Category Archives: Space Station

Prepare for lift-off with these out-of-this-world Lego space deals. Lego itself has a wide variety of space toys and sets available to buy so, to save you scouring the internet for a good deal, we've come up with a useful guide to help you pick the best deal.

With Black Friday fast approaching, we'll also be keeping an eye out for any spectacular Black Friday Lego space deals in the run up to the year's biggest sales event.

The Danish toy brick maker's sets range from replica rockets, to space shuttles, satellites and even a Mickey and Minnie Mouse rocket set - which is better suited for younger children. But it's not just Lego space sets that Lego are famous for, you can also check out our guide to the best Lego Star Wars sets and see our roundup of the best Lego Star Wars deals for them too.

In this guide, we've split up the different sets into categories to make it easier for you to find exactly what you want. The sets in this guide vary in price due to the number of pieces that make the model and their purpose, for example some of the $100 plus models are designed for display whereas some of the cheaper models will work much better as a toy.

Whatever it is you are looking for, we've got you covered with our Lego space deals guide that has a bit of something for everyone.

This section includes deals on some of the best sets Lego has to offer that were inspired by NASA. Although you could use these sets as toys, they are centerpiece items and would work better on display, due to the number of pieces and the difficulty to build.

Ranging from rockets and shuttles to the International Space Station, the NASA Lego sets section of this guide has a great variety of products for you to choose from.

It's not just NASA inspired kits that Lego make, they're also responsible for more general space sets and cool toys. These Lego space sets are cheaper than the Lego NASA ones and are better for playing with but don't necessarily have the display factor that the sets above have.

These sets are better suited for younger children but that doesn't limit the fun to just children, anyone can have fun while building or playing with them.

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Lego space deals: Stellar deals on spaceships, space stations, and NASA kits - Space.com

With World Space Week in full swing around the globe, Disney Plus is taking center stage with its fascinating new docuseries "Among the Stars" lighting the fuse on all six episodes starting today (Oct. 6).

Filmed over the course of two years right before the pandemic erupted, this behind-the-curtain journey starts out following veteran NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy as he slips on his spacesuit for a third and final flight to the International Space Station (ISS) to attempt a daring repair on a $2 billion piece of equipment called an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS). As the rescue operation goes a bit sideways, this intriguing series transforms into a spotlight on the entire NASA ground team and their dedication to the mission objectives.

Overseeing many of the integral aspects of the AMS cooling unit replacement is MIT physicist Sam Ting, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist whose visionary project seeks to unlock the mysteries of the universe by recording subatomic particles called charged cosmic rays, which can provide evidence of dark matter mysterious, invisible stuff that makes up about 80% of the matter in the universe. In "Among The Stars," listening to him recall sitting by a pond as a boy with his grandmother, staring up at the heavens to wonder what's out there, is to share in his unbridled passion.

"It's a very comprehensive detector with seven elements that measure the charge, the mass, the velocity" of these subatomic particles, Ting, the AMS principal investigator, told Space.com. "Everything you know is measured. There are a total of 650 microprocessors and 300,000 channels. In ten years, we've measured 180 billion charged cosmic rays."

Related: Antimatter-hunting AMS experiment in space (photos)

His 7.5-ton space magnet was initially installed on the ISS in 2011 as the first precision particle physics detector operating in space. Led by MIT, the endeavor is an international effort relying on the support of 44 different institutions, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and sponsored by NASA and the Department of Energy.

Space.com spoke with Ting on the eve of the series' premiere to learn more about his particle detecting machine, how he followed his curiosity as a career path, and what advice he'd offer aspiring scientists hoping to unlock secrets of the cosmos.

Space.com: What was the filming process like for you on "Among the Stars?"

Sam Ting: The cameras were not following me most of the time. I was mostly watching from the control room in Geneva, Switzerland while they were figuring out the repair work and still collecting data for the experiment. But I did attend all the important meetings and had people from NASA come to Switzerland to talk to me about what they're doing.

Space.com: In simple terms, can you explain how the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer operates?

