What the Hell Is Going on With the ISS Drill Hole Story?
A tiny hole in a Soyuz spacecraft attached to the International Space Station has turned into a strange game of international telephone.
Astronaut Candidate Is First in 50 Years to Leave Midway Through NASA's Training Program
Astronaut candidate Robb Kulin has become the first NASA astronaut-in-training to leave midway through the process in 50 years, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.
NASA Announces First Crew for Commercial Space Travel
NASA has announced the first astronauts who will head to the International Space Station on a commercially built spacecraft.
The International Space Station’s New AI-Powered Bot Is Actually Pretty Cool
Introducing CIMON, a floating, basketball-sized robot that will serve as a companion and assistant to crew members aboard the International Space Station. Infused with artificial intelligence, the floating bot is reminiscent of HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, but far less evil. We hope.
Buzz Aldrin Is Suing His Family for ‘Elder Exploitation’
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon, has filed a lawsuit against two of his children and a former business manager in an effort to retain control over his finances, business affairs, and legacy.
A New Short Film Aims to Share the Untold Story of the First African American Man in Space
Have you ever heard of Guion “Guy” Bluford—the first African American in space? Despite his major place in history, his name is surprisingly not very well-known. A new short film aims to change that, with the blessing of Bluford himself, who shared his own unpublished memoirs with the filmmakers.
Astronaut Slated to Be First African-American ISS Crew Member Unexpectedly Grounded
Astronaut Jeanette Epps, slated to be the first African-American crew member on board the International Space Station, will not be flying in 2018, according to a NASA announcement.
Japanese Astronaut Concerned After Growing 3.5 Inches Taller in Three Weeks [Update: He Was Wrong]
Update: January 10, 8:20 am EDT: According to new reports, Kanai either fabricated this story, “mis-measured” himself, or it was all a joke that didn’t translate well to English. In a tweet posted earlier today, the Japanese astronaut apologized, claiming he had measured his height after the ISS captain questioned the…
Gorgeous Pacific Rim Robots, and More Toys That Are Probably Too Late to Add to Your Christmas List This Week
Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular roundup of the cool toys and merchandise we’ve been trying to furiously add to our Christmas wishlists this week. We’ve got some excellent new Pacific Rim robots, the General of the Resistance herself, and even environmentally-conscious Jenga. What more could you want?
The United States Has Lost One of Its Greatest Astronauts
Veteran astronaut Paul J. Weitz has died at the age of 85. Among his many accomplishments, Weitz served as a pilot aboard the Skylab space station, commanded the first flight of the Space Shuttle Challenger, and logged nearly 800 total hours in space.
The Russian Salyut-7 Is a Harrowing True Space Adventure Too Clichéd to Be Interesting
A team of astronauts is specially trained to solve an unprecedented disaster in space. It sounds like the plot of Armageddon or any number of other generic Hollywood blockbusters, but in the Russian space adventure Salyut-7, it actually happened. Unfortunately, somehow that doesn’t make the movie any more exciting.
Astronaut Pee and Sweat Could Be the Key to Getting Humans to Mars
In The Martian, Matt Damon used his own shit to fertilize potatoes and survive the Red Planet. While we all know Matt Damon isn’t actually an astronaut, we do know that human excrement is very much real—and it could be integral to getting real humans to Mars in the near future.
Skip Astronaut Training and Explore the ISS Right Now in Google Street View
Sometime between your marine biologist and professional ninja phases, you probably dreamed of being an astronaut as a kid. But have you seen all the work that goes into actually becoming one? Save yourself years of G-force training and wearing onesies and just shortcut your way onto the International Space Station,…
Boeing Starliner Astronauts Are Going to Have the Most Space Punk Boots
Astronauts are golden retrievers of human beings. The rest of us have to live vicariously through their resplendent existences while we sit back and watch hours of cats reacting to fidget spinners. Now, Reebok has decided to make our astronaut envy even worse—it’s finally revealed the space boots for Boeing Starliner…
Four Terrifying Ways Space Can Kill You
We’re all clamoring to get into space these days, but lost in our excitement to fly to the Moon and colonize Mars is a brutal truth: the final frontier is a cold, inhospitable wasteland that’ll kill you at the first opportunity it gets. Astronauts already know this, but for the rest of us, here are just a few of the…
Here's Everyone NASA Felt Was Better Than You
NASA’s astronauts are American heroes and proxies for our hopes and dreams. The best part of each new astronaut class is that we get an entirely fresh crop of people we can live vicariously through, and this year is no exception. Today, NASA announced its 22nd space squad. Although over 18,000 applied, the space…
We're Ignoring Women Astronauts' Health At Our Peril
WASHINGTON, D.C.—It’s 7pm, and the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University, which was packed with investors, aerospace tycoons, and scientists just hours ago, has dwindled to a dedicated few. It’s a very different crowd than the folks who came earlier in the day to watch Buzz Aldrin and other space veterans…
Extended Space Travel Causes an Inevitable Drop in Physical Fitness
Another day, another study showing how awful microgravity is to the human body. In the latest research, scientists have found that long term exposure to space inhibits the movement of oxygen through the body, reducing an astronaut’s ability to perform strenuous tasks.
We Chatted With an Astronaut About Showering, Farting, and Boning in Space
As journalists, it’s our obligation—nay, our duty—to ask the hard questions. So when presented with the opportunity to ask a living former astronaut and American hero Mike Massimino about his two trips to the final frontier to fix the Hubble Space Telescope, without any real impetus or news peg, we knew what to do. We…
Germany's 'Die Astronautin' Competition Is as Badass as it Sounds
Although it sounds like The Hunger Games in space, Germany’s “Die Astronautin” competition—which means “the female astronaut”—seeks to put the first German woman into space. In March 2016, 400 women entered the competition, and yesterday, aerospace recruitment agency HE Space announced it had selected its final six…
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