Space

Orbital science, astronomy, remote sensing, and what lies beyond the atmosphere.

Astronaut navigation mission control training

Sixteen astronauts grew slightly more accurate at a navigation task after 6 months aboard the ISS, even as scans showed less activity in brain regions tied to spatial orientation and pointed to a new way the brain adapts to weightlessness

Sixteen astronauts spent about 6 months aboard the International Space Station, came back to Earth and then showed a surprising mix of changes during a navigation test. Their performance edged upward on the task, yet their brains used less activity in several regions that usually help people keep track of position and direction. The result…

Intricate MRI brain scan displayed on a computer screen for medical analysis and diagnosis

Space Explainer

Five astronauts carried resting-state brain recordings through long missions in orbit and the study found weaker alpha activity in a key resting network during flight, with some links still below preflight levels 20 days after landing

Space Explainer

Thirty-nine astronauts and cosmonauts who answered an anonymous post-flight survey said space left a lasting positive mark, with the clearest shift centered on Earth’s beauty and fragility, while mission count, background and time spent aloft did not explain the response pattern

Astronaut in a futuristic setting wearing a space suit, exploring a lit indoor environment

Space Explainer

Twenty astronaut-like volunteers across five simulated space missions spent 45 days under a 5-hour weekday sleep schedule and their vigilance kept slipping while fatigue ratings moved less and the models meant to forecast those lapses missed who would struggle most

Astronauts in space suits explore a rocky, desert-like terrain resembling Mars at sunset

Space Explainer

An 11-person Mars analog split between two villages produced a different social pattern than a standard 6-person mission, with 7 socioemotional traits changing by architecture while both simulations still improved 18 measures tied to well-being and function

Space Explainer

Fourteen volunteers crossed a virtual Moon-like landscape on a treadmill and when rock identification became harder their mental workload climbed, heart patterns shifted and even basic navigation and science tasks began to slip, giving mission planners a clearer view of how lunar EVA can strain the mind before astronauts ever leave Earth

Space Explainer

Ten astronauts on long International Space Station missions reacted more slowly and underestimated intervals lasting only a few seconds, suggesting that microgravity and heavy mental load can speed the brain’s inner clock while making attention harder to hold

Space Explainer

Twenty-seven ISS astronauts spent months growing, viewing and eating fresh crops in orbit and their survey responses suggest the garden work stayed enjoyable and meaningful over time while the strongest lift came from seeing the plants and tasting the harvest

Twenty-seven ISS astronauts took part in a rare psychology study that asked a simple question inside one of the least natural places humans have ever lived: what does it feel like to raise food in orbit? Their answers point in a mostly positive direction. Across long missions, crew members generally described crop work as enjoyable,…

Space Explainer

Across five spaceflight analog campaigns, 64 crewmembers reported steadily declining social support as isolation continued, with outside support fading faster than help from fellow crew members and evening stress tracking the support still available inside the isolated habitat

Across months of isolation in simulated space habitats, one of the steadiest human resources slowly wore down. A Frontiers in Psychology study followed 64 crewmembers through five spaceflight analog campaigns and found that perceived social support declined over time, especially support from people outside the habitat. The pattern matters because future missions to the Moon…

Astronaut in spacesuit explores barren, Mars-like desert terrain under brown sky

Space Explainer

Six men spent 520 days inside the Mars500 chamber and by the later stages of the mock trip to Mars they were judging unpleasant pictures less harshly while mood scores and stress-linked hormones shifted in patterns that resembled the mission’s psychologically difficult third quarter

520 days is long enough for a simulated Mars trip to stop feeling like a technical rehearsal and start exposing how people adapt under pressure. In one of the clearest psychological signals from the Mars500 isolation study, six crew members gradually gave more positive ratings to unpleasant images as the mission moved deeper into confinement.…

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