Ting: There are two kinds of cosmic rays: those that don't carry a charge, like light waves and neutrinos, and then there are charged cosmic rays: electrons, positrons, protons and atomic nuclei. Because they carry a charge, they must have a mass. Because they have a mass they are absorbed within 100 kilometers [62 miles] of Earth's atmosphere. So you cannot measure the intrinsic property of charged cosmic rays on the ground.

To measure the property of charged cosmic rays in space you need to put a detector in space. Because you want to measure the charge, you need a magnet. Inside the magnet the positive particles go one way and the negative go the opposite way. Putting a magnet in space is not easy, and we figured out how to put a large magnet in space. It's the first of its kind and we decided to put the best instrument possible inside.

It's a very comprehensive detector with seven elements that measure the charge, the mass and the velocity. Everything you know is measured. There are a total of 650 microprocessors and 300,000 channels. So far, in 10 years, we've measured 180 billion charged cosmic rays. That's an enormous amount of signals, measured to an accuracy of 1%. The properties do not agree with the current theoretical models. What we have known about cosmic rays needs a major modification.

Space.com: What was the defining moment for you when choosing a career path?

Ting: I started at the University of Michigan in mechanical engineering. After one year, my advisor said that I was no mechanical engineer. Because at that time, there were no computers. You had to make drawings looking from the top, looking from the side, looking from the air. So my advisor said I should go into physics and skip the undergraduate courses and go take courses in graduate school. The advisor was Professor Robert White, a very well known engineer. And that's how I became a physicist.

Space.com: What keeps you inspired and motivated in your mind-expanding field?

Ting: Curiosity. To choose a topic and ask the right question is a very important element of a physicist. Often, my experiments will receive enormous amounts of objections from the scientific community. People think that it's too difficult and nobody can do it. Even more people think it's totally useless. Physics does not depend on votes. Public opinion is important, but not the most important. When you change public opinion with your end results, then you make a contribution to the field.

Space.com: What advice would you give to those wanting to study physics and astronomy?

Ting: From my own experience, I think everybody's ability is limited. In order to make a contribution you have to realize you need to concentrate on one thing only. If you try to do physics, you must know this is the most important thing for you. Other things are not important.

All six chapters of "Among the Stars" are now available for streaming on Disney Plus.

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A $2 billion particle detector stars in new Disney Plus docuseries 'Among the Stars': Q&A with principal investigator Sam Ting - Space.com

If youre looking for some of the best playgrounds in the area, theres 3 in Little Elm that are out of this world.

These are the three best playgrounds in Little Elm, Texas:

Since COVID-19 changed our lives upside down, my family and I have spent the last 18 months visiting a different playground every weekend. These 3 in Little Elm top our list of the best playgrounds in DFW. Not only are they each uniquely great playgrounds but they all make for great day trips because theres something else to do in each location.

Click here for our ultimate guide to the best playgrounds in and around Collin County.

Beard Park in Little Elm is super cute and a lot of fun for little ones. The entire playground is woodland themed, with adorable wood benches, log slides and my favorite: little woodland creatures hidden throughout so that you can go on an animal hunt.

The main structure is a tree with a tree house and two slides: one for big kids and one for little kids. Entry to the tree is on multiple levels, small children can toddler in and out on the ground, meanwhile theres also stairs, wooden stepping pillars and a rope bridge they can climb across.

Other features include a large music area, a picnic pavilion, a wooden kids only cabin, merry-go-round, as well as two additional woodland structures with slides and rope bridges.

Theres even a historic log cabin.

So, what else is there to do at Beard Park? Im glad you asked because the answer is a lot! Heres our top picks:

310 E. Eldorado Pkwy, Little Elm, TX 75068Suitable for all ages | Restrooms available on site.

The photographs of Space Station Playground probably tell you all you need to know about this one: its big, its fun, its really exciting and adventurous. Your kids will love it and will beg to come back time and again.

This unique playground isnt technically space-themed but something about this towering hexagonal structure led us to nickname it Space Station playground. Just look at the photos, dont you agree? Plus, its a nice easy name for your kids to remember and get excited about. After all, how can they not be excited about going to Space Station playground?

