international space station
-
Massive Pallet of Old Batteries Re-Enters Earth’s Atmosphere, Marking Heaviest ISS Trash Return Yet
Last week, a pallet of used batteries from the International Space Station (ISS) reentered Earth’s atmosphere over the Gulf of Mexico following an unpredictable journey through orbit. The pallet contained nine batteries and weighed in at 2.9 tons. It had been tossed by the Canadarm2 robotic arm in March 2021 and and has since been…
-
NASA’s Fire-in-Space Experiment Ends in Flames
After eight years of experimenting with flames in space, NASA lit a fire inside a cargo spacecraft for the last time and sent its Saffire experiment toward a burning reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. NASA’s Spacecraft Fire Safety Experiments, also known as Saffire, came to a fitting end on January 9, flying aboard a Northrop Grumman…
-
NASA’s Next-Generation ISS Spacesuit Passes Zero-Gravity Test
NASA’s current batch of ISS spacesuits are getting long in the tooth, having been in service for over four decades. The space agency is keen to acquire spacesuits fit for the 21st century, and recent zero-gravity tests performed by Collins Aerospace are a step in the right direction. North Carolina-based Collins Aerospace, in partnership with…
-
You Don’t Win Friends With Space Salad
If you’re ever on your lunch break in space, you might actually want to stay away from the salad. A team of scientists grew lettuce in a simulated microgravity environment on Earth and found that plants have a hard time protecting themselves against harmful bacteria in space. Space lettuce has been a hit on board…