In one of the first experiments to take place on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS), a new type of 3D-textured solar cell will soak up 16 sunrises everyday from the “back porch” of the orbiting research vessel. The carbon nanotube cell was designed by Georgia Tech Professor W. Jud Ready, and it features an experimental 3D coating that “traps” light. In Earth-based tests the next-gen solar cells have yielded a greater efficiency than conventional flat solar cells.

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Post tags: 3d solar, Carbon Nanotube, carbon solar, georgia tech, international space station, iss, jud ready, solar efficiency, solar film, space research, textured solar, thin flim solar

When it’s your job to work in space, there is no such thing as a simple day in the office—and with all the challenges astronauts face, they also often struggle with a shortage of sleep. About half of all astronauts rely on sleep medication at some point in order to get shut-eye. NASA is hoping to change that with a deceptively simple solution: updating the light bulbs in the Space Station with programmable LEDs that change color to mimic a more familiar, earthly day and night schedule.

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Post tags: astronaut health, astronaut sleep patterns, international space station, ISS study, LED bulbs, LED sleep patterns, NASA ISS, NASA LED, NASA Sleep study, Sleep and lighting, sleeping in space

Climate change is not just affecting what is happening on the surface of the Earth, but also what is taking place in the outer reaches of the atmosphere. An article published in the journal Nature Geoscience last week by the U.S Naval Research Laboratory’s Space Science Division described how global warming is affecting satellites and spacecraft orbiting the planet. With over 22,000 pieces of debris floating around the globe, even the smallest bit of junk jostled out of place could cause potential harm to information and communications systems.

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Post tags: Climate Change, CO2, emissions, global warming, international space station, nature geoscience, Satellite, space debris, thermosphere, u.s. naval research laboratory

It seems that taking amazing pictures of Earth from space is no longer a task solely for NASA and astronauts on board the International Space Station. A 19-year old teenager in the UK has managed to take incredible photos of the Earth from space by floating a £30 camera into the atmosphere using a large helium balloon.

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Post tags: acudworth.co.uk, Adam Cudworth, balloons, Canon, HABE, HABE 5, international space station, nasa, nottingham university, Satellite, space photography

When it comes to sheer ingenuity, you can’t beat the geniuses at NASA. After all, these are the people that put the Curiosity Rover on Mars, men on the moon and improvised a way to adapt Apollo 13′s square carbon dioxide scrubber cartridges to fit the Lunar Module’s round cartridges using nothing but the scant materials on board. Their latest feat is just as impressive – for the past week, astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihiko Hoshide have been unable to install a new main bus switching unit (MBSU) on the International Space Station due to stuck bolts. However a brainstorming session at NASA’s Johnson Space Center yielded a solution, and it involved the use of a common household item – a toothbrush!

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Post tags: "solar energy", astronauts, curiosity rover, household items, international space station, MSBU, nasa, recycling, Solar Power

When something breaks in space, ordering a replacement part can be an astronomical inconvenience.  Yet, what if astronauts could simply produce the components they needed on demand? NASA is currently testing a new breed of 3D printers that can create pieces of equipment in low parabolic flights on Earth – and they hope to one day send the technology to Mars.

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Post tags: 3d printer, additive manufacturing, astronaut, California, daily mail, earth, efb3, electron beam freeform, feedstock, Inc., international space station, langley research center, lori garver, made in space, mars, nasa

As NASA gears up for its proposed manned missions to Mars in 2030, the space administration’s Advanced Food Technology (AFT) project is ensuring that the crew will have a completely vegan diet of fresh fruits, vegetables and even live plants. We’ve long been familiar with the traditional astronauts’ fare of liquid meals and freeze-dried food stuffs—oh, and Tang—but when considering plans to send astronauts further afield and beyond the reach of supply vessels, the AFT has found it must create healthier space-meals and methods to grow food in zero-gravity.

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Post tags: advanced food technology, fruit, hydroponic bays, international space station, mission to mars, nasa, NASA food project, vegan food, vegetables

Transferring from online books to interplanetary space travel is quite the career change, but that is exactly what Google Books alum Jimi Crawford is doing. Crawford used to work as an engineering chief for the Mountain View tech giant, but he recently joined private space company Moon Express, where he will be tasked with developing robotic systems to transport equipment to and from the moon for private companies.

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Post tags: dragon X, Google Books, international space station, Jimi Crawford, lunar X challenge, Moon Express, private space company, space company

The 2012 London Olympics is just around the corner, and for the host city the event has cost millions of pounds and taken years of planning — but one team of astronauts think they can create their own games without the expensive resources. Instead of watching the games like the rest of us, the crew of the International Space Station are planning on holding their own zero-g version of the Olympics!

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Post tags: environmental impact, Green Olympics, international space station, international space station olympics, london 2012, london olympics 2012, Olympic Games, olympic games 2012 emissions, space olympics, Sustainable Construction, zero-g olympics

Astronauts on the international space station chatted from space with Pope Benedict on Saturday about how research on the space station into renewable energy could help promote peace on Earth. The Pope, speaking from the Vatican, was curious to hear the space station’s current inhabitants’ thoughts, and shuttle Endeavor commander Mark Kelly was quick to offer his ideas on how their solar energy research could help decrease fighting over energy sources on Earth.

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Post tags: astronauts and pope talk, endeavor, international space station, solar energy research, solar panel research, solar power research, solar research in space, space station, space station solar research, the pope talks to astronauts

Thanks to space travel and the European Space Agency, glass is now being produced more efficiently than ever before. Now you would be forgiven for thinking glass production was already quite green –  you need sand and heat and that’s it, so what could the ESA do to make it even more efficient? Well it seems that the technology used in space is being utilized to produce super-efficient energy-saving windows that protect occupants against heat loss during cold weather and against overheating on warm summer days.

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Post tags: ESCUBE, european space agency, glass production, hammer escube, international space station, space glass, space sensors