Tiangong is a space station that the Chinese Manned Space Agency (CMSA) is building in low Earth orbit. In May 2021, China launched Tianhe, the first of the orbiting space station's three modules, and the country aims to finish building the station by the end of 2022. CMSA hopes to keep Tiangong inhabited continuously by three astronauts for at least a decade. The space station will host many experiments from both China and other countries.

Related: China's space station will be open to science from all UN nations

Tiangong, which means "Heavenly Palace," will consist of Tianhe, the main habitat for astronauts, and two modules dedicated to hosting experiments, Mengtian and Wentian, both of which are due to launch in 2022. Shenzhou spacecraft, launching from Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert, will send crews of three astronauts to the space station, while Tianzhou cargo spacecraft will launch from Wenchang on the Chinese island of Hainan to deliver supplies and fuel to the station.

Tiangong will be much smaller than the International Space Station (ISS), with only three modules compared with 16 modules on the ISS. Tiangong will also be lighter than the ISS, which weighs about 400 tons (450 metric tons) following the recent addition of Russia's Nauka module.

The 54-foot-long (16.6 meter) Tianhe module launched with a docking hub that allows it to receive Shenzhou and Tianzhou spacecraft, as well as welcome the two later experiment modules. A large robotic arm will help position the Mengtian and Wentian modules and assist astronauts during spacewalks.

Tianhe is much larger than the Tiangong 1 and 2 test space labs China launched in the last decade and nearly three times heavier, at 24 tons (22 metric tons). The new Tiangong, visiting spacecraft and cargo spacecraft will expand the usable space for the astronauts; so much that they'll feel as though "they will be living in a villa," compared with how little space was available on previous Chinese space labs, Bai Linhou, deputy chief designer of the space station, told CCTV.

Tianhe features regenerative life support, including a way to recycle urine, to allow astronauts to stay in orbit for long periods. It is the main habitat for the astronauts and also houses the propulsion systems to keep the space station in orbit.

China has said it will take 11 launches to finish Tiangong: three module launches, four crewed missions and four Tianzhou spacecraft to supply cargo and fuel. The first three launches Tianhe, Tianzhou 2 and Shenzhou 12 have gone smoothly.

Once completed, Tiangong will be joined by a huge, Hubble-like space telescope, which will share the space station's orbit and be able to dock for repairs, maintenance and possibly upgrades. Named Xuntian, which translates to "survey the heavens," the telescope will have a 6.6-foot (2 m) diameter mirror like Hubble but will have a field of view 300 times greater. Xuntian will aim to survey 40% of the sky over 10 years using its huge, 2.5-billion-pixel camera.

The space station could potentially be expanded to six modules, if everything goes according to plan. "We can further expand our current three-module space station combination into a four-module, cross-shaped combination in the future," Bai told CCTV. The second Tianhe core module could then allow two more modules to join the orbital outpost.

China embarked on a long journey to reach the point of building its space station. The project was first approved in 1992, after which the country set about developing the Shenzhou crew spacecraft and the Long March 2F rocket to send astronauts into space. Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut in space in October 2003 and made China the third country in the world to independently send humans into orbit.

China expressed interest in joining the International Space Station partners, but the possibility was ended by a 2011 decree passed by U.S. lawmakers effectively banning NASA from coordinating directly with China or any Chinese-owned company. This means direct collaboration between NASA and Chinese space stations is strictly prohibited, making the prospect of sending U.S. astronauts to Tiangong (or Chinese astronauts to the ISS) impossible.

To be able to build and operate a crewed space station, China first needed to test out crucial space station systems, including life support and technologies for rendezvous and docking of spacecraft in orbit while traveling 17,448 mph (28,080 km/h). To accomplish this, China launched the 9-ton (8.2 metric tons) Tiangong-1 space lab in 2011, and subsequently sent the uncrewed Shenzhou 8 and the crewed Shenzhou 9 and 10 to join Tiangong-1 in orbit.

The upgraded but similarly sized Tiangong-2 launched in 2016 and hosted the two-astronaut crew of Shenzhou 11 for just over a month, setting a new national record for human spaceflight mission duration.

As the China Manned Space Agency checked off these initial milestones, the agency was also focused on developing new, larger Long March heavy-lift rockets to make a space station possible. The Long March 5B was designed specifically to launch the huge space station modules into low Earth orbit. The same rocket was the source of one of the largest uncontrolled reentries in recent decades following the launch of Tianhe in late April 2021.

In 2014 China completed its new, coastal spaceport at Wenchang, specifically to launch these larger-diameter rockets, which need to be delivered by sea.

The first crewed missions Shenzhou 12, 13 and 14 will be for space station construction. A series of operational phase missions lasting six months each will begin in 2023. Crews will carry out experiments in areas such as astronomy, space medicine and life sciences, biotechnology, microgravity combustion and fluid physics and space technologies. Tiangong will also temporarily host six astronauts during crew changeovers, Space.com previously reported.

Related: China selects 18 new astronauts in preparation for space station launch

Tiangong is also likely to host international astronauts in the future. European Space Agency astronauts Samantha Cristoforetti and Matthias Maurer trained with their Chinese counterparts in 2017 in a small step toward a possible future visit to the Chinese space station, the European Space Agency reported. Astronauts from other countries, particularly those involved in China's Belt and Road initiative, may travel to Tiangong as well; Russia is also considering sending its cosmonauts.

China is looking to develop alternatives for keeping Tiangong supplied, SpaceNews reported. In January 2021, the China Manned Space Agency put out a call for proposals for low-cost, reliable cargo missions to Tiangong. The call was open to commercial companies, echoing NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contracts that provided opportunities to SpaceX.

It will be possible to spot Tiangong from Earth, just as it sometimes is with the ISS. Tiangong will orbit at an altitude of between 211 and 280 miles (340 to 450 kilometers) above Earth and between 43 degrees north and south, and the space station should be a fixture in the sky for at least a decade.

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China's Tiangong space station | Space

A view of Earth and its glowing atmosphere as seen from the ISS on October 4, 2022.

All seven members of Expedition 68 are now aboard the International Space Station following the arrival of Crew-5 last week. A cargo mission to replenish supplies is expected next week, prompting a necessary orbital adjustment to receive the Russian space hauler.

The Progress 81 cargo vehicle attached to the Russian Zvezda module fired its thrusters for 10 minutes and 30 seconds on Monday, raising the space stations orbit and placing it at the correct altitude to receive the Progress 82 resupply ship, according to a NASA blog post. The uncrewed cargo craft is scheduled to blast off from Russias Baikonur Cosmodrome on Tuesday, October 25 at 8:00 p.m. ET and dock with Zvezda some 26 hours later.

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Four spaceships are currently docked at the space station: Russias Progress 80, Progress 81, and Soyuz MS-22, and SpaceXs Endurance Dragon from the Crew-5 mission. Progress 80, attached to the Poisk mini-research module since February, is not long for this world; the vehicle is being filled with trash and obsolete gear in anticipation of its undocking and intentional disintegration over the South Pacific Ocean next week. Progress 82 will serve as its replacement.

A graphic showing the ISS configuration as it appeared on October 14, 2022.

The final four members of Expedition 68 arrived at the orbital outpost on October 6, briefly raising the total ISS population to 11. Crew-5 consists of NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina. Crew-4, consisting of NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, returned to Earth on October 14. Prior to leaving, Cristoforetti briefly took command of the ISS, becoming the first European woman to do so.

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The now seven-member Expedition 68 crew, in addition to Crew-5, consists of NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev. The latter three blasted off atop a Russian Soyuz rocket on September 21 and docked at the Rassvet module later that day. Each member of Expedition 68 will stay aboard the ISS for roughly six months. The crew is already hard at work, performing various maintenance tasks and experiments.

The Expedition 68 crew. From left are, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio; Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitri Petelin; Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata; NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Nicole Mann; and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Anna Kikina.

On Monday, Rubio and Mann worked inside the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, where they organized hardware to be returned on the next SpaceX Dragon mission and gathered air and surface samples for microbial analysis. Kikina spent much of the day training on the computer that controls the newly installed European robotic arm attached to the Nauka module. Meanwhile, Cassada and Wakata took turns with a virtual reality headset to study the effects of microgravity on an astronauts ability to reach and grasp objects. Petelin performed water transfer activities, while Prokopyev ran inventory tasks and packed trash inside Progress 80, which is due to leave next week.

Both Rubio and Kikina took part in a seat-swap agreement between NASA and Roscosmos, in which the astronaut reached space via the Soyuz MS-22 mission and the cosmonaut via Spaces Crew-5 flight. The space agencies continue to work together despite tensions caused by Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Its all very awkward, and even a bit inappropriate, but the space partners have little choice but to cooperate given that the ISS cannot function without the participation of both member states.

More: Whos Going to Regulate All These Private Space Stations?

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ISS Moves to New Orbit in Advance of Cargo Mission - Yahoo News

NASA astronauts on the International Space Station are eyeing the moon, and what it would take to get there.

SpaceX's Crew-4 astronauts spoke from the orbiting lab about how their work is linking up with NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission, which could launch in November, and with other lunar sorties in the coming years.

"A really exciting part of what we're able to do up here [is] using the International Space Station [ISS] as a testbed for future exploration," NASA's Jessica Watkins told Space.com during a live press conference on Tuesday (Oct. 11), two days before Crew-4's scheduled return to Earth. (The SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying Watkins and her three crewmates is scheduled to splash down Thursday, Oct. 13, at 5:41 p.m. EDT, or 2141 GMT.)

Related: The Artemis plan: Why NASA sees the moon as a stepping stone to Mars

ISS research is gearing up for a big spaceflight leap: sending humans back to the moon for the first time since 1972.

Providing the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission to lunar orbit launches and lands as planned, NASA plans to send Artemis 2 around the moon with astronauts as soon as 2024. Following that, Artemis 3 is scheduled to land on the surface in 2025 or so. Watkins, a Black geologist, may be one of the people making the first lunar bootprints since Apollo 17, for NASA aims to land a woman and a person of color on Artemis 3.