The playground itself is pretty simple. The base is slightly bouncy, a bit like a trampoline which your little astronauts can bounce along to reach the two pillars from which they can ascend into the main structure. Each of the pillars have a simple step ladder which is relatively high off the crowd. A nervous child may need spotting or a little extra encouragement to get them up the first few times. Its also large enough for an adult to climb up too, if you want.

Once inside the structure, it really does feel like a space ship or space station. On one side there are vertical obstacles from floor to ceiling which kids can imagine are laser beams. On the other side there are obstaclesalong the ground, creating a wobbly floor effect a little like a rope bridge.

At the top, you find the entryway to a big, long metallic slide.

From this description and the photos, youll probably have deducted that this playground is not ideal for younger children. We have a 3 year old and a 5 year old, our 5 year old loves it but our 3 year old isnt able to climb up alone. While every child is different, as a rule of thumb, this playground is probably better for children age 5 and over.

Nearby there are two small shaded picnic areas.

Space Station Playground is located within McCord Park, a huge city park which also has a dog park, fishing pond, disc golf, another playground and a really fantastic splash pad, complete with water slide.

Theres so much to do at McCord Park you can spend hours and hours here. Plus, right nearby is Detour Donuts, easily one of the best donut shops in the area.

1001 Witt Rd, Little Elm. (To find the Space Station, turn right along the trail and walk about 100 meters.)Suitable for age 5+ | Restrooms available at the parking lot next to the splash padwww.littleelm.org/955/McCord-Park

Zip-lines and numerous fun and unique climbing structures abound at Little Elm Park. The big attraction for this playground is its proximity to Little Elm Beach, which makes it a day trip destination.

When your kids have enough of the playground, you can extend the fun by walking to the beach to dig in the sand and, if its warm enough, play in the water.

In addition, almost immediately behind the playground, you can connect to the beautiful Johnny Broyles Nature Trail, a concrete hike and bike path that loops around the lakeshore and is mostly shaded.

701 W. Eldorado Parkway, Little Elm(Note that during the summer months there is a $10 fee for parking)Suitable for all ages; has restrooms (close to the beach).

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The 3 best playgrounds in Little Elm are out of this world - Local Profile

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Russian crew arrives at space station to film first movie in orbit - Business Recorder

The Russian actress and director left on their journey to space on Tuesday to shoot the worlds first film in space. Actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko left for the International Space Station on Tuesday on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Also Read - This photo of the Earth is shot on an iPhone, looks ravishing

Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, actress Yulia Peresild and producer Klim Shipenko lifted aboard Russias Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4.55 a.m. EDT (2.25 p.m. Tuesday, India time). Also Read - NASA astronauts complete seven hour spacewalk to prep ISS for new solar panels

The Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft made a fast-track, two-orbit journey to dock to the stations Rassvet module and docked at about 8.12 a.m. EDT (5.42 p.m. on Tuesday, India time). Also Read - NASA announces Boeing Starliner OFT-2 mission date for Commercial Crew Program

Contact confirmed, capture confirmed! The #SoyuzMS19 crewed spacecraft has docked to the Russian segment of the International Space Station after just two orbits around the Earth! Welcome to the ISS, @Anton_Astrey, Klim and Yulia! Roscosmos- the Russian space agency posted on Twitter.

The launch marks the expansion of commercial space opportunities to include feature filmmaking, NASA said in a statement.

About two hours after docking, hatches between the Soyuz and the station will open. The trio aboard will then join Expedition 65 Commander Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency), NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei, Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov.

Peresild and Shipenko, who are making their first flights into space, will spend 12 days on the space station, filming segments for a movie titled Challenge under a commercial agreement between Roscosmos and Moscow-based media entities, NASA said.

Peresild and Shipenko will return to the Earth with Novitskiy on October 16 on the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, which is currently docked at the space station, for a parachute-assisted landing on the Kazakh steppe.

Shkaplerov will remain aboard the station through next March, returning with Vande Hei and Dubrov on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft.

(With inputs from IANS)

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Russian Crew Arrives Space Station to Start Filming First Movie in Orbit - BGR India

A cosmonaut, a film director and an actor will launch on a mission Tuesday (Oct. 5) in part to film a movie on the International Space Station (ISS), and you can watch it live.

