‘Part of the Mission Possible space mission, more than 1,000 plant, animal, and human cell samples will soon be sent into space—with seeds (orbiting Earth) to be brought back and planted in forests across Central Europe.’

1. Do astronauts have to carry passports since they are leaving the country?
2. Are they required to go through customs when they return?
3. If astronauts bring back moon rock or anything, do they have to declare it?

It's great to hear that both astronauts, including Sunita Williams, are doing well. Wishing them a safe and successful return to Earth. I'm hopeful that everything will go smoothly and they’ll come back safely, no matter the challenges ahead. Best wishes for their journey!

Live from ISS

My friends don't believe that the ISS is "falling" at the same speed it is moving forward because it doesn't lose it's altitude at the same speed. What is the math or best way to describe that the ISS is constantly falling but missing earth.

If Apollo 13 was unable to conjure enough power, or a short circuit occurred, to boot up the CM computer, could they have aligned the CM for reentry using the lem before they jettisoned it and just sent the remaining power to the parachutes, rcs thrusters and other required systems?

I’d also like to know how they pulled off the manual burn- my understanding is they used the earth as a reference to keep their vertical axis the same, but they needed to adjust their horizontal axis to fit in the reentry corridor. How did they know where to aim for the reentry corridor without a guidance computer? Because they would have had to anticipated exactly where their collision course with earth would be to a very precise degree. Was this because nasa was able to track them from earth and let them know how much adjustment was needed? More detail on this would be much appreciated :)

If space coloniation will be a thing, will only healthy people be allowed to leave and will people with disabilities be forced to be excluded? What studies have been done on the subject for the future?

Does machinery make it sound like you're aboard a commercial airplane, or is it dead-silent, or something in-between like a hum from an AC unit? Are there frequent beeps, alarms, or noise from lab equipment? Can you hear a pitter-patter of tiny space debris smacking into the side of the space station? What else can you hear?

In many of the movies involving space and Earth reentries, I have always thought it odd how dangerous they make reentries appear.

I figured there may be some violent shaking but when sparks start flying to the point where small fires breakout I begin to seriously question as to why. Other than for that silver screen magic.

But in reality how dangerous are reentries? I know things can go wrong quick but is it really that dangerous?

Edit: for that keep mentioning, yes I am aware of the Colombia disaster. But that was not a result of a bad reentry but of damage suffered to the heat shield during launch.

Just like the title, if anyone’s interested in looking through a PowerPoint from my final project it’s got updated Europa DEM data and cross sections from data when Voyager went by it. If this post gets some upvotes I’ll upload it to google drive and link it here!

After the Apollo 1 disaster, the atmospheric composition was changed from being highly oxygen enriched to having a content closer to what we're breathing now, but I read that there was quite a lot of helium included in the composition. Has NASA persisted with this; what are modern compositions on space flights? What sort of HVAC system is used to regulate cabin temps?

A bit esoteric I know but the helium thing piqued my curiosity.

NASA has recently released a new podcast miniseries on the Gateway lunar space station as part of Houston We Have a Podcast, the official podcast of Johnson Space Center. The series provides an overview of Gateway and how it will support Artemis-era exploration of the Moon, featuring discussions with astronauts and Gateway Program leaders.

Episodes include:

Gateway: The Lunar Space Station (July 12, 2024) 

Gateway: Together to the Moon (Aug. 9, 2024) 

Gateway: At Your Service (Sept. 6, 2024) 

Listen to the series here: https://www.nasa.gov/gateway-podcasts/ 

Hi, why is the second true color photo of pluto so much more tan than the first "true color" photo?

LIghter: https://science.nasa.gov/resource/true-colors-of-pluto/

Much More Tan: https://science.nasa.gov/resource/pluto-in-true-color/

The recent Starliner anomaly got me thinking about private missions like the upcoming Polaris Dawn. NASA is sending up another spacecraft to bring back Butch and Suni, but who rescues private astronauts? The Coast Guard rescues private citizens on the sea. Should we have a Space Guard, separate from the Space Force, like the Coast Guard is separate from the Navy? Should they have a spaceship, or a fleet of spaceships, at the ready just in case? Especially as private spaceflight ramps up.