A large chunk of space station research is devoted to human health, and to advancing technologies like life support or growing plants to make sure they are robust enough to take on the demanding lunar environment, Watkins explained.

"We are looking into ways to protect against some of the hazards that are associated with some of this exploration," Watkins said. Plants will need to contend with very different soil and weaker gravity, for example, while plants and machinery alike will need to deal with intense radiation at the moon's surface.

"Radiation is one of the biggest factors that needs to be mitigated as we move forward," Watkins added, which is why Artemis 1 will have so many sensors in the spacecraft to test and assess the environment.

Crew-5 members are testing out a radiation vest, AstroRad, that will also fly around the moon on an Artemis 1 mannequin. With the sun rapidly entering an active phase in its 11-year activity cycle, space radiation is reaching a high point around the solar system.

Putting AstroRad in Earth and lunar orbit at about the same time will allow scientists to compare ISS astronaut radiation exposure with the mannequin's to see how radiation is percolating across Earth's neighborhood and beyond, Watkins explained.

"The ISS is really enabling us to further technologies and understanding that will enable us to go further into the solar system," added Watkins, whose own research about Mars geology was published in a peer-reviewed journal shortly after she blasted into orbit. The topic: rocks studied by NASA's Curiosity rover.

Related: Amazing launch photos of SpaceX's Crew-4 astronaut mission

A typical space station crew looks at 200 or so investigations with the aim of banking reams of data for future crews to draw upon, no matter where they're located. Both Watkins and Crew-4 commander and fellow NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren pointed to the human body's reactions to space as a key frame of their research.

One project on immune system science was "really looking at the aging process of immune cells, to better understand the immune dysfunction that we see in astronauts here on orbit," Lindgren said, adding that a shorter-term benefit will be creating better treatments for patients on Earth. "Truly understanding that at the cellular level that was a lot of fun to participate in."

Crew-4 crewmate Samantha Cristoforetti, who last visited the ISS nearly seven years ago, pointed to big changes in science since she last undocked: a scanning electron microscope, two 3D printers and "all kinds of facilities" to gather information for future crews, she said.

"There is a whole slew of life support technological technology demos that are running on space station, again, something new," said Cristoforetti, a European Space Agency astronaut. "It's an even busier space station."

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter@howellspace (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter@Spacedotcom (opens in new tab)or Facebook.

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SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts say their space station work will help get NASA to the moon - Space.com

European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Matthias Maurer on a spacewalk outside theInternational Space Station Courtesy of NASA

Astronauts spend years undergoing rigorous training before they maketheir first trip into space. And before becoming astronauts, they usually already have years of experience in related fields, such as engineering, geology, aeronautics, physics, medicine and biology; many have doctorates or have seen military combat.

But for actor Tom Cruise, a trip to space might just be another day at the office. Cruise hopes to shoot scenes for an as-yet-untitled action film at the International Space Station (ISS) in the near future. If he succeeds, hed become the first civilian to do a spacewalk outside of the space station, according to Donna Langley, chairman of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group.

In a lengthy interview with the BBCs Katie Razzall, Langley reveals a few more details about the proposed movie, which is still an aspiration at this stage, per the BBC.

Tom Cruise is taking us to space, hes taking the world to space, Langley tells the BBC. Thats the plan. We have a great project in development with Tom.

Cruise and director Doug Liman, who worked together on the 2014 movie Edge of Tomorrow, pitched the idea for the new film to Langley on a Zoom call during the pandemic. Though she didnt share too many specific details about the plot, the general gist is that the storyline actually takes place on earth, and then the character needs to go up to space to save the day.

Cruise is already known for doing many of his own stunts, including some potentially dangerous ones, so it comes as no surprise that hes willing to take a rocket to the space station for the sake of cinema. As Daniel Kreps writes for Rolling Stone, its unclear whether Cruise would actually go inside the ISS or just walk around outside of the orbiting laboratory.

NASA, for its part, seems willing to collaborate on the movie. Though he has since deleted the tweet, former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine wrote in May 2020 that the agency is looking forward to working with Cruise. We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASAs ambitious plans a reality, he wrote. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, which is working with NASA on a number of projects, replied that the project should be a lot of fun! As Deadlines Mike Fleming Jr. reported at the time, Musk, Cruise and NASA were all reportedly working together to make the film a reality.

Despite his lack of official astronaut training, Cruise does have some cinematic experience with space and aviation. In 2013, he played a futuristic drone technician who must defend Earth against alien invaders in Oblivion. He also narrated the 2002 Imax documentary Space Station 3D. One of his most popular air-and-space-related films, of course, is Top Gun, the 1986 flick about Navy fighter pilots. Cruise also recently starred in the sequel, Top Gun: Maverick.

Since the space stations launch nearly 24 years ago in 1998, ISS crewmembers have made just 253 spacewalksin other words, theyre not something NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), Roscosmos or any of the other major space station partners take lightly. Spacewalks are inherently dangerous and, as such, NASA has a whole slew of rules and guidelines around them. As Paola Rosa-Aquino writes for Space.com, theyre also expensive and time-consumingwhenever possible, crewmembers try to use robotic arms to work outside the ISS.

Sometimes, though, astronauts (and Russian cosmonauts) have to go on spacewalks as a last resort. They typically have very specific reasons for leaving the space station, such as performing maintenance or installing new equipment. NASA calls these adventures extravehicular activities.

Wearing highly specialized suits outfitted with life support gear, crewmembers depart the space station through a special set of airlock doors. They remain attached to the space station via tethers, and they usually spend five to eight hours in space while completing their objectives.

Astronauts must complete special training before they undertake spacewalks. They spend a lot of time at NASAs Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory near the Johnson Space Center in Houston. There, theypractice spacewalks in a6.2-million-gallon poolin which they neither sink nor float. For every hour a crewmember will spend on an ISS spacewalk, they must spend seven hours in the pool, per NASA. They also train via virtual reality technologies that simulate extravehicular activities.

If Cruise ever does make it into orbit, there is another thing hell have to keep in mind: remembering to focus in the face of the vast cosmos. And thats not necessarily an easy feat, as NASA astronaut Mike Fincke told CNNs Ashley Strickland last year.

Its really truly breathtaking, he told the publication. The only thing between you and the rest of the universe, seeing the whole cosmos of creation, is the glass faceplate of your visor on your helmet, and its just awe-inspiring.

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Tom Cruise Might Become the First Civilian to Spacewalk at the ISS - Smithsonian Magazine

An astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS) has snapped a peculiar image of Earth from space that contains two bizarre blue blobs of light glimmering in our planet's atmosphere. The dazzling pair may look otherworldly. But in reality, they are the result of two unrelated natural phenomena that just happened to occur at the same time.

The image was captured last year by an unnamed member of the Expedition 66 crew as the ISS passed over the South China Sea. The photo was released online Oct. 9 by NASA's Earth Observatory (opens in new tab).

The first blob of light, which is visible at the bottom of the image, is a massive lightning strike somewhere in the Gulf of Thailand. Lightning strikes are typically hard to see from the ISS, as they're usually covered by clouds. But this particular strike occurred next to a large, circular gap in the top of the clouds, which caused the lightning to illuminate the surrounding walls of the cloudy caldera-like structure, creating a striking luminous ring.

Related: Upward-shooting 'blue jet' lightning spotted from International Space Station

The second blue blob, which can be seen in the top right of the image, is the result of warped light from the moon. The orientation of Earth's natural satellite in relation to the ISS means the light it reflects back from the sun passes straight through the planet's atmosphere, which transforms it into a bright blue blob with a fuzzy halo. This effect is caused by some of the moonlight scattering off tiny particles in Earth's atmosphere, according to Earth Observatory.

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Different colors of visible light have different wavelengths, which affects their interaction with atmospheric particles. Blue light has the shortest wavelength and is therefore the most likely to scatter, which caused the moon to turn blue in this image. The same effect also explains why the sky appears blue during the daytime: because blue wavelengths of sunlight scatter the most and become more visible to the human eye, according to NASA (opens in new tab).

Also visible in the photo is a glowing web of artificial lights coming from Thailand. The other prominent sources of light pollution in the image are emitted from Vietnam and Hainan Island, the southernmost region of China, though these light sources are largely obscured by clouds. The orange halo parallel to the curvature of the Earth is the edge of the atmosphere, which is commonly known as "Earth's limb" when viewed from space, according to Earth Observatory.

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Bizarre blue blobs hover in Earth's atmosphere in stunning astronaut photo. But what are they? - Livescience.com

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLAdopting an affected speech pattern upon reentering Earths atmosphere, an astronaut aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule reportedly returned from the International Space Station with an annoying space accent Monday. He was only in space for, like, nine months, and that is not long enough to pick up an accent, said NASA mission coordinator Sheila Malone, who told reporters how the astronaut now made unnatural guttural sounds when pronouncing certain vowels and was always telling everyone they just had to go to space the first chance they got. Dude, hes from Ohio. He doesnt need to go on and on about how he cant get use to the food here because its not the same as it is in space, or how they have some expression they use aboard the ISS that he cant possibly explain to us because weve never been there and just wouldnt get it. Worst of all, he keeps making a big deal of dropping things while talking about how crazy it is that objects just fall to the ground here, as if gravity were something he hadnt been familiar with his whole life. Its so fucking obnoxious. At press time, sources reported the astronaut was lecturing co-workers on the proper way to pronounce Andromeda.

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Astronaut Returns From ISS With Annoying Space Accent - The Onion

Paul Foulkes observes Ryoji Ikedas audiovisual installation The Universe within the Universe, at Space Explorers: The Infinite immersive experience, which opened at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond on Thursday, Oct. 13. Photo: Salgu Wissmath / The Chronicle

Over the years, Ive posed the same question to different groups of people: If you could fly to the moon at roughly the same cost and level of hassle as traveling to Antarctica today would you?

