Later this year I will spend time with former NASA astronaut instructors, before receiving high-G training, crew resource management training and spacesuit training, among other skills.
Glenn, in the NASA mailroom, received letters from fans of all ages.
John Glenn Archives, The Ohio State University
John Glenn would have turned 100 on July 18, 2021. Today’s space program is a giant leap more inclusive than when he made his pioneering orbit of the Earth in 1962.
NASA hasn’t updated its spacesuits since 1974, when only men were eligible to be astronauts. But when it heads to the Moon in the coming years, its new spacesuits should come in women’s sizes too.
Chinese astronauts Tang Hongbo, Nie Haisheng, and Liu Boming during ceremony before heading to Tiangong.
ROMAN PILIPEY/EPA
The first space tourist left Earth 20 years ago aboard a Russian rocket. Now, private companies are on the cusp of offering trips off Earth for those who can pay.
A capsular spacecraft, similar to this, will bring Crew Dragon into space.
3Dsculptor/ Shutterstock
Going to the bathroom is much more complicated in space without any gravity. To solve this problem of tricky orbital potty breaks, NASA builds special toilets that work without gravity.
With little else to draw from, people turn to science fiction when thinking about the Space Force.
CSA Images via Getty Images
Science fiction has often had an inspirational and positive relationship with space endeavors. But the new US Space Force is struggling with a pop culture public relations problem.
Future astronauts will visit Mars.
Shutterstock/Vadim Sadovski
Gray mouse lemurs are more closely related to humans than mice. They also have the ability to hibernate, and researchers are hoping to learn how to transfer that ability to humans.
It has been estimated that there will be one surgical emergency every 2.4 years on a mission to Mars.
T. Trapp/BJS Surgery