Explainer

Two Axiom-1 astronauts spent 17 days aboard the ISS, reported musculoskeletal pain while living in microgravity, showed altered touch, heat and pain-control responses after landing and then moved back toward baseline three months later as researchers tracked how even a short commercial mission can disturb the way the body senses pain

Two astronauts on Axiom Mission 1 spent just 17 days around Earth, yet the mission still left a measurable mark on how they experienced pain. During the flight both participants reported musculoskeletal discomfort and after landing researchers found changes in several sensory tests that probed touch, heat, repeated pain signals and the body’s own ability…

Aerial shot of a fishing boat deploying a large net in the open sea, showcasing traditional fishing methods

Oceans Explainer

More than 1,500 UK readers saw nine versions of a dolphin bycatch story and support for fishery rules rose when consumers shared responsibility with industry, even though readers’ own seafood plans barely changed

Adult male swimmer in open water wearing an orange swim cap and goggles, swimming in the sea

Humans Explainer

Nine women lost hours of recent memory during or just after Irish sea swims in water as cold as 9.2 C and an Irish hospital series found clear acute scans, full recovery within a day and a repeated pattern suggesting cold-water immersion may trigger transient global amnesia

Stunning view of Sausalito's hillside homes with ocean view, capturing urban coastal charm

Health Explainer

UK Biobank tracked 363,047 adults for more than 11 years and found a small link between living near blue space and lower psychiatric risk, while nearly 50,000 diagnoses showed how limited and observational the pattern remained

A tranquil coastal scene with seabirds perched on a rocky shoreline, surrounded by ocean waves and mist

Humans Explainer

When nearly 1,500 UK adults watched coastal scenes on screens, shorelines with more visible wildlife and active behavior such as flocking, diving and play felt more fascinating, more restorative and more worth visiting than the same coast without animals

Three children run along the lakeshore in Bursa, Türkiye, silhouetted against the sunrise sky with reflections in the water

Health Explainer

More than 15,000 adults in 18 countries recalled childhood time near coasts, rivers and lakes, and those early blue-space experiences were linked to better adult wellbeing mainly when they inspired a lasting desire to return to nature

A group of aquanauts diving together near an underwater structure

Humans Explainer

Aquanauts spent 9 to 10 days inside NASA’s Aquarius habitat at nearly three atmospheres, where fatigue rose during the undersea mission but mood and work satisfaction stayed unexpectedly steady, showing how trained crews can carry strain without the same drop in morale

The Soviet Salyut 6 space station in orbit

Space Explainer

A 175-day Salyut 6 mission treated boredom and isolation as hazards, using family video links, expert talks, music, mail and protected time alone as an early psychological support system meant to keep two cosmonauts informed, steady and ready for work

Salyut 6 stayed alive for 175 days with only two men on board and Soviet flight planners did not treat boredom or loneliness as minor side effects. They treated them as mission problems that needed their own countermeasures. Alongside exercise, food and work schedules, the station’s support package included family contact, outside voices, entertainment, mail…

Skylab in Earth orbit after its first crew deployed the parasol sunshade

Humans Explainer

Three Skylab 4 astronauts fell behind an overloaded 84-day mission plan, but after a 30-minute conference gave them more control over rest and setup time, productivity rose and conflict with Mission Control eased

Three astronauts spent much of late 1973 trying to keep up with a timeline that had grown faster than their ability to absorb it. During the first half of Skylab 4, Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson and William R. Pogue were expected to handle an 84-day mission, new medical work, added exercise, observations of…

The compact interior of a vintage space capsule simulator

Humans Explainer

Four men lived 90 days inside a space station simulator and a later NASA report said three showed personality changes, but its warning about crew psychology rested on Rorschach tests and a follow-up that effectively shrank to three cases

Long missions depend on a crew’s ability to read tension, frustration and trust before small problems turn into serious ones. That is why an obscure NASA contractor report from February 1972 still feels surprisingly modern. It described what happened after four young men spent 90 days sealed inside a simulated space station in 1970, then…

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