Space Station News

June 26, 2025

Top Headlines

Could 'Pausing' Cell Death Be the Final Frontier in Medicine on Earth and Beyond?

May 30, 2025 — The process of necrosis, a form of cell death, may represent one of the most promising ways to change the course of human aging, disease and even space travel, according to a new ...

Miso Made in Space Tastes Nuttier

Apr. 2, 2025 — Miso is a traditional Japanese condiment made by fermenting cooked soybeans and salt. Researchers successfully made miso on the International Space Station (ISS). They found that the miso smelled and tasted similar to miso fermented on Earth -- just ...

Martian Dust Could Pose Health Risks to Future Astronauts

Mar. 31, 2025 — Inhaling dust particles from the Red Planet over long periods of time could put humans at risk of developing respiratory issues, thyroid disease and other health ...

Lunar Trailblazer Blasts Off to Map Water on the Moon

Feb. 28, 2025 — On Wednesday 26 February, a thermal imaging camera blasted off to the Moon as part of NASA's Lunar Trailblazer mission. This aims to map sources of water on the Moon to shed light on the lunar water cycle and to guide future robotic and human ...

The International Space Station Is Overly Sterile; Making It 'Dirtier' Could Improve Astronaut Health

Feb. 27, 2025 — Astronauts often experience immune dysfunction, skin rashes, and other inflammatory conditions while traveling in space. A new study suggests that these issues could be due to the excessively sterile ...

Jumping Workouts Could Help Astronauts on the Moon and Mars, Study in Mice Suggests

Feb. 13, 2025 — Jumping workouts could help astronauts prevent the type of cartilage damage they are likely to endure during lengthy missions to Mars and the Moon, a new study suggests. The researchers found that ...

One in Four Chance Per Year That Rocket Junk Will Enter Busy Airspace

Feb. 5, 2025 — There's a 26 per cent annual chance that space rocket junk will re-enter the atmosphere and pass through a busy flight area, according to a recent study. While the chance of debris hitting an aircraft is very low, the research highlights that the ...

Fresh, Direct Evidence for Tiny Drops of Quark-Gluon Plasma

Jan. 16, 2025 — A new analysis of data from the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) reveals fresh evidence that collisions of even very small nuclei with large ones might create tiny specks of a quark-gluon plasma (QGP). Scientists ...

Brain Cells Remain Healthy After a Month on the International Space Station, but Mature Faster Than Brain Cells on Earth

Dec. 17, 2024 — Microgravity is known to alter the muscles, bones, the immune system and cogni tion, but little is known about its specific impact on the brain. To discover how brain cells respond to microgravity, ...

Confinement May Affect How We Smell and Feel About Food

Nov. 19, 2024 — New research found confined and isolating environments changed the way people smelled and responded emotionally to certain food aromas. The team in this study compared 44 people's emotional responses and perception of eight food aromas in two ...

Space: A New Frontier for Exploring Stem Cell Therapy

Nov. 4, 2024 — Stem cells grown in microgravity aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have unique qualities that could one day help accelerate new biotherapies and heal complex disease, researchers say. The research analysis finds microgravity can ...

NASA, NOAA: Sun Reaches Maximum Phase in 11-Year Solar Cycle

Oct. 16, 2024 — Experts have announced that the Sun has reached its solar maximum period, which could continue for the next year. Scientists will not be able to determine the exact peak of this solar maximum period for many months because it's only identifiable ...

Latest Headlines

updated 1:40pm EDT

Liftoff! NASA's Europa Clipper Sails Toward Ocean Moon of Jupiter

Oct. 14, 2024 — NASA's Europa Clipper has embarked on its long voyage to Jupiter, where it will investigate Europa, a moon with an enormous subsurface ocean that may have conditions to support life. The largest ...

Widespread Ice Deposits on the Moon

Oct. 3, 2024 — Deposits of ice in lunar dust and rock (regolith) are more extensive than previously thought, according to a new analysis of data from NASA's LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) mission. Ice would be ...

Low Gravity in Space Travel Found to Weaken and Disrupt Normal Rhythm in Heart Muscle Cells

Sep. 25, 2024 — Scientists who arranged for 48 human bioengineered heart tissue samples to spend 30 days at the International Space Station report evidence that the ...

Keeping Mold out of Future Space Stations

Sep. 16, 2024 — Mold can survive the harshest of environments, so to stop harmful spores from growing on future space stations, a study suggests a way to prevent its ...

International Space Station Crew Carries out Archeological Survey in Space

Aug. 12, 2024 — An archaeological strategy adapted for space used daily photos to reveal how astronauts actually use areas aboard the International Space Station -- and how this differs from intended ...

Findings from First Archaeology Project in Space

Aug. 11, 2024 — The first-ever archeological survey in space has provided new insights into how astronauts use and adapt their living space on the International Space Station, which could influence the design of new ...

Space-Trekking Muscle Tests Drugs for Microgravity-Induced Muscle Impairment

July 25, 2024 — A gentle rumble ran under a researcher's feet as a rocket carrying her research -- live, human muscle cells grown on scaffolds fixed on tiny chips -- ...

Expiring Medications Could Pose Challenge on Long Space Missions

July 24, 2024 — A new study shows that over half of the medicines stocked in space -- staples such as pain relievers, antibiotics, allergy medicines, and sleep aids -- would expire before astronauts could return to ...