For me, its a resounding yes. Thats why Im so astonished when so few are as enthused, across a variety of demographics.

Dont you want to see Earth from space? To experience zero gravity? I ask. But most arent persuaded. Some consider it too dangerous; others express no desire to leave Earth.

Space Explorers: The Infinite a new virtual reality experience at the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond might change their minds. With more than 250 hours of footage filmed by astronauts aboard the International Space Station, its an intimate experience, a chance to sit down for a meal elbow-to-elbow at their table. But its also sweeping, giving you a sense of the scale and scope as you orbit Earth, dazzled by the glittering lights of the cities below and the stars beyond.

I visited the experience with my family on Saturday, Oct. 15. At the orientation, the guide advised us against making abrupt gestures, running, screaming, sitting and walking backwards in the exhibition which made me and my husband a tad worried for our spirited 11-year-old twins, Didi and Gege. (The minimum age allowed to participate is 8 years old; tickets are currently available through the end of November; no end date has been announced yet.)

As with any new technology, there were a few glitches with the headsets, but the abundance of employees standing by helped and soon we had lift-off. We could walk around a virtual rendering of the space station through walls and into space and touch glowing spheres that queued up short clips, fascinating slices of life while astronauts narrated: getting a haircut, running on a treadmill, preparing a camera for a spacewalk and tending to mizuna greens.

I didnt realize that astronauts wore socks in lieu of shoes onboard theyd fit in perfectly in an Asian household, where we drop our footwear at the door! or that they wore polo shirts and slacks that give them the look of extremely fit Best Buy clerks.

The headsets were surprisingly comfortable. Afterward, taking them off, I had slight eye strain akin to staring at a monitor without my reading glasses but the discomfort quickly faded. Close captioning is available, and for those whod prefer not to wear headsets and wander, they can access the footage via tablets.

Since Gege is scared of heights, he was at times uneasy, feeling as though he might fall into the limitless black. He most enjoyed when we first donned the headsets and interacted with each other, marveling at the sight of our hands, a golden outline speckled with stars. He and Didi played rock paper scissors with their virtual hands, and he and I hugged, pressing our golden hearts together.

Although Didi found parts of the experience dark and spooky, he liked the puzzle of finding the spheres and touching them.

In high school, my husband watched documentaries about the 20th anniversary of the moon landing. With dreams of becoming an astronaut, he majored in physics at UC Berkeley. He was as excited as I was to try out this virtual flight. It allows people to experience something very few will ever get to in real life, he said.

In January 2019, astronauts aboard the ISS began filming for the experience with cameras that capture footage on all axes and orientations. They learned how use the cameras, put on their microphones and transfer a low-resolution version of the data back to Earth that NASA would clear before passing along to the filmmakers, Flix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphal.

They and their team answered any astronaut questions about the technology, and also discussed potential scenes on creative calls. Their objective: to capture the experience from an astronauts moment of arrival on the space station to departure six months later.

VR filmmaking pushes the boundaries of storytelling.

The Infinite is spatially designed, with users choosing their own adventure as they move through the exhibition.

You connect the dots yourself. No one explores the same content in the same order, Lajeunesse said.

The SD cards with the master files returned to Earth as cargo, but ran the risk of getting lost or damaged. It was quite stressful, he said. Every time the bag of SD cards arrived, fresh from space, it felt like something sacred.

Another VR show, Carne y Arena, also just opened at the Craneway. Directed by Alejandro G. Irritu, its based on the accounts of Central American and Mexican refugees as they cross the desert, who re-enact their harrowing journeys. Participants join a caravan led by a smuggler and encounter the U.S. Border Patrol.

These VR experiences are part of a growing trend in the Bay Area and beyond. At the de Young Museum, Ramses the Great and the Gold of the Pharaohs includes a virtual tour of two monuments, Abu Simbel and Nefertaris Tomb.

At SandboxVR with locations in San Mateo, San Francisco, San Ramon, and Emeryville gamers can battle zombies, defend Earth against aliens, battle on the high seas and explore other worlds.

Facebooks parent, Meta, has bet big on VR. But the number of active users on Horizon Worlds virtual spaces accessed through its headsets has fallen far short of the companys goals, according to news reports. Will the VR fad fizzle or take off?

Maybe the answer is in the stars.

Watching astronauts on a spacewalk was awe-inspiring and moving, as I considered how small they were against the universe, and how long theyd trained to get there. Earth below appeared beautiful and serene.

These days, its a perspective we could all use.

Space Explorers: The Infinite: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday and Friday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday. Through November. $24-$54. Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbour Way, Richmond. theinfiniteexperience.com/Richmond

Carne y Arena: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. WednesdayThursday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Through Jan. 28, 2023. $30-$45. Craneway Pavilion, 1414 Harbour Way, Richmond. phi.ca/en/carne-y-arena/

Vanessa HuaVanessa Hua is the author, most recently, of "Forbidden City." Her column appears Fridays in Datebook.

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New Bay Area attraction takes you on a VR adventure in space. Heres what its like - SF Chronicle Datebook

The Shenzhou XIV crew currently stationed in Chinas space station watched the live broadcast of the opening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and applauded for the countrys ambitious space outlook.

The Shenzhou XIV mission commander Chen Dong said the crew in the space station about 400 kilometers from the surface watched the live broadcast of the opening and they were very excited and felt inspired.

The female taikonaut Liu Yang commented that when she heard about Chinas space exploration plan in the report, she felt inspired and was more proud of their mission in the space station.

Cai Xuzhe said the Mengtian lab will soon be launched into space and they would stay true to their mission, taking careful operation and cooperating with each other to resolutely complete building the space station. Xinhua

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MACAU DAILY TIMES Audience in space applaud for the 20th CPC National Congress report - Macau Daily Times

China's Shenzhou 14 astronauts have been busy testing a new space station module, conducting spacewalks and carrying out experiments but they've also found time to take some spectacular photos.

China's human spaceflight agency, CMSA, released the photographs taken by the astronauts aboard the Tiangong space station during their ongoing mission, which launched June 3.

Images taken by Cmdr. Chen Dong show one of the station's flexible solar arrays against a backdrop of nighttime cities shining from Earth below, and another photo captures the airglow above our planet that results when sunlight interacts with atoms and molecules in Earth's atmosphere.

Related: China's Shenzhou 14 astronauts mark busy 1st month aboard Tiangong space station

Liu Yang, whose previous mission to space back in 2012 made her China's first woman in orbit, also snapped some pictures, including one of a full moon above Earth. Photos taken by Cai Xuzhe on his first trip to space include an image of Hainan island, just off the Chinese mainland, from where the Tiangong modules launched, and a tomato plant sprouting aboard the station.

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Shenzhou 14 is the third crewed mission to Tiangong. During the first, Shenzhou 12, astronauts also returned stunning images.

The Shenzhou 14 crew is scheduled to receive a new visitor later this month, when the third and final module for Tiangong is launched. The Mengtian module will complete the planned T-shaped orbital outpost.

The crewmembers are expected to stay in orbit until sometime in December, when they will welcome the incoming Shenzhou 15 mission astronauts and carry out China's first-ever crew handover.

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China's Shenzhou 14 astronauts snap stunning photos of Earth, the moon and more - Space.com

Elon Musk's SpaceX vehicles have rocketed up to the International Space Station and have deployed Starlink satellites by the dozens with every one of their launches. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has Blue Origin expeditions selling trips to wealthy space travelers and guests including William Shatner of Star Trek fame.

In his new book, Boldly Go: Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder, Shatner wrote that going to space felt like a funeral. The actor went to space with Bezos last October at 90 years old. He said he saw death up in space and famously compared the feeling of grief in space to the glorious treasure of life on earth within the precious atmosphere.

It seemed for a brief moment in time that the space business was the place to be for investors. To be sure, some are doing well. Others are starting to take another look at economic conditions and wondering whether the money and effort should be expended elsewhere.

Perhaps Shatner's gloomy feelings about space foreshadowed an investing trend.

Space Capital, which describes itself as a seed stage venture capital firm investing in the space economy, released a third-quarter report October 18 that describes a downturn in the investment climate around space ventures.

Expectations for Q3 were high, the report states, with hopes that the Fed would tame inflation and investors would get back to deploying capital, neither of which occurred.

Michael Sias, the Space Capital president, said in an e-mail that a risk averse environment has caused the investment volume in space to have fallen significantly more than the broader market.

"In fact, Q3 is one of the lowest quarters for private investment in space over the last five years," he stated.

Total investment year to date saw a steep decline versus last year, although early-stage investments have increased over that same period. Early-stage infrastructure activity was flat compared to last year, while distribution and applications witnessed declines.

"Space Capital expects the macro environment will continue to disproportionately affect funding across deep tech, including space infrastructure," Sias predicts.

Elon Musk's privately held SpaceX moved to raise $1.7 billion over the summer as it continues to spend heavily on its massive Starship and Starlink satellite projects, CNBC reported. The move pushed the valuation of SpaceX to $127 billion, according to the report.

Investors can be irrational and markets tend to overcorrect, Sias wrote.

"What might get lost in the noise is that space technologies are playing an increasingly important role in the global economy," he explains. "Additionally, the space economy is both countercyclical and resilient to macro market conditions (despite volatile stock prices), as demonstrated by the record revenues for remote sensing companies."

Remote sensing refers to the acquiring of information from a distance. For example, NASA observes our planet and others with remote sensors on satellites.

"Space companies providing data, insights, and critical services to enterprises and governments will be better positioned to grow revenues in the near-term and have a higher likelihood of raising large growth rounds in a more selective market environment," Sias says.

"Anecdotally," he continues, "from the front lines, valuations are normalizing and we are beginning to see deal activity ramp up."

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Musk and Bezos Aside, Space Sector Investment Comes Back to Earth - TheStreet

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Harnessing bioengineered microbes as a versatile platform for space nutrition - Nature.com

The International Space Station flies into an orbital sunrise 261 miles above the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of northwestern Spain.

Space botany and eye checks were at the top of the research schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. Life support system upgrades also continued during the middle of the week for the Expedition 67 crew members.

