News & Media

Learn more about the exciting research projects and scientific discoveries in the fields of Space Biology and Physical Sciences:

Sowing the Seeds of Future Space Travel

Dec 7, 2022

After 908 days in low Earth orbit, a small package on board the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-6 has come home to the delight of some biological scientists. Soon they will open an aluminum alloy container that holds samples of plant seeds that they hope can be used to sustain astronauts on long... Read More

): One single image is divided into four parts: A shows a Mizuna seed as a tan-colored, smooth-textured, irregularly shaped sphere. B shows a two-leafed small green Mizuna seedling emerging from the white “window” of a black seed “pillow” aboard the Space Station. C shows a row of healthy Mizuna plants in pots with irrigation hoses in a ground environmental chamber. D shows multiple Mizuna plants growing in the Veggie unit on the Space Station. The Veggie unit displays multiple seed pillows and the unit is

Three Experiments Heading to Space Station Aim to Support Deep-Space Missions

Nov 17, 2022

Research on dwarf tomatoes, gut bacterium, and amorphous metals could help astronauts go farther, stay longer in space

Small red tomatoes growing under a flat metallic fixture that’s bathing the fruiting plants in blue and red lights, creating a purple hue. The plants are growing out of a red-framed open-box enclosure. Within the enclosure are black-padded pots made of a strong-water resistant flexible material called a flight pillow. This flight pillow encloses the base of the plants with a flat, white material.

NASA Space Biology Bootcamp Teaches the Teachers, Reaching More Students

Nov 10, 2022

When a team of NASA researchers set out to help train a diverse new generation of space biologists, they wanted to magnify their impact on today’s students. So, they decided to teach the teachers.

Surviving Space: Extreme Plant Adaptation

Oct 28, 2022

Which plants have the best chances for survival in space? That’s the question being addressed by Principal Investigators Anna-Lisa Paul and Robert Ferl in the Epigenetic Adaptation to the Spaceflight Environment – Accumulated Genomic Change Induced by Generations in Space (Plant Habitat-03)... Read More

Small green Arabidopsis plants germinating on the base of the Advanced Plant Habitat growth chamber. This is a large box with walls on each side except for the front, which has a large opening. Within the opening, there are LED lights are at the top, air vents on the sides, and a combination of small sensors with cameras.

NASA Selects 7 Space Biology Plant Studies to Help Enable Explorers to Boldly Grow Where No One Has Grown Before

Oct 19, 2022

NASA announces the award of 7 grants or cooperative agreements for exciting new space biology research that will advance NASA’s understanding of how plants respond, acclimate and adapt to the space environment in support of human space exploration.

NASA Selects 12 Space Biology Research Studies

Oct 14, 2022

NASA announces the award of 12 grants or cooperative agreements for exciting new space biology research that will advance NASA’s understanding of how vertebrate and invertebrate model organisms respond, acclimate, and adapt to the space environment in support of human space exploration. ... Read More

Miniature Avatars Take on NASA’s Biggest Challenge

Oct 13, 2022

Science fiction or reality? Before traveling to Mars, NASA needs to learn how spaceflight is going to affect the astronauts on this demanding journey – and now they can thanks to miniature avatars.

In the upper right-hand side, an astronaut’s gloved hand reaches out towards a transparent credit-card sized device being held and passed on by a hand in the lower right-hand corner. Within the transparent device, there’s a network of red lines and small boxes on the right. On the left, there are small green and yellow boxes and lines.

Cooling Technique Developed for Space Use Makes Charging Electric Cars on Earth Quicker and Easier

Oct 4, 2022

An advanced temperature control technique developed for future NASA missions can also make charging electric vehicles easier and faster—potentially paving the way for increased adoption of electric cars.

Photo on left is a woman plugging in a red electric vehicle; photo on right is a group of people working with equipment in a lab

Artificial Gravity Provides Partial Protection for Biology in Space

Sep 6, 2022

New findings from a study using fruit flies on the International Space Station suggest that space travel has an impact on the central nervous system, but that artificial gravity provides partial protection against those changes.

Around the Moon and Back: A Test Drive for Science

Aug 17, 2022

When gazing up at the Moon in the night sky, envision a future where humans can live and work on the lunar surface. Part of that work includes valuable research, as the Moon offers two environments important for science – and to which we do not currently have access down on the ground: The Moon’s... Read More