Science News

Science@NASA

 

12 de enero: Sesiones informativas sobre el proyecto científico Growing Beyond Earth en inglés y español para profesores de 6.º a 12.º.
Space Experiments
Jan 11, 2023
¿Te interesa ayudar a la NASA a alimentar a los astronautas de la Estación Espacial Internacional? ¡Únete al equipo de Growing Beyond Earth®!
Photo on left: scientist working with plants in a pink-lit grow box; photo on right: scientist smiling for camera and working with plants at a pink-lit grow box
Coexisting quantum gases in Earth’s orbit
Space Experiments
Jan 11, 2023
Two species of quantum gases have been created to coexist and interact for the first time in space. Accessing resonant interactions among these gases will allow scientists to explore few-body physics, quantum chemistry, and fundamental physics in novel energy regimes—without the perturbing force of... Read More
Photo of two scientists wearing full lab gear (hats, face masks, gloves and bodysuits) working on a white metal module with several cables and cords connected to it.
Sowing the Seeds of Future Space Travel
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Dec 7, 2022
After 908 days in low Earth orbit, a small package on board the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-6 has come home to the delight of some biological scientists. Soon they will open an aluminum alloy container that holds samples of plant seeds that they hope can be used to sustain astronauts on long... Read More
): One single image is divided into four parts: A shows a Mizuna seed as a tan-colored, smooth-textured, irregularly shaped sphere. B shows a two-leafed small green Mizuna seedling emerging from the white “window” of a black seed “pillow” aboard the Space Station. C shows a row of healthy Mizuna plants in pots with irrigation hoses in a ground environmental chamber. D shows multiple Mizuna plants growing in the Veggie unit on the Space Station. The Veggie unit displays multiple seed pillows and the unit is
Three Experiments Heading to Space Station Aim to Support Deep-Space Missions
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Nov 17, 2022
Research on dwarf tomatoes, gut bacterium, and amorphous metals could help astronauts go farther, stay longer in space
Small red tomatoes growing under a flat metallic fixture that’s bathing the fruiting plants in blue and red lights, creating a purple hue. The plants are growing out of a red-framed open-box enclosure. Within the enclosure are black-padded pots made of a strong-water resistant flexible material called a flight pillow. This flight pillow encloses the base of the plants with a flat, white material.
NASA Space Biology Bootcamp Teaches the Teachers, Reaching More Students
Space Experiments
Nov 10, 2022
When a team of NASA researchers set out to help train a diverse new generation of space biologists, they wanted to magnify their impact on today’s students. So, they decided to teach the teachers.
Surviving Space: Extreme Plant Adaptation
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Oct 28, 2022
Which plants have the best chances for survival in space? That’s the question being addressed by Principal Investigators Anna-Lisa Paul and Robert Ferl in the Epigenetic Adaptation to the Spaceflight Environment – Accumulated Genomic Change Induced by Generations in Space (Plant Habitat-03)... Read More
Small green Arabidopsis plants germinating on the base of the Advanced Plant Habitat growth chamber. This is a large box with walls on each side except for the front, which has a large opening. Within the opening, there are LED lights are at the top, air vents on the sides, and a combination of small sensors with cameras.
NASA Selects 7 Space Biology Plant Studies to Help Enable Explorers to Boldly Grow Where No One Has Grown Before
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Oct 19, 2022
NASA announces the award of 7 grants or cooperative agreements for exciting new space biology research that will advance NASA’s understanding of how plants respond, acclimate and adapt to the space environment in support of human space exploration. 
NASA Selects 12 Space Biology Research Studies
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Oct 14, 2022
NASA announces the award of 12 grants or cooperative agreements for exciting new space biology research that will advance NASA’s understanding of how vertebrate and invertebrate model organisms respond, acclimate, and adapt to the space environment in support of human space exploration. ... Read More
Miniature Avatars Take on NASA’s Biggest Challenge
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Oct 13, 2022
Science fiction or reality? Before traveling to Mars, NASA needs to learn how spaceflight is going to affect the astronauts on this demanding journey – and now they can thanks to miniature avatars.
In the upper right-hand side, an astronaut’s gloved hand reaches out towards a transparent credit-card sized device being held and passed on by a hand in the lower right-hand corner. Within the transparent device, there’s a network of red lines and small boxes on the right. On the left, there are small green and yellow boxes and lines.
Cooling Technique Developed for Space Use Makes Charging Electric Cars on Earth Quicker and Easier
Space Experiments
Oct 4, 2022
An advanced temperature control technique developed for future NASA missions can also make charging electric vehicles easier and faster—potentially paving the way for increased adoption of electric cars.
Photo on left is a woman plugging in a red electric vehicle; photo on right is a group of people working with equipment in a lab
Artificial Gravity Provides Partial Protection for Biology in Space
Space Experiments
Sep 6, 2022
New findings from a study using fruit flies on the International Space Station suggest that space travel has an impact on the central nervous system, but that artificial gravity provides partial protection against those changes.
Around the Moon and Back: A Test Drive for Science
Space Experiments
Aug 17, 2022
When gazing up at the Moon in the night sky, envision a future where humans can live and work on the lunar surface. Part of that work includes valuable research, as the Moon offers two environments important for science – and to which we do not currently have access down on the ground: The Moon’s... Read More
In the foreground, is capsule orbiting around the cratered surface of the Moon with half of Earth appearing behind.
What is NASA’s GeneLab?
Space Experiments
Aug 15, 2022
With GeneLab, NASA’s open repository for space biology data, anyone – from students to specialists – can explore and make discoveries about ways life from Earth is affected by the conditions of space.
How do Dangerous Blood Clots Form in Space? New Insights from a Valve Model May Provide Information to Protect Astronauts
Space Experiments, Space Biology
Aug 2, 2022
Determining how blood-flow patterns near valves in the veins affect the movement of red blood cells may identify ways to prevent blood clots in astronauts.
Photo of a man and woman in lab coats working at a computer and microscope