A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying the three crewmembers will blast off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:55 a.m. EDT (0855 GMT or 6:55 p.m. local time). You can watch the coverage live on NASA Television, NASA social media, the NASA website or here and on the Space.com homepage. NASA's webcast will begin at 4:15 a.m. EDT (0815 GMT).

On board will be cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov a veteran of three long-duration spaceflights who will spend another multi-month stay on the space station along with film director Klim Shipenko and actor Yulia Peresild. Shipenko and Peresild are expected to spend 12 days in orbit.

Related: Russian film crew passes medical checks for October launch

The short-duration flyers will film a fictional movie called "The Challenge," which follows a doctor who flies to the ISS on short notice to give life-saving care to a cosmonaut. Russia is seeking to make the first movie in space, and shifted its flight schedule to get ahead of NASA's and SpaceX's plans to support the launch of a Tom Cruise action movie in orbit, according to the New York Times. The Cruise film, first announced in 2020, does not have a launch date disclosed yet.

At a prelaunch news conference, Peresild said that she and Shipenko received basic emergency training for the spaceflight and that they have made accommodations to do their work without the usual film crews, the New York Times noted. For example, Peresild will do her own makeup, and the director will figure out other aspects of the shoot such as lighting and sound.

Neither of the two short-duration flyers have professional spaceflight experience beyond their basic training at Roscosmos. Peresild is well-known in Russia for her work in the country's movies, art films, television series and appearances at the Malaya Bronnaya theater in Moscow, the Times said.

The official Roscosmos website for "The Challenge" says the film is part of a joint scientific and educational project with Channel One, Roscosmos and a studio called Yellow, Black and White. Roscosmos has described the movie as a project meant to show the increasing availability of spaceflight to people who aren't professional astronauts employed by national agencies.

The mission, formally dubbed Soyuz MS-19, is the latest in a series of non-professional spaceflyer launches occurring during the second half of this year across different space vehicles.

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic each ran brief suborbital missions in July, bringing mostly non-professional crews into space including the billionaire founders of the two companies. Then in September, the privately funded Inspiration4 crew spent three days in Earth orbit in a SpaceX Crew Dragon to raise money and awareness for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

And the excitement isn't over. Blue Origin will fly another four-person crew, including "Star Trek" actor William Shatner, on Oct. 12. In December, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and an assistant will make another 12-day flight aboard a Soyuz capsule and the International Space Station through U.S. company Space Adventures.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Russia will launch a film crew to the International Space Station Tuesday and you can watch it live - Space.com

By Staff | on October 04, 2021

On, Tuesday, October 5th, students from the Prescott Unified School District will be making contact with the International Space Station (ISS).

Eleven students in PUSD will speak with astronaut Mark T. Vande Hei and ask questions using amateur radio. Join the students of PUSD and watch this contact event on YouTube youtu.be/hESAlh7Wkg4. This event will be on Tuesday, October 5th starting at 10:50 am, and will run for about 30 minutes.

Congratulations to the students of PUSD for the honor of being selected by NASA to participate in this event!

Is your business listed in the official Prescott Valley Recreation Guide?! 60,000 copies are being printed annually! How can you add your business? Call 928-257-4177 or email info@talkingglass.media or fill out the form atwww.signalsaz.com.

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Students of Prescott Unified Schools Getting Ready to Make Contact with the International Space Station - Signals AZ

A view of the International Space Station captured Sept. 28 by a cosmonaut on the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft. Credit: Roscosmos

Photos taken by a Russian cosmonaut Tuesday from a Soyuz spacecraft show new exterior views of the International Space Station, with two SpaceX Dragon spaceships, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply craft, and the labs new roll-out solar arrays visible.

Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, commander of the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft, tweeted the photos this week. Novitskiy, cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei boarded the Russian spaceship, undocked from the station, and relocated the Soyuz to a new docking port Tuesday.

Novitskiy manually piloted the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft during the 43-minute relocation maneuver. He flew the spacecraft in an arc along the length of the space station, allowing Dubrov to float into the Soyuz orbital module to snap pictures of the complex.