Understanding how plants and humans are affected by long-term exposure to microgravity is key to prolonging mission success beyond low Earth orbit and to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. NASA and its international partners are learning how crews can sustain themselves independently of ground support for longer periods of time.

Growing vegetables on space missions is critical so astronauts can feed themselves without the support of cargo missions regularly launching from Earth to replenish crews. The XROOTS space agriculture study does not use soil and is exploring growing radishes and mizuna greens on the station using hydroponic and aeroponic methods. Today, NASA Flight Engineer Kjell Lindgren recirculated fluids for the botany experiment and checked the condition of the growing plants. The study takes place inside the Columbus laboratory module and may inform ways to grow crops on larger scales during missions farther away from Earth.

Lindgren later assisted his fellow astronauts Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins of NASA, including Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA (European Space Agency), as they wrapped up two days of life support system upgrades. The quartet moved the oxygen generation system (OGS) rack from the Tranquility module to the U.S. Destiny laboratory module, then moved the Life Support Rack (LSR) from the Harmony module to Tranquility. The foursome finished rack power and data cable connections as well as fluid umbilical installations. The LSR is demonstrating capturing carbon dioxide from the cabin air and recovering 50% of its oxygen for crew use. New sensors are also being tested to detect hydrogen and protect the OGS rack.

The orbiting labs three cosmonauts from Roscosmos began and ended their day with eye checks. Commander Oleg Artemyev and Flight Engineers Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov took turns in the morning scanning each others eyes using the Ultrasound 2 device, part of the stations Human Research Facility-1. In the afternoon, Korsakov took charge as Crew Medical Officer and used medical imaging gear to picture Matveevs retinas. The eye exams help doctors understand how weightlessness affects vision and the shape of the eye. The trio then spent the rest of the day stowing spacewalk tools, working on life support and electrical systems, and analyzing the Zvezda service modules atmosphere.

Learn more about station activities by following thespace station blog,@space_stationand@ISS_Researchon Twitter, as well as theISS FacebookandISS Instagramaccounts.

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Space Agriculture and Eye Checks Promoting Healthy Crews - NASA Blogs

The International Space Station captured this amazingly stunning time-lapse video of an aurora, which was witnessed from above rather than below after a powerful solar storm slammed the Earth's atmosphere, as reported first by Futurism.

Even though this display is not a rare sighting, it remains to be a delight in the eyes. In the time-lapse video, NASA's space station passes over the Indian Ocean while the Moon rises in the distance like a huge beacon of light hidden behind the Canadarm2 robotic arm.

The planet is blasted by highly charged particles as the Sun enters the most chaotic phase of its 11-year cycle. These particles collide with our planet's magnetosphere and release energy in the shape of light.

Astronauts may occasionally find themselves flying directly through the aurora itself since some of these auroras take place at an altitude that is similar to that of the ISS.

"Absolutely SPECTACULAR aurora today!!! Thankful for the recent solar activity resulting in these wonderful sights!" NASA astronaut Bob Hines, who was on board the space station at the time, said in atweet.

According to NASA, in a recent Instagram post, when solar particles interact with air oxygen they produce the vivid red and green hues shown in this photograph. On the other hand, if these same particles strike nitrogen in our atmosphere, the sky will light blue and purple.

Read Also: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Snaps A Perfect Shot of an 'Einstein Ring'

NASA's Parker Solar Probehas recently zipped past the Sun, opening a plethora of research about the Sun that scientists could conduct in the future.

This perihelion occurs at a time when the Sun has been extremely active, with a Sunspot the size of Earth and recent geomagnetic storms and solar flare eruptions.

Hence, scientists are anticipating more solar activities to come such as the aurora display that the ISS has witnessed.

When Parker was launched in 2018, the Sun was at solar minimum, an inactive phase of the 11-year solar cycle. The Sun, however, is already more active than scientists had estimated, and activity is quickly returning to solar maximum, which is anticipated to happen in 2025.

Related Article: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Sets Historic Milestone With First-Ever Image of an Exoplanet

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NASA Captures A Gorgeous Display of Auroras Aboard the International Space Station - Tech Times

The Russian lab aboard the International Space Station (ISS) used a tissue-making 3D printer to print a little beef in 2019.

Didier Toubia, the head of the Israeli startup Aleph Farms which provided cells for the tests, said that the technology can help make long-term travel possible and renew space exploration, to far-away places such as Mars. However, he added that the companys main goal is to provide such animal-free meat to markets on Earth, and that it is just a matter of time before these products arrive in supermarkets.

The idea is not to replace traditional agriculture, Toubia says. Its about being a better alternative to factory farming.

Mark Post, a Dutch scientist from Maastricht University, created and presented the first cow-stem-cell-derived burger in 2013. Since then, there has been quite a lot of interest from both industry and consumers to bring lab-grown meat to the market. However, production costs are still high, which prevented such products from hitting shelves near you. Nevertheless, as research progresses and production is scaled, the price of lab-grown meat could soon become competitive.

While were still debating what to call these products laboratory, artificial, cell-based, or cultivated meat have all been proposed the public has been invited to taste them and provide feedback. This would suggest that commercialization, at least on a small scale, of this type of meat, is not far away. At first, cost is still going to be a limiting factor and these products will likely only fill a niche role. However, industry estimates say that lab-grown meat at reasonable prices could hit supermarket shelves in 5 to 20 years.

But thats all happening down here; what about in space? Israeli startup Aleph Farms has partnered with several 3D printing companies to conduct an experiment on the ISS. The end result, they say, is the first-ever case of synthetic meat produced in space.

Their method mimics natural tissue-regeneration processes, the company explains. This is intended to reproduce the structure and texture of beef, to produce a piece of meat that feels more realistic. However, this has proven challenging on Earth; Aleph Farms hopes that the space-borne experiment can help guide further development on the planet.

Russia-based 3D Bioprinting Solutions provided the printer for the experiment carried out in the Russian lab onboard the ISS. US-based Meal Source Technologies and Finless Foods also took part in the experiment. The bio-ink used is a mixture of animal cells and growth factors. In space, the process has the potential to be much faster since the ink can grow in all directions and doesnt need a support structure (a lattice is needed on Earth).

While Aleph Farms cant yet 3D-print meat at competitive prices, the cost of launching things to space is very high. It would make sense then to give astronauts a way to produce at least some of their meat on board. It would help reduce logistics costs, free up storage space, and enable longer missions.

Laboratory-grown meat can help us reduce the environmental burden of our agriculture, as it uses far less water and land than traditional farms. It also means fewer cows in farms and slaughterhouses. However, there is still some debate on where the increased use of energy would affect its real environmental impact, and on issues related to the nutrition of the resulting product.

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That time astronauts on the International Space Station printed beef in space - ZME Science

September 1, 2022 By Amy Thompson, Staff Writer

This piece is part of our ISS360 series highlighting the 2022 International Space Station Research and Development Conference.

The unique conditions on the International Space Station (ISS) allow companies to create products in space that cannot be realized on Earth or that could be superior to their terrestrial counterparts. In a panel session at the 2022 ISS Research and Development Conference (ISSRDC), industry leaders discussed how the orbiting laboratory can provide valuable benefits for in-space production applications such as tissue engineering, advanced materials production and characterization, and therapeutic development.

The past 10 years of the ISS were the decade of utilization, where NASA, its partner agencies, and the ISS National Laboratory were learning how best to use this powerful platform in low Earth orbit. Now, in this next decade, were seeing the benefits of all the experiments that have been carried out onboard.

We are living in an exciting era on the ISS, said Ken Shields, director of business development at Sierra Space, during the panel session. As we begin to transition from government control to commercial, we are starting to see new capabilities that weve never seen before.

Shields says that were on the cusp of something incredibly exciting: the next great industrial revolution, only this time its in space. Through the ISS, companies and research institutions will be able to make advancements in technology, robotics, and even artificial intelligence. In the not-too-distant future, we will see a transition from one space station to multiple, commercially run space stations that will act as mini space factories, manufacturing new products ranging from medicine to new materials and maybe one day organs for transplant.

This is truly an exciting time in space, said John Vellinger, executive vice president of in-space manufacturing & operations at Redwire, during the panel session. Weve worked really hard to get to the point where were working to turn our research into products.

According to Vellinger, Redwire was able to leverage the ISS to create an industrial protein crystal for use in optics and other industries that is superior to the crystals grown on the ground. This is one of the first examples of how the space station can be used to create products for Earth-based industry.

During the panel, Paula Grisanti, CEO of the National Stem Cell Foundation, discussed the value of doing research in space to better understand degenerative brain disorders. Using organoids derived from the donated stem cells of patients with Parkinsons disease, Grisanti and others hope to be able to understand what is happening to the brain.

In space you can actually see the cells talking to each other and interacting in ways that are not possible on Earth, Grisanti said during the panel. We are hoping to be able to identify the point at which that conversation goes south, and you could intervene with a new drug or cell therapy that would halt the progression of these types of degenerative diseases.

A recording of the full panel session is now available. ISSRDC is an annual conference hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS), manager of the ISS National Laboratory; NASA; and the American Astronautical Society (AAS). For more information on research sponsored by the ISS National Lab, visit our website.

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In-Space Production Applications on the ISS - ISS National Lab

Valerie Moore, a senior studying mechanical engineering, holds up the first prototype of her research teams zero-gravity turbulent flow facility, which has been selected as one of a handful of projects to make a journey into space on the International Space Station.

Article by Maddy Lauria Photos courtesy of Tyler Van Buren and NASA | Photo illustration by Joy Smoker September 01, 2022

The International Space Station isnt just for astronauts exploring the great beyond. It also offers an opportunity for scientists of all ages and disciplines to test the limits of their research, if theyre able to propose a project worthy of the 200-plus-mile trek into space.

A small team of researchers from the University of Delawares College of Engineering, largely students, will soon be among the lucky few to send their own ideas to the ISS to further their research on how particles move in turbulence.

