In this week's newsletter, take a look at NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission's return to Earth; discover the new science experiments headed to the International Space Station; and explore the agency's third agencywide economic impact report. Plus, more stories you might have missed.

HUMANS IN SPACE

The Return of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8

After safely splashing down near Pensacola, Florida, as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 mission on Friday, Oct. 25, a NASA astronaut experienced a medical issue. NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin were flown together to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola in Florida.


After medical evaluation at the hospital, three of the crew members departed Pensacola and have arrived at Johnson Space Center in Houston.


The one astronaut who remains at Ascension is in stable condition under observation as a precautionary measure. To protect the crew member’s medical privacy, specific details on the individual’s condition or identity will not be shared.


During its return to Earth, the SpaceX Dragon executed a normal entry and splashdown. Recovery of the crew and the spacecraft was without incident. During routine medical assessments on the recovery ship, the additional evaluation of the crew members was requested out of an abundance of caution.


MISSION UPDATES

HUMANS IN SPACE

New Science Experiments Headed to Space Station


Understanding inflammation and blood clotting in the human body while in microgravity, combating antibiotic resistance, and growing food in the harsh environment of space are just some of the new

science experiments headed to the International Space Station aboard the agency’s SpaceX 31st commercial resupply services mission.


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ABOUT NASA

Working for America


In its third agencywide economic impact report, NASA highlighted how its Moon to Mars activities, climate change research and technology development, and other projects generated more than $75.6 billion in economic output across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in fiscal year 2023.


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HUMANS IN SPACE

Testing Orion


Artemis II NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Reid Wiseman, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen recently traveled to Lockheed Martin Space in Littleton, Colorado, where they practiced opening and closing an Orion crew module side hatch model to help demonstrate its reliability and durability during their 10-day mission around the Moon.


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HUMANS IN SPACE

Preparing for Artemis


Over a two-week period beginning Oct. 10, crews at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, achieved a key milestone for testing a new Space Launch System rocket stage to fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.


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More NASA News

NASA has revealed the first look at a full-scale prototype for six telescopes that will enable, in the next decade, the space-based detection of gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime caused by merging black holes and other cosmic sources.

This summer teams at NASA, the European Space Agency, and Thales Alenia Space came together for a test run of Gateway, humanity’s first space station to orbit the Moon. International teams of astronauts will explore the scientific mysteries of deep space with Gateway as part of NASA's Artemis campaign to explore the Moon and chart a path for the first human missions to Mars and beyond.

A crew of four research volunteers has been selected to participate in NASA's final simulated mission to Mars in 2024. The crew will step into the 650-square-foot Human Exploration Research Analog facility on Friday, Nov. 1. The four volunteers will carry out scientific research and operational tasks throughout their simulated mission, including raising shrimp, growing vegetables, and “walking” on the surface of Mars using virtual reality.

Do You Know?

Saturn’s moon Titan is shrouded in an eerie thick orange haze, and what lay underneath remained a mystery until 20 years ago today. On this day in 2004, the Cassini spacecraft visited Titan for the first time, using its instruments to reveal the surface features hidden below. Titan was found to be the only known world in our solar system besides Earth to have surface lakes and seas.

What are Titan’s lakes and seas composed of?
A. Zombie blood
B. Methane and ethane
C. Pumpkin juice
D. Liquid nitrogen

Find out the answer in next week's edition of the NASA newsletter 🤓

Last week we asked how many women spacewalkers there have been since 1965. The answer? 23! Since the first woman stepped outside a spacecraft in 1984, 23 women from four nationalities have participated in 61 spacewalks.

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