NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured microscopic images and video aboard the International Space Station revealing that potassium chloride crystals grow in an unusual step-like structure known as “hopper growth” when formed in microgravity, according to NASA and social media posts shared by Pettit. On Earth, the substance—frequently used as a salt substitute in foods and … Read more
Solar storm risks to Earth’s infrastructure may be significantly underestimated because there is no known upper limit to how the planet responds to solar wind, according to a study published in Nature. Research led by Nithin Sivadas of NASA and Maria Walach from Lancaster University suggests that previous beliefs in a “leveling off” of atmospheric … Read more
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission, a spacecraft that spent over a decade studying the Martian upper atmosphere, has reached the end of its service life. According to NASA, the spacecraft experienced an unexpected loss of signal on December 6, 2026, after passing behind Mars. Officials have determined the spacecraft is unrecoverable, marking … Read more
On June 5, 2026, NASA ordered astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to shelter in their Crew Dragon escape craft after a worsening air leak in the Russian Zvezda module’s transfer tunnel, known as PrK, prompted safety concerns. While the crew later returned to normal operations, the leak remains active as NASA and Roscosmos … Read more