Astronauts

The unique perspective just a few astronauts have ever seen of Earth from outer space, and the way in which it impacts them, is known as the Overview Effect. Now, specially built theaters and a new film will bring the same experience to the masses.

A new study has found that the rigors of space travel alter the expression of an astronaut’s genes, leading to a compromised immune system that may make them vulnerable to infection, especially when they first return to Earth.

In cramped spacecraft or space stations, there isn't room to store multiple robots that are each designed for a specific task. The Mori3 system was designed with that fact in mind, as it can be used to create different types of robots as needed.

Water on the Moon isn't kept in convenient reservoirs, it’s locked away in the lunar soil. Now, a team of scientists has found that thirsty astronauts could one day refresh themselves fairly easily – by throwing a cup of Moon dirt in the microwave.

Space travel places great stress on the mind and body. With an eye on its implications for future space travel, a new study is the first to examine how flight involving exposure to significant changes in g-forces impacts the functioning of pilots' brains.

Sending materials into space is expensive, so the more astronauts can make on-site, the better. Engineers have now demonstrated how crushed Martian rock could be mixed with a titanium alloy to make 3D-printable building materials.

Microgravity wreaks havoc on astronauts' biology, which is bad news for future space travel. A NASA experiment housing fruit flies on the International Space Station has now shown that artificial gravity can help reduce some of those health problems.

The Moon isn’t the most hospitable place, but that’s not stopping NASA from sending humans back there soon. Thankfully, an orbiter has now found a region of the Moon with year-round jeans-and-jacket weather – underground caves.

Sleeping while wired up with an EEG cap would be hard enough here on Earth, but can you imagine trying to do so in the zero-gravity environment of outer space? It could be quite awkward, which is why an earbud has been designed to do the same job.

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.