Latest Weightlessness Stories

WATCH VIDEO: [Wringing Out Water On The ISS -- For Science] Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) performed a science experiment to look into the effects of weightlessness on washcloths being wrung out. Commander Chris Hadfield performed the experiment live on the orbiting laboratory. The experiment was designed by two 10th grade students from Lockview High School in Fall River, Nova Scotia. The Canadian Space...

ESA Since Europe’s Columbus laboratory module was attached to the International Space Station five years ago, it has offered researchers worldwide the opportunity to conduct science beyond the effects of gravity. A total of 110 ESA-led experiments involving some 500 scientists have been conducted since 2008, spanning fluid physics, material sciences, radiation physics, the Sun, the human body, biology and astrobiology. The Space Station allows researchers to play with a force that...

NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is accepting applications from teams of kindergarten, elementary and secondary school teachers to conduct scientific experiments aboard the agency's reduced gravity aircraft next year. The MicroGravity eXperience (Micro GX) flight program will take place July 12-20, 2013, at Johnson. Educators selected to fly also will participate in an online professional development course centered on microgravity science in the months before and after their...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is accepting applications from teams of kindergarten, elementary and secondary school teachers to conduct scientific experiments aboard the agency's reduced gravity aircraft next year. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The MicroGravity eXperience (Micro GX) flight program will take place July 12-20, 2013, at Johnson. Educators selected to fly also will participate...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Scientists reported in the FASEB Journal that they have determined a major cause of astronauts experiencing low blood pressure after returning to Earth from space. The report solves the biological mystery of how this happens by showing that low gravity compromises the ability of arteries and veins to contract normally. Prevention and treatment strategies developed for astronauts may also hold promise for elderly populations on Earth...

All chefs know that preparing the perfect chocolate mousse is one part science and one part art. ESA’s microgravity research is helping the food industry understand the science behind the foams found in many types of food and drink such as meringues and coffee. Not all foams are created equal. Consumers expect a chocolate mousse to keep its structure and taste on the journey from the supermarket to their fridge. But the froth on some drinks would seem strange if it did not disappear...

ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers is scheduled to leave the International Space Station and land on 1 July. Andre is finishing experiments and packing his bags ready for departure. One of the last experiments is looking at how a human body stays warm. We take it for granted that our bodies stay at around 37ºC. Go jogging, spend time in a sauna, forget your coat on a cold day and your body will adapt and regulate its temperature. Blood vessels expand or contract and we sweat to keep heat or let...

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com China will be extending its feats on Saturday as it launches its first woman into space aboard its Shenzhou-9 spacecraft. A spokeswoman for the country's space program said Liu Yang, a 33-year-old major in the People's Liberation Army, will take part in China's fourth manned space launch. "From day one I have been told I am no different from the male astronauts," Liu, a trained fighter pilot who is married but has no children, told the state broadcaster...

What happens when your experiment gets over 30,000 views online? Tomorrow’s space explorers were awarded an out-of-this-world scientific exchange with astronauts on the International Space Station last Wednesday. Youngsters from Europe, the Middle East and Africa were invited to the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, for a live chat with ESA astronaut André Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit. The prize was well-deserved: only 21 videos out of the 2000 submitted made it...

New results from research on the International Space Station are offering clues on why astronauts’ immune systems don’t work as well in space. The findings may benefit the elderly on Earth. Astronauts suffer many types of stress adapting to weightlessness. For years, scientists have known that our immune system works less well in space, and trying to find the reason is a driving force for space research. Researchers at the University of Teramo, the European Centre for Brain Research...