Ive always been interested in space, so its really cool to come onto a project that will hopefully be going to the ISS, said lead student researcher Valerie Moore, a senior studying mechanical engineering.

UD is one of five universities selected to receive $100,000 in grant funding through the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations (NASA) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) for an experiment to be conducted on the ISS.

Each of these projects has the potential to contribute to critical innovations in human spaceflight on the International Space Station and beyond, NASA EPSCoR Project Manager Jeppie Compton said in a press release. Were very impressed with the ideas put forward in these investigation concepts and look forward to seeing how these technologies perform.

Evan Battaglia, a recent electrical engineering graduate, solders critical motor components and control systems to autonomously drive the von Karman flow facility, named in part for the aerospace engineer Theodore Von Krmn, who used math to study fluid flow.

Since Spring 2022, several undergraduate engineering students, led by Department of Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Tyler Van Buren, spent months designing a device that will fit within a CubeSat that will be sent to the ISS, where it will collect information about how turbulence affects particles in a zero-gravity environment. A cubesat is a small (100-by-100-by-300 millimeters), rectangular compartment that holds experiments like theirs like a suitcase of science headed for space.

Things on Earth that want to sink or rise really fast, in space, theyll stay put, Van Buren said, adding that their experiment will require no intervention or assistance from astronauts. The goal is it would go up, plug in, run un-crewed and wed get status updates.

The datasets theyre hoping to collect with their small zero-gravity turbulent flow facility are impossible to get on Earth, but are necessary to confirm Earth-based simulations exploring turbulence in fluid mechanics.

Think about swimming somewhere shallow, close to the bottom of the waterway, and how the kicks of a flipper or in the case of a fish, fins kick up particles. Researchers would like to know how particle sizes interact or suspend.

This kind of fills that gap where we start to understand how particles impact the fluid flow without worrying about the gravity being involved, Van Buren said.

The rotor for the zero-gravity turbulent flow facility prints on a Prusa 3D printer.

Basically, explained Moore, their device is made of two cubes, each with a cylinder cut out of the center. The ends can spin in opposite directions to create the flow the researchers need, and eventually they will put liquid, bubbles and both heavy and light sediment inside. Theyre utilizing something known in mechanical engineering as the Von Krmn flow, named for the aerospace engineer Theodore Von Krmn, who used math to study fluid flow and eventually helpd found the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. More informally known as the French washing machine, to create the turbulence needed to study how their materials react.

In between the two cubes is a data collection brain, explained Van Buren. The set-up also includes cameras that are used to record the flow.

Because the device houses water albeit purified, deionized water, which is less conductive and safer than regular old H2O mechanisms are needed to ensure the water stays put without human interference. Their hands-off experiment may have given them an advantage in gaining NASAs approval for the idea, but they also have to make sure that it doesnt break when met with the strong G-Forces that come during a rocket launch.

Joining the project team as a junior allowed Moore to learn such complex concepts that she hadnt even encountered in her studies yet.

Recent mechanical engineering graduate Hannah Wiswell works on the zero-gravity turbulent flow facilitys fluid subsystem with a custom designed magnetic torque transmission.

I didnt take fluids yet, so it was really cool to go into class and already know what theyre talking about, she said. Van Buren said the project wouldnt exist without Moores work.

While Moore handles the fluid mechanics side of their work, honors electrical engineering student Evan Battaglia, who graduated in spring 2022 and is headed to Columbia University for graduate studies this fall, helped drive the programming. For the small facility to work, it needs a control system for the moving parts, for when researchers need motors to spin on lights to turn on. That will be controlled by Arduino technology. Then theres the brain on the system, which is a Raspberry Pi miniaturized computer-on-a-chip (and definitely not the dessert) that allows the researchers to collect data and categorize it as needed.

These electronic devices, each with their own particular features and capabilities, will be the part of the experiment that handles instructions from operators, collects data and runs the cameras during the six months the device is in space. During that time, Van Buren said they will likely collect more than 10 terabytes of data. Theyre working with NASA to determine how theyll retrieve the data either through transmission from space or by having a small component, such as the hard drive, sent back to Earth once the mission is completed.

In summer 2022, Van Buren and recent honors mechanical engineering graduate Hannah Wiswell were the only members of the team actively working. Over the summer, Wiswell who dreams of becoming an astronaut herself worked on all of the subsystems of the device, from the motors that drive the rotating flow to image processing to the particles themselves.

Im more of an interim editor, swooping in to help, she said, noting that she didnt know shed be working on a project at UD that will someday soon go to space. Its crazy that you could be doing something so small that could have such a giant impact. Im incredibly happy to be here.

When Wiswell leaves for Princeton to pursue a doctorate in mechanical and aerospace engineering in the fall, Moore and a new team of students will step back in to take over the final year of designing the device.

As the school year gets underway, another small group of senior engineering students will be handling the thermal management, including 3-D printing the frame for their device out of flame-resistant material for their senior capstone project. Meanwhile, the team is planning an outreach effort with the Early Learning Center in Newark, where young children could learn the basics of fluid dynamics (more simply, flow, mixing and what a liquid is) and possibly even contribute a small note to be sent into space along with the experiment.

If all goes well, the device should be in working condition by the end of Summer 2023. Then it has to go through NASAs safety testing before it can be approved for space travel. It will likely take at least another year (or more) until their device is approved to exit Earths atmosphere.

Once its ready, then you get in line for a flight, Van Buren said. We could learn a lot about a very difficult problem, and this project can also just help bring eyes to fluid mechanics in general.

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Experiments in space | UDaily - UDaily

The seven members of the Expedition 67 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) had yet another action-packed month in August 2022. From spacewalks to research to cargo vehicle departures, the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory and mission teams back on Earth stayed busy.

Expeditions are long-duration, research-based astronaut missions aboard the ISS. Each Expedition lasts around six months, typically beginning and ending with Russian crew rotations. Expedition 67 began in March upon the departure of the Soyuz MS-19 crew and is planned to continue until the Soyuz MS-21 crew departs the station in September. The seven international crew members of Expedition 67 come from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and Roscosmos.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov arrived at the ISS aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft in March, with Artemyev assuming command of the ISS and Expedition 67 in May when Thomas Marshburn returned to Earth with the SpaceX Crew-3 mission. NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti arrived at the ISS in April aboard Crew Dragon Freedomas part of the SpaceX Crew-4 mission.

The crew kicked off August by performing health tests, preparing experiments, and transferring cargo. On August 1, Watkins and Hines worked to adjust the plant growth chamber aboard the ISS, which monitors vegetables grown in microgravity aboard the ISS. Meanwhile, Lindgren retrieved cargo items and took images with them for outreach purposes.

Cristoforetti collected air samples for the ANITA-2 (Analyzing Interferometer for Ambient Air-2) device and was later joined by Lindgren to prepare the Rodent Research-22 experiment. Cristoforetti and the other NASA astronauts also completed remotely-guided eye exams. The three Roscosmos astronauts exercised using the advanced resistive exercise device (ARED), VELO ergometer bike, and Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS) devices.

The Expedition 67 crew. (Credit: NASA)

The experiment preparations and science sample collections continued on August 2, with Hines setting up and photographing the Genes in Space-9 experiment and Watkins collecting samples of carbon dioxide from the Thermal Amine Scrubber.

Cristoforetti also joined in on the science fun as she prepared the Biofilms-2 experiment, which characterizes the mass, thickness, structure, and associated gene expression of biofilms that are formed in space by analyzing fungal species that are grown on different materials. Lindgren changed the media inside the Life Sciences Glovebox for specific samples. ISS commander Artemyev tested a 3D printer while Korsakov and Matveev took microbial samples from various areas aboard the ISS.

On August 3, Lindgren worked to set up the free-flying Astrobee robots for a student robot competition. Hines continued his work with the Genes in Space-9 study by preparing and photographing sample returns from the experiment, which aims to evaluate how cell-free technology could be used in microgravity environments. Watkins also continued to purge and take samples of carbon dioxide from the ISS using the Thermal Amine Scrubber.

Cristoforetti spent the day talking with students before transferring cargo from the SpaceX CRS-25 Cargo Dragon vehicle with Watkins. Roscosmos Artemyev and Matveev located, photographed, and stored equipment and tools. Meanwhile, Korsakov performed regular station maintenance.

August 4 saw the Expedition 67 crew perform installations and inspections, as well as complete training exercises. Watkins prepared a drain for an installed recycling tank for the stations Environmental Control and Life Support System and made configurations for the Plant Habitat Facility. Hines worked with the Cerebral Autoregulation investigation, which assesses how the human brain regulates blood flow in microgravity environments.

Lindgren performed a photo survey of fasteners on the ISSs airlock close-out panel and later worked to reconnect parts and inspect a leak for the Solid Combustion Experiment Module.

Cristoforetti focused on the Ring Sheared Drop investigation, installing a sample into the hardware being used for the experiment. Artemyev and Matveev staged spacewalk equipment and tools while Korsakov photographed microbial samples.

At the end of the day on August 4, the entire Expedition 67 crew gathered together to train on how to respond to an emergency aboard the ISS. The crew used a simulator to practice communication skills, execute procedures, and make smart decisions in the event of an emergency.

Bob Hines works on the Genes in Space-9 experiment. (Credit: NASA)

The crew wrapped up their first week of August on August 5, with Hines scrubbing cooling loops and reconfiguring loop scrub hardware for EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) spacesuits. Lindgren and Cristoforetti removed and stored sample carries for various experiments. Lindgren later joined Watkins and continued packing the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon in preparation for its undocking. The three Roscosmos cosmonauts mainly performed and completed basic maintenance on the Russian segment of the ISS.

After taking the weekend to rest, the Expedition 67 crew got back to work on Monday, August 8. Hines and Cristoforetti cleaned hardware and samples for the Rodent Research-22 experiment, which aims to explore the ways skin heals in space. Hines later installed seed cartridges and root modules in the XROOTS space agriculture study. Lindgren opened the airlock in the Japanese Kibo laboratory module and installed small-satellite deployer hardware on an external science platform, which will release small satellites once deployed outside of Kibo.