All according to plan! Novitskiy tweeted after the relocation. We managed to take unique images of the ISSin the new configuration.

The space station turned to a special orientation, or attitude, for the Soyuz relocation Tuesday. In these photos, the forward end of the outpost is facing up, away from Earth.

A SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule is seen docked to the forward port of the Harmony module. The Cargo Dragon undocked from the station Thursday and returned to Earth with 2.3 tons of equipment and experiment specimens.

A Crew Dragon spacecraft is also docked to the Harmony module, but is not clearly visible in these photos.

The circular, fan-shaped solar arrays of Northrop Grummans Cygnus supply ship are also visible, along with the newly-arrived Russian Nauka lab module, near the bottom of the station in these images.

Two new roll-out solar array wings are also pictured on the right side of the space stations truss backbone. The roll-out arrays were installed in June during spacewalks after delivery to the space station by a previous SpaceX cargo mission.

The new solar wings, produced by Redwire, are designed to augment the space stations electrical generation capability. Two more pairs of solar arrays will be installed on the space station in the next couple of years.

The roll-out arrays unspool like a floor mat, rather than unfolding like an accordion. The arrays are canted at an angle from the space stations original solar panels.

The Soyuz relocation cleared a path for the docking of a new Soyuz spacecraft at the Russian Rassvet module Oct. 5, three hours after launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

CommanderAnton Shkaplerov, a veteran cosmonaut, will lead the Soyuz MS-19 crew for the flight to the space station. Klim Shipenko and Yulia Peresild, a Russian film director and actress, will join Shkaplerov.

Shipenko and Peresild will spend 11 days on the space station to film a Russian feature length movie titled The Challenge. The two-person film crew will leave the station and return to Earth on Oct. 16 aboard the Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft with Novitskiy.

Shkaplerov will remain at the station for more than five months. Dubrov and Vande Hei, who launched in April, will also stay behind at the space station. Their stays in space were extended to make room for the short-duration mission byShipenko and Peresild.

Dubrov and Vande Hei will now remain in space for nearly one year before returning to Earth with Shkaplerov in March on Soyuz MS-19.

Email the author.

Follow Stephen Clark on Twitter: @StephenClark1.

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Cosmonaut shares new perspective of International Space Station Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

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Russia is about to win a race against NASA to film the first full-length movie in space.

The Russian space agency, Roscosmos, plans to launch a two-person film crew to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Soyuz rocket on Tuesday. Actress Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko are set to climb aboard the spacecraft with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, lifting off from Kazakhstan at 4:55 a.m. ET.

NASA TV will broadcast the launch live in the video embedded below. The livestream will also include the spaceship docking to the ISS at 8:12 a.m. ET, then show the film star, director, and cosmonaut floating into the station at about 10 a.m.

Shkaplerov will tally his fourth spaceflight as he pilots the spaceship. On the space station, Peresild and Shipenko are scheduled to spend 10 days filming on Russia's side, with the help of cosmonauts. In the movie, called "Challenge," Peresild plays a doctor who launches to the ISS to save a cosmonaut, according to The New York Times.

"I am not afraid," Peresild said in a recent news conference, according to the Times. Still, she added, "fear is normal."

As part of her training, Peresild went on a parabolic airplane flight, which flies arcs up and down to simulate the microgravity of the ISS for about 30 seconds at a time.

"For the first two seconds it's scary," Peresild said, according to the Times. "After that, it's beautiful."

She's poised to beat Tom Cruise to become the first actor to film in space. NASA announced last year that it was in talks with Cruise about filming a movie on the ISS, but no timeline was ever publicized.

Roscosmos announced its own space-movie mission a few months later, sending out a casting call for actresses to star in it. The agency ultimately tapped Peresild and reshuffled its spaceflight schedule to make an October launch possible.

