Well this is interesting: an article on CNET by Eric Mack, based on a Nov. 27 report from the Russian news agency TASS, discusses findings by Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov that “living bacteria from outer space” were found within samples collected during spacewalks several years ago (Shkaplerov was a member of Expedition 42 in November 2014.) The samples…
Tag: space station
Friday Fun: Plop Plop, Fizz Fizz…in Zero-G
During his 340-day-long One-Year Mission in 2015-2016 NASA astronaut Scott Kelly conducted—and was the subject of—countless experiments on the effects of long-duration space travel aboard the ISS. But he did manage to have a little fun too; the video above shows what happens to a blob of water free-floating in microgravity (that’s the technical term for…
Did NASA Purposely Cut Space Station Footage of a UFO?
Various news outlets today have run with a story about a supposed UFO spotted on live video streamed from the International Space Station, in which a bright object is visible “descending” into Earth’s atmosphere. The video* was shared on YouTube by a self-proclaimed UFO hunter—which basically means someone who stares at ISS feeds on their…
NASA Astronaut Returns to Earth After Historic “Year in Space”
With a smile and an energetic thumbs-up, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly exited the Soyuz TMA-18M capsule shortly after landing on the remote steppe of Kazakhstan at 10:26 p.m. Central time March 1, 2016. It was the return of the Expedition 46 crew, which included Russian cosmonauts Sergey Volkov and Mikhail Kornienko, the latter of whom shared…
Elusive Red Sprite Seen From the Space Station
Let’s take a look back at our own planet for a moment with this stunning photo captured from the Space Station. This shot, taken on the night of Aug. 10, 2015, shows lightning flashes in thunderstorms over southern Mexico. Along the right edge bright red and purple streamers can be seen extending high into the…
Check out Atmospheric Breakup: a Webcomic About the ISS
The International Space Station is the result of an amazing collaboration of many countries and countless individuals from around the world, a research lab and symbol of global peace and partnership put together in space. But recent and growing political tension between the two biggest contributors to the ISS – the United States and Russia – are…
Happy Birthday, ISS!
It’s been 15 years since the first piece of what we now know as the International Space Station left the surface of our planet. It was Russia’s Zarya module, launched aboard a Proton rocket on Nov. 20, 1998, and the U.S. followed suit two weeks later with the Unity module sent aboard the shuttle Endeavour….
A Historic Observatory’s Connection to the Space Station
It’s a wonderful thing for children to look up to their fathers, but some kids have to look a little further than others — especially when dad is in command of the International Space Station! Around 6 p.m. EST on February 14, the ISS passed over southern New England, and for a few brief moments…
Captain Kirk Calls the Space Station (VIDEO)
So what happened this morning? Oh not much… just watched CAPTAIN KIRK TALK WITH AN ASTRONAUT IN ORBIT, THAT’S ALL! Yes, it’s true. Today, Feb. 7, William Shatner called in to the Space Station as it flew 240 miles over the southern Atlantic Ocean and chatted for a bit with Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who…
Orion Versus the Space Station
I captured the Space Station careening toward the Hunter on the night of March 2, 2012, just a little after 7:50 pm. A half-moon illuminated the event… who won? Well, let’s just say Orion’s still up there and the ISS faded away shortly after! (I’m sure they’ll be back for another go! They’re a plucky…
More ISS Awesomeness!
This just in: new time-lapses from the ISS, by way of the Image Science & Analysis Lab at Johnson Space Center and The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Enjoy! (Descriptions from JSC.)
The Town That Billy Sunday Couldn’t Shut Down
Here’s a view from the ISS, looking down at the brightly-lit Chicago metropolitan area on February 2, 2012. Lake Michigan is the dark expanse seen below the clouds — perhaps a dense fog bank — at bottom center. According to NASA, fog is not common in the Great Lakes area this time of the year…
Lights in the Dark 