Watkins connected cables in the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR), a research rack, and assisted Lindgren with installing a barrier on the Quest Airlocks vent relief and isolation valve. Cosmonauts Artemyev and Matveev serviced a pair of Russian Orlan spacesuits while Korsakov performed maintenance and inspections in the Nauka and Zvezda modules.

August 9 would see Lindgren and Hines work with a slew of experiments studying the benefits of humans living both on and off Earth, with Lindgren investigating how our immune systems age in microgravity and Hines working to swap carbon dioxide bottles and filters inside the ISSs Plant Habitat facility. Watkins and Cristoforetti worked together to swap cargo inside the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon. After transferring cargo, Watkins processed samples for the Rodent Research-22 study while Cristoforetti tested a vest designed to transmit health data wirelessly. Commander Artemyev and Matveev continued maintenance on the Russian Orlan spacesuits. Korsakov, meanwhile, continued to work on ventilation in Nauka and Zvezda and later imaged microbe samples.

On August 10, Watkins investigated how the human immune system ages in space by looking at tissue stem cells through a microscope in the ISSs Destiny module and would later move to the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon to continue readying the spacecraft for its departure and return to Earth later in the month. Lindgren installed a full small satellite deployer instrument onto an external science platform inside the Kibo modules airlock, where it was later moved into space for deployments.

Cristoforetti studied the dynamics of several materials in microgravity specifically foams, droplets, and granular materials and what implications they present for future planetary travel. Hines transferred U.S. EVA equipment to the stations Russian segment and later serviced hardware for the Ring Sheared Drop experiment. Artemyev and Matveev installed the U.S. EVA equipment onto the Russian Orlan suits while Korsakov concentrated on network cable connections in Nauka and Zvezda.

Jessica Watkins prepares cell samples for viewing under a microscope. (Credit: NASA)

Preparations for an upcoming spacewalk continued on August 11 as Artemyev and Matveev continued to service the Russian Orlan spacesuits and prepare necessary tools and the Poisk module airlock for their journey outside the ISS. Korsakov, who will assist his fellow cosmonauts during the spacewalk from inside the ISS, configured the European robotic arm (ERA) the new robotic arm that will be used to move payloads and equipment outside the Russian segment of the ISS. Meanwhile, Lindgren prepared hardware in the Life Science Glovebox for the Rodent Research-22 study, Hines inspected seeds and fluids in the XROOTS experiment, Watkins worked on orbital plumbing in the Unity module, and Cristoforetti serviced research gear and swapped components on a microscope. Additionally, Hines and Watkins drew blood samples while Cristoforetti continued departure preparations for the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon.

As the second week of August drew to a close, the Expedition 67 crew continued tending to experiments and preparing for spacewalks and spacecraft departures. Friday would see the four Crew-4 astronauts gather together to practice surgical techniques to heal wounds in microgravity. Following this, the four astronauts worked to gather and transfer frozen science samples from science freezers to the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon spacecraft. Whats more, Watkins and Cristoforetti collected blood samples to store in a freezer, Lindgren investigated the usefulness of the Butterfly IQ Ultrasound device, and Hines completed orbital plumbing tasks and spacewalk gear inspections. Roscosmos Artemyev and Matveev tried on their spacesuits, checked for leaks, tested equipment, and practiced movements. Korsakov assisted his Russian crewmates during their EVA preparations and dry run.

Following a weekend break, mission managers met and gave the go for Artemyev and Matveev to exit the ISS to configure the ERA, which will operate outside the Russian segment of the ISS. On August 15, Russian cosmonauts Artemyev, Matveev, and Korsakov continued to prepare for the spacewalk, with Korsakov managing to fit in some ventilation maintenance work in Nauka and research on exercise techniques that will help astronauts maintain physical fitness in microgravity.

Meanwhile, in the U.S. segment of the ISS, Watkins and Cristoforetti continued to pack the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon with station gear and experiments planned to return to Earth with the spacecraft. Lindgren and Hines worked with experiments that focus on improving human health in space and on Earth, with Lindgren preparing tissue stem cell samples in the Life Science Glovebox and Hines working with the Rodent Research-22 study.

Lindgren processes samples in the Life Science Glovebox. (Credit: NASA)

August 16 would see mission managers give the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon the go to depart the ISS later in the week. Lindgren and Watkins kicked the day off by working with experiments in the Life Science Glovebox in the Japanese Kibo module, with Hines and Cristoforetti taking their place later in the day. Whats more, all four Expedition 67 astronauts would take turns investigating how microgravity environments and spaceflight conditions (weightlessness, radiation, etc.) affect the genetic expressions that drive the human bodys healing process. The experiment, the Rodent Research-22 study, was later packed up and placed inside the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon the following day to return to Earth. As the astronauts were tending to experiments, the Russian cosmonauts continued to prepare for their upcoming spacewalk, the seventh of the year, by finalizing task lists and spacesuit checks.

Commander Artemyev and Matveev officially exited the ISS at 13:53 UTC the following day on August 17, beginning the planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk to continue the configuration of the ERA robotic arm. The goals of the EVA were to install cameras on the ERA, relocate an external control panel for the arm, remove launch restraints, and test a mechanism that will be used to facilitate the grasping of objects.

However, approximately four hours into the spacewalk, Roscosmos Mission Control in Moscow, Russia instructed Artemyev and Matveev to return to the Poisk airlock due to Artemyevs spacesuit showing abnormal battery reading ending the spacewalk early. Before being instructed to return to the ISS early, the cosmonauts were able to install the two cameras onto the ERA. Fortunately, the Russian duo was never in any danger during the excursion, and the ERA was placed into a safe configuration by Korsakov inside the ISS.

Furthermore, the departure of the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon spacecraft, at the time scheduled for August 18, was delayed by a day due to unfavorable weather conditions at splashdown sites off the coast of the United States. With the delay in the departure of Cargo Dragon, the four Expedition 67 astronauts continued to pack the vehicle with research samples and other science experiments until the hatch was closed Friday morning. Additionally, on August 18, the three Russian cosmonauts continued working through post-EVA tasks, such as removing components and tools from the Russian Orlan spacesuit.

Artemyev and Matveev work outside the ISS in April. (Credit: NASA)

At 15:00 UTC on August 19, flight controllers sent commands to the ISS and the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon to release the spacecraft from the forward-facing docking port of the stations Harmony module. Cargo Dragon was released from the ISS at 15:05 UTC, packed with more than 4,000 pounds of science samples, station equipment, and other materials. The following day, Saturday, August 20, the CRS-25 Cargo Dragon successfully splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cape Canaveral, Florida at 18:53 UTC.

After taking a well-deserved break from spacewalks and spacecraft departures, the Expedition 67 crew jumped back into doing their daily tasks on August 22. The four Expedition 67 astronauts (Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti) spent the majority of the day practicing surgical techniques for how to heal wounds in microgravity providing advanced skin healing therapies that can be used both in space and on Earth.

Afterward, Lindgren and Cristoforetti worked to set up an AstroPi science computer in the Harmony module, which will allow European students to take imagery of the Earth. Watkins also helped Lindgren and Cristoforetti by recording videos of the AstroPi activities. Hines performed a routine checkup on the XROOTS botany experiment by checking on the plants being grown and checking fluid levels in the hardware.

Cosmonauts Artemyev and Matveev continued with their post-EVA duties before researching how weightlessness affects blood circulation throughout the body. Korsakov participated in the cardiac research as well, and would later join forces with Artemyev to study how to pilot spacecraft and robots on future space missions.

Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti would get together again the following day, Tuesday, August 23, in the Japanese Kibo module to continue their study into surgical techniques that can be used to heal wounds in space. Following the completion of the medical research on Tuesday, Lindgren reviewed procedures for a night photography session using the newly-installed AstroPi computer in the Harmony module, which aims to inspire and guide European students toward science, technology, engineering, and math careers.

Commander Artemyev worked on several experiments on Tuesday, investigating space exercise methods, photography using ultrasound sensors, and the human digestive system in space. Matveev performed maintenance on power systems in the Russian Zarya module and checked radiation detectors. Korsakov analyzed urine samples and collected air samples from the Russian Zvezda, Poisk, and Nauka modules.

The surgical techniques studied continued on August 24, with Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforettie learning how to perform biopsies, suture splints, and wound dressings, all inside of the Life Science Glovebox in the ISSs Kibo module. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that occur during tissue regeneration in a microgravity environment can offer advanced therapies and insights into how advanced skin aging in space affects an astronauts healing capabilities.

Whats more, NASAs three Expedition 67 astronauts Lindgren, Hines, and Watkins practiced robotically capturing a spacecraft via a simulation for the Behavioral Core Measures study, which aims to understand how astronauts will perform in stressful situations, such as capturing a spacecraft from orbit. Roscosmos cosmonauts Artemyev and Matveev investigated how microgravity affects the digestive system of humans by taking ultrasound scans of their digestive systems. Korsakov spent Wednesday tinkering with the ERA arm, which is attached to the Russian Nauka module.

Cristoforetti swaps research samples inside the Soft Matter Dynamics experiment. (Credit: NASA)

Furthermore, the ISS received an orbital boost on Wednesday night from the Russian Progress 81 cargo spacecraft, which is docked at the Zvezda modules aft port. This orbital boost was conducted in preparation for upcoming crew and cargo spacecraft that are expected to visit the ISS in September.

On August 25, Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti continued their medical research on how skin heals in microgravity in the Life Science Glovebox in the Japanese Kibo module. Meanwhile, station commander Artemyev and flight engineer Matveev continued to research how zero-gravity environments, like space, affect the human digestive system by performing ultrasound scans of their digestive system. Their Russian colleague, Korsakov, participated in an ear, nose, and throat study, later moving to learn how to communicate with international crews and ground controllers better.