Peresild and Shipenko are set to return to Earth on another Soyuz spaceship on October 16, landing in Kazakhstan just after midnight ET the next day. Shkaplerov will stay aboard the station to carry out a six-month shift, while cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy will finish his shift and return home with the film crew.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonaut Petr Dubrov, who flew up to the ISS with Novitskiy, are giving up their return seats for the actress and director. The two men will instead return to Earth in March after spending nearly a year in space. By then, Vande Hei's mission will be the longest spaceflight ever completed by an American, breaking the previous record held by astronaut Scott Kelly.

"I don't think it's really my record I think it would be the whole team's," Vande Hei told Insider in August. "It's just another step forward for humanity. I also don't expect that to be a record that would last very long, because we're doing bigger and better things all the time."

One year in space would be "a drop in the bucket compared to a Mars flight," he added.

Peresild and Shipenko are joining a new cohort of space tourists and amateur astronauts.

In July, billionaire Richard Branson flew to the edge of space, experiencing microgravity as he lingered there for a few minutes aboard a space plane built by his company, Virgin Galactic. Then just nine days later, Jeff Bezos skimmed the edge of space aboard the New Shepard spacecraft developed by Blue Origin, the company he founded in 2000.

In September, SpaceX launched its first tourist crew into orbit. Billionaire Jared Isaacman chartered the company's Crew Dragon spaceship for a three-day flight. The mission, called Inspiration4, included Isaacman and three other people as its crew, none of whom are professional astronauts. The team did, however, complete nearly six months of training to operate the spaceship.

More amateur spaceflights are still to come. In December, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is scheduled to take a Soyuz spacecraft on his own joy ride to the ISS.

Then in February, SpaceX plans to launch three paying customers and one former astronaut to the space station for the company Axiom Space.

This story has been updated. It was originally published on September 30, 2021.

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Watch Russia launch a film crew to the space station on Tuesday - Business Insider

Newswise In an out of this world study, space archaeologists are reconstructing life on the International Space Station (ISS) over the past two decades, to better understand space culture and get an inside look at how astronauts interact with their tools and colleagues when above Earth.

The ability to understand the microsociety of crews onboard the ISS will offer a window into how life in space functions, as humans consider interplanetary exploration. So how is this gravity defying research made possible?

Internationally recognised space archaeologist, Associate Professor Alice Gorman at Flinders University, says ISS researchers wont be able to travel to the space stationthemselves, instead opting to use millions of photographs taken onboard over nearly two decades, to document developments and changes within the station's lifestyle and cultural makeup.

Fortunately for us, the first occupation of the ISS coincided with the emergence of digital photography, says Associate Professor Gorman.

The images include metadata recording the time and date, which become an excavation, linking the contents of images to moments in time. Given that the crew takes approximately 400 photographs per day, images depicting the station interior now number in the millions.

Well eventually use crowdsourcing to help tag and catalogue that huge cache of photos, with the project likely to take several years.

However, the researchers will also be able to get onboard with the help of astronauts conducting archaeological surveys of the ISS interior, to document aspects of life that cant be derived from image analysis alone.

One potential survey is surface sampling for the build-up of dust, hair, skin cells, oil, dirt, food, broken fragments of equipment and other materials, says Associate Professor Justin Walsh of Chapman University in California, a co-investigator on the project.

An aerosol sampling experiment, which collects air and particulates on the station, provides valuable baseline data.

Other techniques include audio recording to identify levels of ambient sound and documentation of specific public spaces, such as eating areas, and, if possible, private spaces such as crew berths.

Understanding how individuals and groups use material culture in space stations, from discrete objects to contextual relationships, promises to reveal intersections of identity, nationality and community.

Research methods will focus on:

Associate Professor Gorman says an often overlooked but important component of operations on the ISS is the return of items to Earth.

The return of items from the ISS can be interpreted archaeologically as a form of discard process. Preliminary analysis of our interview transcripts indicates the complexity of the process whereby items enter the inventory and are subsequently dispersed.

If items associated with the ISS have been discarded on Earth in soil matrices, traditional archaeological excavation techniques could be used to retrieve and analyse them.

Funding statement

This work was supported by funding from Wilkinson College of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University. The International Space Station Archaeological Project is funded by the Australian Research Council for 20192021 (#DP190102747).

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Space Archaeology study: life & culture on the International Space Station - Newswise