) on Wednesday, Feb. 21, burning...