Blogs

Physics science and human research continues unabated aboard the International Space Station as NASA and its partners seek to understand the impacts of living in space. Meanwhile, Japan announced a new launch date for its HTV-7 cargo mission to resupply the Expedition 56 crew. Astronaut Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) has been exploring …

Just over a month into its mission, Parker Solar Probe has returned first-light data from each of its four instrument suites.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has rescheduled the launch of a cargo spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan to 2:15 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 21 (3:15 a.m. Sept. 22 Japan standard time). Live coverage of the launch will begin at 1:45 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website. The H-II Transfer Vehicle-7 (HTV-7) …

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test – Cohesive Sediment (BCAT-CS):  The crew checked camera alignment and focus by viewing the latest BCAT images on a laptop. BCAT-CS focuses on the study of forces between particles that cluster together by using sediments of quartz and clay particles.  Conducting the research in the microgravity environment of the ISS makes …

Microbial Tracking-2:  Today a crewmember collected saliva samples for the Microbial Tracking-2 investigation and placed them inside a Minus Eighty Degree Celsius Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI). MT-2 monitors the different types of microbes that are present on ISS over a 1-year period.  After the samples return to Earth, a molecular analysis of the RNA …

The Expedition 56 crew members started the work week exploring a variety of life science and ensuring the upkeep of advanced space research gear. U.S. spacesuits were also being looked at today ahead of a series of planned spacewalks. All space station crew members exercise daily to maintain their health while living in space. Today, …

NASA's Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) is embarking on a three-year mission to measure the ice of Earth's frozen and icy areas after a successful liftoff today at 6:02 a.m. PDT (9:02 a.m. EDT) from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft was delivered to Earth orbit by …

NASA's ICESat-2 spacecraft deployed its four solar panels and is drawing power, indicating it is healthy upon its arrival in orbit. The spacecraft launched on the final flight of the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, lifting off from Space Launch Complex-2 at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base at 6:02 a.m. PDT (9:02 a.m. EDT). …

P-PODs 2 and 3, with their ELFIN B, DAVE and SurfSat CubeSat payloads have been successfully deployed.

The first of three P-PODs (Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployers) has deployed its payload, the ELFIN A CubeSat. P-PODs 2 and 3 are coming up!