Orbital

Russia will stop sending cosmonauts to the International Space Station (ISS) as early as 2025, the country’s new space chief confirmed this week. Along with their American counterparts, Russian cosmonauts have been a constant presence on the orbiting outpost since it went into operation in 2000. But Russia says that as the ISS is set to be decommissioned in 2031 , it wants to focus on building its own near-Earth space station instead. “The decision to leave the station after 2024 has been made,” Yuri Borisov, chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos said during a recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the AP reported . Borisov added that by that time he believes his team will “start forming a Russian orbiting station.” While that may well be the case, it seems likely that fallout from the war in Ukraine may have served to cement Russia’s plans to exit the ISS ahead of its decommissioning date, with relations between it and the U.S. recently hitting an all-time low. … [Read more...] about Space station looks set to become a bit less international | Digital Trends

Future moon explorers could make a cozy home base away from the alternately freezing and hot conditions of the lunar surface by sheltering in lunar pits. These pits stay at a consistent and comfortable temperature, according to new research. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles have found that within pits on the moon’s surface, temperatures could stay at a cozy 63 degrees Fahrenheit. This is considerably more comfortable than the rest of the lunar surface, which can get up to 260 degrees during the day and as low as minus 280 degrees at night. The huge swings in temperature are due to the moon’s long days and nights, which last around 15 days each. To help make conditions more manageable for future moon explorers, the pits provide a promising potential location for a future moon base. Around 200 of these pits have been discovered so far, and some of them are thought to be related to lava tubes. These caves form underground when molten lava flows beneath … [Read more...] about Future moon explorers could stay cozy in lunar caves | Digital Trends

Three Chinese astronauts — Chen Dong, Liu Yang, and Cai Xuzhe — have arrived at China’s new space station, which is currently under construction. The three will stay at the station for six months, managing the arrival of two new modules to be added to the station: One called Wentian which will launch in July, and another called Mengtian which will launch in October. They will also conduct scientific experiments and check equipment on the station, ready for it to begin full operations once completed. The three astronauts on the Shenzhou-14 mission were launched using a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 10:44 p.m. ET (7:44 p.m. PT) on Saturday, June 4. According to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the astronauts traveled for around seven hours before arriving at the space station’s core module, Tianhe, and docking there to its radial port. The astronauts’ craft joined two cargo crafts already docked at the station, Tianzhou-3 … [Read more...] about Three Chinese astronauts arrive at space station Tiangong | Digital Trends

All being well, NASA will launch a new era of lunar exploration on August 29 when its next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As part of the build-up to the highly anticipated Artemis I mission, the space agency is releasing a new five-part series called Artemis I, Path to the Pad , showing how the team behind the ambitious project got it to where it is today. The first part is scheduled to stream on NASA’s YouTube channel on Friday, August 12, and you can watch the trailer for it below: The Artemis I mission will send skyward the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built. The SLS will propel a crewless Orion capsule toward the moon, where it will perform a flyby before returning to Earth. Orion’s epic journey will cover 1.3 million miles and take 42 days to complete. NASA’s mission will mark the first flight test of both the rocket and the spacecraft. If all goes according to plan, NASA … [Read more...] about Watch NASA’s trailer for new show on upcoming lunar mission | Digital Trends