Tag: space
Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez Address Blue Origin Space Trip Criticism
After their return from Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission to space, Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez reacted to criticism of their all-female crew’s 11-minute trip to the edge of the cosmos. Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez want others to know that their trip to space was out of this world. After the CBS This Morning host…
What Katy Perry and More Stars Have Said About Going to Space
Olivia Munn isn’t fangirling over the upcoming Blue Origin launch, but here’s what Cameron Diaz, Charlize Theron and more have said about space travel and going where not very many have gone before. Count Olivia Munn among those who are not over the moon about the upcoming star-studded Blue Origin space flight. “What are you…
20 musicians who should get to go to space before Katy Perry
Neda Ulaby When the news first broke that pop star Katy Perry will hop inside a Blue Origin rocket and blast off to outer space in a launch scheduled for April 14, NPR music editor Hazel Cills took to an internal NPR Music Slack channel. “Quick name 20 artists who should get to go to…
Fermenting Miso in Space Offers Astrobiology Lessons
This Space Station Miso Tastes Out of This World Overall, “space miso” tastes just like regular miso—but slight differences in its microbial profile suggest that extraterrestrial conditions affect how microbes grow and flourish By Gayoung Lee edited by Sarah Lewin Frasier For the first time ever, scientists succeeded in fermenting soybeans aboard the International Space…
After 286 Days in Space, NASA Astronauts Return to Earth with a Splash
After 286 Days in Space, NASA Astronauts Return to Earth with a Splash NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams had been “stuck” at the International Space Station since June 6, 2024, after Boeing’s Starliner, the vehicle they rode to get there, ran into multiple hardware problems By Gayoung Lee edited by Lee Billings NASA…
Are the Colors in Space ‘Real’?
The UniverseFridays Are the Colors in Astronomical Images ‘Real’? In colorful photographs of galaxies, stars, planets, and more, what you see isn’t necessarily what you get By Phil Plait edited by Lee Billings A colorful view of Lynds 483, an hourglass-shaped system of jets and outflows from two central protostars mid-formation. Captured by the James…
NASA’s latest space launch: Stranded astronauts and messy politics
Geoff Brumfiel Later today, a SpaceX capsule is scheduled to carry four astronauts to the International Space Station. Their arrival will clear the way for two astronauts that have been labeled as “stranded” to finally return to Earth. The astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, were supposed to spend about a week on the space…
First Measles Death, Outbreaks of Mysterious Illness in DRC and Microbes in Space
The Latest on Measles in the U.S, a Mystery Illness in the DRC and the Flu Vaccines In this news roundup, we cover outbreak updates, microbes in space and a brain turned to glass. By Rachel Feltman, Fonda Mwangi & Alex Sugiura Rachel Feltman: Happy Monday, listeners! And happy March. For Scientific American’s Science Quickly,…
New NASA Space Telescope Will See the Universe in 102 Colors
New NASA Space Telescope Will See the Universe in 102 Colors NASA’s SPHEREx mission will survey the entire sky in 102 different “colors” of light, offering scientists an unprecedented look at the earliest days of the universe and much more By Meghan Bartels edited by Lee Billings Short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the…
The International Space Station May Need More Microbes to Keep Astronauts Healthy
The International Space Station May Need More Microbes to Keep Astronauts Healthy The overly sterile environment of the International Space Station is missing important microbes, a new detailed map shows. If we want to live off Earth, we may need to take more of our bacterial friends with us By Allison Parshall edited by Lee…
Astronauts in Space Address Donald Trump’s Claim They Were “Abandoned”
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore respond to President Donald Trump’s allegation that they were “abandoned in space” as they prepare for their flight back to Earth in March. NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore want to clear up any cosmic confusion about their prolonged space trip. Three weeks after President Donald Trump said the…
Zelensky says Trump living in Russian ‘disinformation space’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to criticism of Kyiv by Donald Trump, by saying his US counterpart is “living in a disinformation space” created by Russia. On Tuesday, President Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for the war and suggested the Ukrainian leader’s popularity rating was as low as 4%. Trump was speaking after US-Russia…
Trump’s ‘Iron Dome’ Space Weapons Plan Ignores Physics and Fiscal Reality
Opinion ArgonautWednesdays Trump’s ‘Iron Dome’ Space Weapons Plan Ignores Physics and Fiscal Reality Proposed U.S. space defenses against hypersonic nuclear missiles are unnecessary, impractical and would trigger a dangerous new arms race By Dan Vergano edited by Megha Satyanarayana Keep in touch with the Argonaut: Get email alerts for this weekly column by Dan Vergano…
JWST Spies a Giant Space Hamburger—and Maybe Planetary Origins, Too
The UniverseFridays JWST Spies a Giant Space Hamburger—and Maybe Planetary Origins, Too It’s neither fast nor food, but a spectacular object called HH 30 looks appetizing for astronomers in a new image from the James Webb Space Telescope By Phil Plait edited by Lee Billings HH 30, a complex assemblage of gas and dust surrounding…
2025 Missions to the Sun Seek to Study Space Weather and Shape of the Heliosphere
Why 2025 is an Exciting Year in Heliophysics From space weather to science missions, there’s a lot to be excited about in heliophysics this year. By Rachel Feltman, Meghan Bartels, Fonda Mwangi & Jeffery DelViscio Rachel Feltman: For Scientific American’s Science Quickly, I’m Rachel Feltman. Life as we know it couldn’t exist without the sun,…
The Health Risks of Alcohol, a Red Dye Ban and Commercial Space Launches
A Mixed Bag for Private Spaceflight, a New Spider Species and the Health Risks of Alcohol We discuss a big week for commercial spaceflight, a red dye ban and a scary spider species in this news roundup. By Rachel Feltman, Madison Goldberg & Fonda Mwangi [CLIP: “It Doesn’t End Here (Instrumental),” by Nehemiah Pratt] Rachel…
How NASA Used the Hubble Space Telescope to Look at the Sun
The UniverseFridays NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Was Never Meant to Look at the Sun. Astronomers Tried It Anyway A little-known chapter of the Hubble Space Telescope’s history is a reminder of the risks of looking at the sun By Phil Plait edited by Lee Billings A composite illustration of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope with the…
A Half-Ton Piece of Space Junk Falls Onto a Village in Kenya
No one was hurt by the object, believed to be part of a launch rocket. Experts say the frequency of such incidents is increasing as the amount of debris in orbit around the Earth grows dramatically. By Lynsey Chutel A glowing ring of metal, more than eight feet in diameter and weighing more than 1,100…
Look up! Here’s what’s to watch for in space in 2025
By Chandelis Duster After a spectacular 2024, which featured a year of wonder in the skies, including a total solar eclipse and rare sightings of the northern lights, 2025 is set to bring even more astronomical events. The year is expected to kick off with a meteor shower and forecast for the potential aurora in…
Could AI robots replace human astronauts in space?
On Christmas Eve, an autonomous spacecraft flew past the Sun, closer than any human-made object before it. Swooping through the atmosphere, Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe was on a mission to discover more about the Sun, including how it affects space weather at Earth. This was a landmark moment for humanity – but one without any…
9 Space Images from NASA and Beyond That Stunned in 2024
Behold! 2024’s Most Stunning Space Photos See the year’s most striking images from the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, NASA’s Mars rover and the best sky watching on offer By Meghan Bartels edited by Lee Billings A James Webb Space Telescope image of the star-forming region NGC 604. The end of 2024 is approaching,…