Microgravity as a research area encompasses the systematic investigation of physical, chemical, and biological processes under conditions of greatly reduced effective gravitational acceleration, such as in orbiting spacecraft, drop towers, or parabolic flights. It enables isolation of gravity-driven phenomena, allowing precise study of fluid dynamics, combustion, phase transitions, material solidification, colloidal behavior, and fundamental physics, as well as physiological and cellular responses to altered mechanical loading. Microgravity research supports development of validated models for transport processes, structure formation, and mechanobiology, and informs the design of space systems, countermeasures for human health in spaceflight, and advanced materials and processes with potential terrestrial applications.
When astronauts finally reach Mars, they'll face a unique challenge: walking and working in gravity that's only 37% as strong as Earth's. After spending months in the weightlessness of space, their weakened muscles and bones ...
Space Exploration
Jun 16, 2025
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NASA and ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) are collaborating to launch scientific investigations aboard Axiom Mission 4, the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. These studies include ...
Space Exploration
Jun 5, 2025
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As the number of space travelers is increasing through commercial missions, it becomes more important to understand how space affects the human body.
Space Exploration
May 21, 2025
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How do robots feel in space? This is both a practical and possibly an existential question. Still, today, we'll focus on the practical side by looking at a review paper from Hadi Jahanshahi and Zheng Zhu of York University ...
Space Exploration
Apr 30, 2025
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Cranfield University spin-out company Frontier Space has sent a fully automated laboratory into orbit as part of a European Space Agency project to assess the viability of creating lab-grown food in microgravity.
Space Exploration
Apr 25, 2025
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Through its "Moon to Mars" program, NASA plans to send the first crewed missions to Mars by the end of the next decade. To fulfill this bold vision, the agency is investigating advanced technologies through numerous programs. ...
Space Exploration
Apr 21, 2025
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As NASA prepares to return to the moon, studying astronaut health and safety is a top priority. Scientists monitor and analyze every part of the International Space Station crew's daily life—down to the air they breathe. ...
Space Exploration
Apr 18, 2025
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A team of biomedical engineers at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science working with a team of bio-scientist colleagues from NASA Ames Research Center, both in the U.S., has found that test mice living aboard the International ...
Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is regularly used on the ground to quickly produce a variety of devices. Adapting this process for space could let crew members create tools and parts for maintenance and ...
Space Exploration
Mar 21, 2025
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Bone and muscle deterioration, radiation exposure, vision impairment—these are just a few of the challenges space travelers face on long-duration missions, even before considering the psychological toll of isolation.
Space Exploration
Mar 18, 2025
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