Crew-8 astronauts remain mum about post-splashdown medical issue
Science & Technology

Crew-8 astronauts remain mum about post-splashdown medical issue

NASA Space Technology WASHINGTON — The three NASA astronauts who returned to Earth on the Crew-8 mission declined to discuss the medical issue that prompted a trip to the hospital after their return and, for one of them, an overnight stay.NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick and Jeanette Epps, along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, returned to Earth Oct. 25 on a Crew Dragon spacecraft, concluding the 235-day Crew-8 mission. But later that day NASA said that the four were taken to a Pensacola, Florida, hospital for additional medical evaluations “out of an abundance of caution.” One of the NASA astronauts was hospitalized in stable condition there, but released the next day “in good health.”NASA did not disclose the identity of the astronaut who was hospitalized or the specific medical concern that prompted the hospital...
Continue reading
NASA MSR review continues despite committee leadership change
Science & Technology

NASA MSR review continues despite committee leadership change

NASA Space Technology WASHINGTON — NASA says it still expects to make a recommendation on a new architecture for the Mars Sample Return (MSR) program by the end of the year despite a change in leadership of a key review committee.At a Nov. 6 meeting of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG), Jeff Gramling, MSR program director at NASA Headquarters, said a committee called the MSR Strategy Review Team, or MSR-SR, is scheduled to provide a recommendation on a “go-forward architecture” for MSR in December. That recommendation will go to Nicola Fox, NASA associate administrator for science, and then to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson for final approval.That was the same timeline that Gramling provided at an Oct. 21 meeting of a National Academies committee. That took place days after NASA announced the formation of...
Continue reading
Unbreakable Voyager space probes close in on a 50 year mission
Science & Technology

Unbreakable Voyager space probes close in on a 50 year mission

NASA Space Technology "We're definitely going to make the 50th anniversary," says Professor Garry Hunt, one of the scientists responsible for NASA's Voyager mission, as Voyager 1 recovers from an unexpected pause in communications.Launched when Jimmy Carter was President of the United States, the two Voyager spacecraft have endured almost half a century of spaceflight and, according to Hunt, should still be in contact with Earth in 2027, 50 years after leaving the planet.A spokesperson for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told The Register that the agency hopes there will be enough power from the onboard Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) to keep the antenna and at least one science instrument running until the early 2030s. The power produced by the RTGs is dwindling, and the Voyager team has been forced to make...
Continue reading