October 2017
Back to the future - heeding the lessons of history
...of true purpose – which should have been the creation of a productive, profitable and permanent human presence in space. Today, the only programme that approximates this purpose is the International Space Station (ISS), a wonderful example of a multi...
December 2018
Coffee roasting in space
... projects - lunar and Mars rovers, planetary probes and human exploration aboard the International Space Station (ISS) - have become commonplace. Now, at the dawn of the NewSpace era, we are starting to see innovative new business opportunities, such...
January 2019
Preparing for a robotic revolution in Earth orbit
... on Mars, but those have significant differences from robots that remain in orbit.) The Canadarm used on the US Space Shuttle and Canadarm2 on the International Space Station (ISS) are well known. But those are officially ‘manipulators’ rather than...
June 2019
Does the speed of light change with time?
... enough to overturn our current understanding of the universe? In a year’s time the Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) is scheduled to fly aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station (ISS). The goal of ACES, put simply...
October 2020
Microgravity and its effects on the human brain
... 90-minute flight by Yuri Gagarin almost 60 years ago routine space missions are getting longer in duration, with flights of up to six months or more on the International Space Station (ISS) now typical. Future missions will undoubtedly last even...
September 2020
Tackling space debris - a global priority
...debris environment. These objects pose a serious threat to the operation and safety of critical space assets, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and the International Space Station (ISS) and its crew. Further, they could hinder future...