Food Aroma Study May Help Explain Why Meals Taste Bad in Space

July 18, 2024 — A new study on common food aromas may help explain why astronauts report that meals taste bland in space and struggle to eat their normal nutritional intake. This research has broader implications ...

Predicting Changes Inside Astronauts' Bodies During Space Travel Through Blood Sample Analysis

July 1, 2024 — The human body undergoes various transformations in space. However, a direct examination of organs and tissues is challenging. This study ...

Guiding Humanity Beyond the Moon

June 24, 2024 — What actually happens to the human body in space? While scientists and researchers have heavily researched how various factors impact the human body here on Earth, the amount of information available ...

Impacts of Space Travel on Astronauts' Eye Health

June 19, 2024 — Gravitational changes experienced by astronauts during space travel can cause fluids within the body to shift. This can cause changes to the cardiovascular system, including vessels in and around the ...

New Biomarker Database Designed to Improve Astronaut Health May Also Be Useful to Earthlings

June 11, 2024 — As space travel becomes more frequent, a new biomarker tool was developed by an international team of researchers to help improve the growing field of aerospace medicine and the health of ...

How the Immune System Goes Awry During Space Travel and the Implications for Human Aging on Earth

June 11, 2024 — Researching the immune system in space could have payoffs for human aging on earth. Scientists have revealed how the lack of gravity affects the cells of the immune system at single cell ...

Would Astronauts' Kidneys Survive a Roundtrip to Mars?

June 11, 2024 — The structure and function of the kidneys is altered by space flight, with galactic radiation causing permanent damage that would jeopardise any mission to Mars, according to a new study led by ...

Robotic 'SuperLimbs' Could Help Moonwalkers Recover from Falls

May 15, 2024 — SuperLimbs, a system of wearable robotic limbs, can physically support an astronaut and lift them back on their feet after a fall, helping them conserve energy for other essential ...

Simulated Microgravity Affects Sleep and Physiological Rhythms

Apr. 22, 2024 — Simulated effects of microgravity significantly affect rhythmicity and sleep in humans, a new study finds. Such disturbances could negatively affect the physiology and performance of astronauts in ...

Pioneering Muscle Monitoring in Space to Help Astronauts Stay Strong in Low-Gravity

Mar. 20, 2024 — Astronauts have been able to track their muscle health in spaceflight for the first time using a handheld device, revealing which muscles are most at risk of weakening in low gravity conditions. ...

Simulated Microgravity Effects Cause Marked Changes in Gene Expression Rhythms in Humans, Study Finds

Mar. 19, 2024 — Simulated effects of microgravity, created by 60 days of constant bed rest, severely disrupts rhythmic gene expression in humans, according to a new ...

Do Astronauts Experience 'Space Headaches'?

Mar. 13, 2024 — Space travel and zero gravity can take a toll on the body. A new study has found that astronauts with no prior history of headaches may experience migraine and tension-type headaches during long-haul ...

Designing the 'Perfect' Meal to Feed Long-Term Space Travelers

Jan. 2, 2024 — Imagine blasting off on a multiyear voyage to Mars, fueled by a diet of bland, prepackaged meals. As space agencies plan for longer missions, they're grappling with the challenge of how to best ...

When Is an Aurora Not an Aurora?

Dec. 8, 2023 — While auroras occur at high latitude, the associated phenomena Steve and the picket fence occur farther south and at lower altitude. Their emissions also differ from aurora. A physics graduate ...

Ethical Guidelines Needed Before Human Research in Commercial Spaceflight Is Ready for Liftoff

Sep. 28, 2023 — Before human research is conducted during commercial spaceflights, it should be 'ethically cleared to launch,' according to a global team of scientists, health policy experts and commercial ...

Engineered Compound Shows Promise in Preventing Bone Loss in Space

Sep. 18, 2023 — Mice treated aboard the International Space Station showed significantly reduced bone ...

How to Prevent Biofilms in Space

Sep. 7, 2023 — In experiments aboard the International Space Station, a surface treatment developed engineers prevented the growth of microbial biofims. These films can damage equipment and potentially cause ...

How Being in Space Impairs Astronauts' Immune System

Aug. 25, 2023 — A new study has examined how T cells of the immune system are affected by weightlessness. The results could explain why astronauts' T cells become less active and less effective at fighting ...

Chemical Contamination on International Space Station Is out of This World

Aug. 8, 2023 — Concentrations of potentially harmful chemical compounds in dust collected from air filtration systems on the International Space Station (ISS) exceed those found in floor dust from many American ...

Long Missions, Frequent Travel Take a Toll on Astronauts' Brains

June 8, 2023 — A study looking at how the human brain reacts to traveling outside Earth's gravity suggests frequent flyers should wait three years after longer missions to allow the physiological changes in ...

Helium Nuclei Research Advances Our Understanding of Cosmic Ray Origin and Propagation

May 25, 2023 — The latest observations from Low Earth Orbit with the International Space Station provide further evidence of spectral hardening and softening of cosmic ray ...

How to Land on a Planet Safely

Apr. 25, 2023 — Researchers develop a model to describe the interaction between a rocket plume and the surface of a planetary body in near-vacuum conditions. The computational framework takes in information about ...