Space Radiation Sparks A Biological Cascade Of Cancer

Deep space travel comes with a huge potential downside - radiation exposure that can kill an astronaut either quickly or slowly over time if not managed correctly. But what exactly does that mean, and is there any way to handle it other than sticking more and more protective layers between the squishy biological systems inside a spacecraft and the radiative void of deep space? A new paper from researchers at Oklahoma State University and the University of Texas Health Science Center hopes to answer both questions, and while the causes of radiation they point out are complex, they also offer some potential solutions as well.

X-Rays and AI Reveal How Spacecraft Heat Shields Burn in Real Time

Heat shields are undeniably one of the most important parts of any spacecraft that intends to enter an atmosphere. And the material they are made out of is absolutely critical. Improving them has been a bit of a challenge though, as typically researchers only get “before” and “after” pictures of when the heat shield completes its job of helping a spacecraft land safely back on Earth. That changed recently, though, with a collaboration between NASA and the Advanced Light Source (ALS) located at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which allowed researchers to watch a heat shield fall apart in real time.

XRISM Makes First-Ever Detection of a Pulsar Feeding from a Companion's Stellar "Wind"

Using data from the Japan-led XRISM observatory, astronomers have directly observed a giant star’s stellar wind captured by its compact companion (triggering X-ray flares) for the first time.

Asteroid Bennu Has an Identity Crisis, and Jupiter Might Be to Blame

Asteroid sample return missions have brought well preserved samples of the early solar system (that hadn’t been roasted in a fireball) back to Earth for the first time. But those samples, like the OSIRIS-REx sample from asteroid (101955) Bennu, sometimes provide more questions than answers. A new paper, published in Science Advances from researchers at ETH Zurich and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, highlights one of those questions - why Bennu appears to have been born in both the inner and outer solar system - and a possible answer to it.

NASA's First Selection for a New Class of Mission: The PRIMA Far-Infrared Telescope

NASA announced Wednesday a mission to explore the history and evolution of the universe, PRIMA (PRobe far-Infrared Mission for Astrophysics), is advancing to the next phase of development. This space telescope is the first in a new class of NASA astrophysics missions, called Probe Explorers, within the agency’s longstanding Explorers Program.

NASA's Hubble Marks its 200,000th Orbit by Watching Lensed Supernova

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope completed its 200,000th orbit around Earth on Sept. 19th and marked this milestone with observations that could help refine astronomers' measurements of cosmic expansion (aka. the Hubble Constant).

Exercise Keeps Astronaut Hearts in Fighting Shape for the Journey to Mars

Getting a human body to Mars will take a toll on it. NASA and other space agencies have been concerned for years that the 6-9 month travel time to get to the Red Planet could have such a deleterious impact on human anatomy that any crewed mission would fail before it even began. But a new study, co-led by Dr. Benjamin Levine of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and published in the journal Circulation, eases some of that concern by claiming that, given a sufficient exercise regimen in low gravity, astronauts should be able to operate on Mars upon arrival without any major cardiac issues.