Astronauts

New research has found that during a six-month stay on the International Space Station, astronauts were destroying 3 million red blood cells every second. That's 54 percent more than the 2 million our bodies destroy and replace every second on Earth.

When astronauts stay in outer space for extended periods, they frequently develop a vision problem known as spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS). Scientists are now trying to keep that from happening, via a vacuum-sealed sleeping bag.

Blood samples taken from Russian cosmonauts before and after long stints on the ISS have revealed elevations of biomarkers that could indicate brain damage, adding to a growing body of research highlighting the deleterious effects of space travel.

If there are two things that are essential to human life, they're water and oxygen – neither of which are easily available on the moon. Thanks to a new technique, though, astronauts may someday be able to harvest those elements from lunar soil.

In another landmark moment for China's fledgling space exploration program, three astronauts sent to work on the country's under-development space station safely returned to Earth on Friday, after spending three months in orbit.

Are Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos astronauts? Though both billionaires flew to at least the edge of space, they may not qualify for official astronaut wings according to recently revised FAA rules.

China has taken another step forward with its ambitious space program, with the crew aboard the Tiangong space station conducting the mission's first spacewalk and the first for the nation in 13 years.

Blue Origin has announced 82-year-old space pioneer Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk will fill the fourth seat on New Shepard's first passenger flight. A participant in the 1960s Woman in Space program, she will be the oldest person to ever fly into space.

Refrigeration in space is a complex engineering challenge, but nailing it would change the game for astronauts. Scientists have just taken a significant step forward by demonstrating a zero-gravity fridge in microgravity experiments here on Earth.

With long space missions a real prospect in the near future, scientists are trying to find ways to mitigate the negative impacts of reduced gravity on the human body. A new study suggests microgravity can negatively affect cognitive performance.

The results of a new study in which fruit flies were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) and back could help develop treatments designed to keep astronauts' hearts healthy on long-haul missions to Mars.

When NASA’s Perseverance rover touches down on Mars it will carry with it the first ever spacesuit samples to land on the Red Planet. The samples will be exposed to the high-radiation environment to test the durability of future spacesuits.