The week drew to a close on August 26, and much of the same research and everyday tasks the Expedition 67 crew had worked on all week were done on Friday. Flight engineers Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti continued their medical research on how wounds heal in microgravity environments. As it had been done all week, the medical research was performed in the Life Science Glovebox in the stations Japanese Kibo module. Cosmonauts Artemyev, Matveev, and Korsakov began reviewing procedures for another spacewalk that would continue their work on configuring and setting up the new ERA robotic arm on the Russian segment of the station.

The Expedition 67 crew kicked off the final week of the month on August 29 with research and spacewalk preps. Lindgren and Hines started the day by collecting muscle measurements in the stations European Columbus module to understand how weightlessness affects muscle tone, body stiffness, and body elasticity, allowing doctors to develop more effective space fitness strategies. After completing their measurements in Columbus, Lindgren collected and stored urine samples while Hines moved over to the Kibo module and joined Watkins and Cristoforetti in continuing to research how wounds heal in space. Artemyev and Matveev continued to prepare their Orlan spacesuits and equipment for a spacewalk while Korsakov performed maintenance in Nauka.

Bob Hines replaces a carbon dioxide bottle inside the Plant Habitat Facility. (Credit: NASA)

NASAs three flight engineers, Lindgren, Hines, and Watkins, took turns scanning one anothers veins in their necks, shoulders, and legs in the Columbus module on Tuesday, August 30. After collecting the ultrasound imagery, Lindgren gathered his blood samples and spun them in a centrifuge for the Phospho-aging study, which aims to understand accelerated bone loss and muscle atrophy caused by space.

Cristoforetti drew her blood samples before swapping samples inside the Electrostatic Levitation Furnace high-temperature research facility. Additionally, Cristoforetti and Watkins serviced a U.S. spacesuit in the Quest airlock before cleaning cooling loops. Hines charged and updated computer devices around the station on Friday while Artemyev and Matveev inspected and activated their Orlan EVA spacesuits. Korsakov maintained electronic systems and other life support hardware in the Russian segment of the ISS.

The final day of August saw the crew continue to conduct research and preparations for future station events. Lindgren and Watkins, with assistance from Hines and Cristoforetti, continued researching how wounds heal in microgravity environments in the Japanese Kibo module. When not assisting Lindgren or Watkins, Hines worked in the European Columbus module on the XROOTS botany study by mixing nutrient solutions and recirculating fluids to the plants and vegetables in the experiment. Cristoforetti performed station maintenance by completing light plumbing tasks and checking fire extinguishers around the ISS. Cosmonauts Artemyev and Matveev continued to prepare and study for their spacewalk while Korsakov maintained laptop computers and other systems in the Russian segment of the ISS.

Assuming all goes to plan, August should have been the final month of the Expedition 67 mission. Both Crew-4 and Soyuz MS-21 crews are expected to depart the station following the arrival of the Crew-5 and Soyuz MS-22 crews in mid-September.

(Lead image: the International Space Station in November 2021. Credit: ESA/NASA/Thomas Pesquet)

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Research, spacewalks, and maintenance: Expedition 67's final month aboard the ISS - NASASpaceFlight.com - NASASpaceflight.com

Scanning electron micrograph of cultured human neuron from induced pluripotent stem cell. Photo via Mark Ellisman and Thomas Deerinck, National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research, UC San Diego

UC San Diego will use the largest single gift in its history to fund an institute tasked with expanding stem cell research and regenerative medicine, it was announced Tuesday.

The $150 million gift from businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford follows up on his $100 million gift in 2013, which established UCSD as a leader in developing and delivering the therapeutic promise of human stem cells.

The special cells have the ability to develop into many different cell types which, when modified and repurposed, have the potential to treat, remedy or cure a vast array of conditions and diseases.

Dennys previous generosity spurred discoveries in stem cell research and medicine at UC San Diego that are already benefiting countless patients around the world, Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said. His most recent gift adds to our portfolio of stem cell research conducted in Earths orbit that will help us better understand the progression of cancer cells and aging.

New programs to be established at the UCSD Sanford Stem Cell Institute aboard the International Space Station include:

We are thrilled to announce the establishment of the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute with Denny Sanfords generous support, said Dr. Catriona Jamieson, who will direct the institute. This will allow us to keep pace with the growing need for regenerative and stem-cell based therapies and accelerate translational stem cell research and discoveries that will transform human health for years to come.

According to the university, exposure to radiation and microgravity in low-Earth orbit can simulate and speed up aging in stem cells, as well as their transformation into cancer cells. Space-related research may have applications that create better treatments for various cancers and diseases on Earth, including blood cancers, as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons.

This investment enables the team to dream beyond what is possible, Sanford said. The sky is no longer the limit.

In addition to his investment to create the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UCSD Health in 2013, Sanfords gifts established the T. Denny Sanford Institute for Empathy and Compassion in 2019, which focuses on research into the neurological basis of compassion, with application toward developing compassion and empathy-focused training for future generations of medical professionals, the university said.

He also recently made a $5 million gift to support the Epstein Family Alzheimers Research Collaboration, a partnership between UCSD and the University of Southern California to spark collaborative efforts to discover effective therapies for Alzheimers disease.

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Largest Gift in UCSD History to Fund Stem Cell Research on Space Station - Times of San Diego

"This is Sierra 21 Romeo Charlie, from Bangladesh. Do you copy? Over."

"I copy Bangladesh. This is the International Space Station, this is Yury."

This is part of a short conversation between a Bangladeshi youth Fazlay Rabby and Russian cosmonaut Yury Lonchakov. This communication took place in 2009 between the two over a VHF (very high frequency) radio while the cosmonaut was circling the planet Earth at a speed of 27,000 km/hour onboard the International Space Station (ISS), and Fazlay Rabby was in his residence at Bhuter Goli in Dhaka.

Isn't it exciting?

Most of the astronauts (US trained) and cosmonauts (Russian trained) aboard the ISS have amateur radio licences, and they use the station's ham radio to contact amateur radio stations on ground in their free time.

Fazlay Rabby, who is also an amateur radio operator, has been pursuing this hobby for more than two decades now.

Amateur radio, or ham radio, is the use of two-way radio equipment for various purposes such as private recreation, non-commercial communication, wireless experimentation and emergency communication.

In an interview with The Business Standard, Rabby shared his story, described how this century-old hobby survived in the age of internet and mobile phones, and how someone new can start practising it.

"Since my childhood, making electronics has been one of my hobbies. In 1997, in a scout camp in Sylhet, I first saw an amateur radio station, and I was fascinated. While I often dreamt of making a wireless transmitter and communicating with friends like Kishore, Musa and Robin [from Tin Goyenda] did, those guys with amateur radios were talking to the world with their own personal wireless sets," reminisced Rabby.

"In 1997, I came to Dhaka for higher studies and later in 1999 I found that the same person, Manju Haque (call sign S21AM), who was operating that station in Sylhet almost two years back. He mentored me in his lab at Lalmatia. I sat for an exam in 2000 and got my ham radio licence the same year. At that time, the former BTTB (Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board) was the authority issuing licence from their Tejgaon office," Rabby added.

The hobby

There are multiple branches of ham radio that the hobbyists can pursue: some only converse with others for longer time (called 'rag chewing' in ham radio parlance), some focus on trying to communicate with another ham radio operator who is in distant places around the world (called Dxing), some pursue new technical challenges like making Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite and launch it with the help of universities and space agencies like NASA and ESA. And there are even some who use the moon as a reflector to bounce their signal to be received by another operator sitting on the other side of the world.

"There are some other popular and internationally recognised activities such as Dx-expedition, Islands On The Air (IOTA) etc. In the latter case, solo operators or groups of operators set up amateur radio stations in a remote island. In Bangladesh, I did IOTA from St Martin's Island (2009), Char Kukri (2021) and am planning to do it in Dhal Char this year," said Rabby.

"When you start radio transmission from such a place, millions of operators from around the world will try to talk to you at least once. Because it is a 'rare' station," Rabby added.

There are specific rules, and often prior permissions are required for these activities. There are awards for those as well. New amateur radio enthusiasts need to apply to BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) for a Licence. BTRC takes Amateur Radio exams every few years and issues licences.

"After passing the exam, one will get an internationally recognised unique call sign. Once you have the licence to operate radio equipment in amateur bands (frequencies), you can either buy a commercially made radio equipment as per your choice or start building one if you have that expertise. Both require prior permission from BTRC," explained Rabby, shedding light on the path to becoming a ham radio operator.

Rabby's radio world

Apart from communicating with the help of radios, Rabby is into building his own radio equipment as well. As he planned to contact the ISS back in 2009, he spent many days buying suitable wires and PVC pipes from the Hatirpool hardware market to make a suitable antenna. Once he sent the log file, ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) sent him the acknowledgement certificate which is called a QSL card.

Rabby also has some other remarkable achievements so far.

"My hobby gained momentum during the Covid pandemic as I had much time staying at home. By this time we have our own geostationary satellite transponder [Es'hail 2 Sat, Launched by Qatar]. I started making my own SDR [Software Defined Radio] radio and antenna system to communicate with the QO-100 [Qatar Oscar 100]," said Rabby, adding, "it took me almost a year to finally speak with other ham operators via that satellite. It was like a hurricane when they first heard my callsign, S21RC.

They [European stations] were very astonished to find that someone from Bangladesh [a Rare DX station to them, number 28 in worldwide most wanted list] managed to make his own station and accessed the satellite with crystal clear signal."

For building the system, most of the parts were procured from Daraz and the antenna came from DTH TV system (Akash).

Some of his circuit designs and codes have become popular among the international community, often called S21RC design.

A dying art?

When asked how this century-old hobby is faring in the age of internet and mobile phones, Rabby said, "there is a popular way to answer this: 'Not your grandfather's ham radio.' When the contemporary world is working with 2 to 5 GHz for the latest 5G mobile amateur radio operators started using 247 GHz frequency decades ago."

However, Rabby added that in real life the hobby is declining worldwide.

"The younger generation do not find it as exciting as we did in our time. Most of the hobbyists are old timers. But still there are some perks remaining: many universities often built Low Earth Orbit Satellites; getting an OSCAR (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) designation is a pride for them. It also helps them as they can use the internationally allotted amateur radio frequencies, often get free slots for launch vehicles with NASA, get free millions of earth stations for monitoring the telemetry etc, and of course the most precious orbital slots as well," Rabby explained.

In this part of the world, China and Japan have their own LEO OSCAR launched multiple times in the past. From Bangladesh, the LEO satellite launched by Brac University was not an OSCAR, Rabby informed.

Another motivation is the pride one takes to be able to deploy a small radio station quickly and establish communication with the world without internet or mobile phone infrastructure in case of disasters. Radio is still the most reliable medium in such times, which is why humanitarian organisations and law enforcement agencies still use two-way radio devices called wireless sets, said Rabby, who works for an international humanitarian organisation as an ICT Officer.

"If one really wants to understand telecommunication practically from scratch, tries to make a radio transmitter which can transmit thousands of kilometres, getting a licence for amateur radio is his/her ticket to this fun world," said the hobbyist.

"It's a purely technical hobby and a gateway to telecommunication. I feel bad that none of our universities, even Buet, has amateur radio clubs. In other countries like Japan, the US, and many European countries, schools and universities have their own club stations. It should be mentionable that apart from educational institutes, organisations such as NASA, UN, ITU (International Telecommunication Union) all have their own amateur radio club stations," said Rabby.

There are two registered amateur radio clubs in Bangladesh: Bangladesh Amateur Radio League (BARL) and Amateur Radio Society of Bangladesh (ARSB) who can help anyone looking forward to starting this hobby.

However, although BTRC is supposed to take licence exams regularly, the last one was held in 2018.

"They should organise exams more often. As this hobby creates technically advanced human resources, one day it might prove helpful for the country," the ham concluded.

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Bhuter Goli to International Space Station: Fazlay Rabby's exciting radio world - The Business Standard

By now, the spaceship should have been on its way to the moon. By now, NASA had hoped, the gumdrop-shaped capsuledesigned to carry astronauts somedaywould be sending all kinds of data back home, showing engineers how its first journey to space was going.

But the capsule is still here, sitting atop a giant rocket that has so far refused to leave Earth. NASA spent weeks hyping up the inaugural flight of the Space Launch System, the rocket at the center of Americas ambitious effort to land astronauts on the moon again in this decade. Celebrity appearances and musical performances were lined up. There were enough Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the Kennedy Space Center to feed the whole state of Florida. Even the vice president flew in. And yet, the rocket has stayed put.

Plenty of natural factors can lead to a launch delay: nearby lightning, hovering cumulus clouds, the rotation of the planet itself. But in the case of the Space Launch System, the problems were with the rocket. NASA postponed its first attempt, at the end of August, after a sensor indicated an issue with one of the main engines. The agency called off its second attempt this weekend after the liquid-hydrogen tank sprouted a leak too big for engineers to contain. NASA will have a chance to make a third attempt in late September or October, after engineers have pulled the rocket off the launchpad and back indoors to inspect the system and reset its batteries. Were not going to launch until its right, Bill Nelson, the NASA administrator, told reporters this weekend. The moon will have to wait a bit longer.

Folks in the rocket business werent surprised that the Space Launch System didnt take off on its first, or even second, attempt. Delays happen, and so do leaks; the Space Launch System is a new vehicle made partially out of old, familiar parts from NASAs now-retired fleet of space shuttles, which experienced their own frustrating share of escaping hydrogen. But two scrapped attempts in one week is a disappointing setback for the countrys new moon program, named Artemis (for Apollos sister in Greek mythology).

Read: America is trying to make the moon happen again

The rocket program is already years behind schedule and many taxpayers dollars over budget. NASA no longer faces a geopolitical space race, but it does have to contend with competition at home from private rocket manufacturers that have vowed to fly more often and at a lower cost than the government. A series of delays could bolster the argument that maybe NASA, the only organization to ever put human beings on the lunar surface, shouldnt be in the business of launching moon rockets at all. The successful operation of the Space Launch System is as much about going back to the moon as it is about demonstrating that NASAs approach is worth it.

The first Artemis mission involves the Space Launch System lofting the astronaut capsule, called Orion, on a weeks-long trek around the moon and back. Its a technical demonstration, a test of countless parts and components to make sure the vehicle is safe for people. If Orion performs as designed, survives the blazing reentry through Earths atmosphere, and ends up back in the hands of engineers, NASA will move on to the next stage of the program: another test-drive around the moon, this time with a crew of four astronauts. If that goes well, the next mission will culminate in a landing on the surface.

Humankind has done this kind of thing before. From 1969 to 1972, NASA put men on the moon six times, using technology with less computing power than the little devices that manage our 21st-century lives. The astronauts descended to the surface and explored, ate, and slept while the rest of humanity chugged along nearly 240,000 miles away. This time, NASA wants to do things a little differently. The next crew to set foot on the dusty regolith, for example, will not be solely composed of white men; NASA has promised that the group will include the first woman and the first person of color on the moon. And the landings are meant to bring about a sustained presence on the moon, a future with habitats and rovers on the surface and a small space station circling overhead.

At the Kennedy Space Center, along the countrys Space Coast, people were buzzing with anticipation in the days before both Artemis 1 attempts. Astronauts dressed in blue jumpsuits milled around, sneaking glances at the rocket that could someday be their ride. When I asked Victor Glover, a NASA astronaut who might very well be part of the first crew to land, which Artemis trip hed want to take, he said, I don't know, but if they want me on a mission, Ill be ready when my time comes.

Read: Why is NASAs hold music so catchy?

A rocket built for the moon hasnt flown since 1972. After the crew of Apollo 17 returned, the American space program, subject to political whims and budget fluctuations, turned closer to home. NASA built space shuttles, and astronauts rode them into orbit and helped assemble the International Space Station. The development of the Space Launch System got under way in 2010, and, fueled by bipartisan support and liquid hydrogen, the effort managed to survive several presidential administrations and reach the launchpad this year, bringing the country closer to a moon return than it has been in recent memory.

All that history, though, might be slowing NASA down. The Space Launch System design relies on hardware that was used in NASAs shuttles, which were retired in 2011 after 30 years of operations. The rockets fuel includes liquid hydrogen, which, although more efficient, is also more prone to leaks than the methane that other rocket manufacturers have begun to use. And after every launch, NASAs rocket must ditch some very expensive hardware into the ocean, with no hope of reusing any of itsomething that commercial companies have demonstrated they can do.

One of those commercial companies, SpaceX, is developing its own moon rocket, known as Starship. A decade ago, the public might have scoffed at the idea of Elon Musks rowdy start-up doing anything very historic. But today, SpaceX is NASAs only ride to the International Space Station, and the agency has signed with the company to launch several of its upcoming missions, including a new space telescope and a probe to study one of Jupiters icy moons. Not only that, NASA has also hired SpaceX to produce the lander that future Artemis astronauts will use to ride down to the moons surface, plus the spacecraft that will help nudge it toward lunar orbit. In a future where SpaceX technology could do all that, the government rocket might seem almost superfluous. Of course, like NASAs rocket, Starship will likely face its own issues. But if a Starship explodes, Congress isnt going to haul in SpaceX officials and demand a formal explanation. The private company can keep going in a way that a federal space agency can't.

Read: Someone show NASA a calendar

NASA has set some very ambitious timelines for the Artemis program, and each one should be taken with a grain of moon dustespecially the working target for the first landing, in 2025. The landing technology from SpaceX is still in the works. The spacesuits have yet to be completed. Even the toilet that will eventually be installed in the Orion capsuledont laugh; its a crucial piece of technology!is still being tested on the International Space Station, and according to a NASA engineering manager, its running into some problems. NASA budgets havent begun to account for the habitats and rovers that astronauts would use after theyve perfected landing on the surface. America could certainly put astronauts on the moon before this decade is out, but were a long way from lunar glamping.

This early in the Artemis story, high-profile delays raise all sorts of questions that NASA would rather not answer, ranging from Whats taking so long to get back there? to Why are we even going at all? The American space program has always received mixed reviews. NASA doesnt talk about it now, but many Americans didnt support the Apollo program, which unfolded during the late 1960sa chaotic and painful era in the countrys history. The United States had enough work to do here on this planet without pouring money into leaving it, people argued. Mark Kirasich, the NASA deputy associate administrator in charge of outlining the Artemis program, was 9 years old when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, and he remembers thinking that, after a feat like that, people would soon travel even deeper into space. In fact, NASA officials envisioned that, after the moon feat, astronauts could reach Mars by the early 1980s. When you looked at my coloring book, it had all kinds of space vehicles going all over the universe, Kirasich told me.

This time around, NASAs budget is much smaller, and the agency is selling the public on several reasons for going back to the moon: scientific exploration, economic opportunities, inspiring a new generation. At the Kennedy Space Center, the wrapper of a special launch treatan Artemis-branded chocolate-covered, marshmallow-topped biscuitdeclared that the launch was for the benefit of all humanity. The unofficial slogan for Artemis 1We are goingis, in a way, perfect. It offers no immediate explanation; it is free of justification.

Whatever the rationale, a triumphant return to the moon can only begin in one place: on the launchpad, with a successful liftoff of a rocket. NASA must now wait for technicians to complete various repairs, including replacing a seal that would prevent liquid hydrogen from flitting out. Hydrogen is the smallest molecule in the universe, which makes it difficult to contain, even with the best materials on the market, Jim Free, NASAs associate administrator for exploration-systems development, told me this weekend. Free joined NASA in 1990, when the agency spent months trying to find the source of a hydrogen leak in one of the space shuttles. They couldnt get off the ground without resolving it. When I asked Free whether he thinks that the Space Launch System could face its own frustrating seasonthat a tiny molecule could stall the nations attempt to reach the moon this yearhe gave a nervous laugh. I hope not, he said.

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Americas Moon Dreams Are on Hold - The Atlantic