Biological & Physical Science Stories
First NASA-Supported Researcher to Fly on Suborbital Rocket
For the first time, a NASA-funded researcher will fly with their experiment on a commercial suborbital rocket. The technology is one of two NASA-supported experiments, also known as payloads, funded by the agency’s Flight Opportunities program that will launch aboard…
NASA Demonstrates ‘Ultra-Cool’ Quantum Sensor for First Time in Space
Future space missions could use quantum technology to track water on Earth, explore the composition of moons and other planets, or probe mysterious cosmic phenomena. NASA’s Cold Atom Lab, a first-of-its-kind facility aboard the International Space Station, has taken another…
NASA Sends More Science to Space, More Strides for Future Exploration
Biological and physical investigations aboard the Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply mission NG-21 included experiments studying the impacts of zero gravity on grass, how packed bed reactors could improve water purification both in space and on Earth, and observations on new…
Seed Funding Proposals Due November 19 This Year!
Since 2020, NASA’s Citizen Science Seed Funding Program (CSSFP) has launched 24 new projects to expand citizen science in professional research. This year, proposals are due by November 19, 2024, with optional Notices of Intent by October 1, 2024. The…
NASA Science Activation Teams Present at National Rural STEM Summit
NASA Science Activation (SciAct) teams participated in the National Rural STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) Summit held June 4-7, 2024 in Tucson, Arizona. Hosted by Kalman Mannis of the Rural Activation and Innovation Network (Arizona Science Center) and the…
NASA Selects 5 Proposals to Conduct Research Using Openly Available Data in the Physical Sciences Informatics System
NASA’s Physical Sciences Research Program has selected five ground-based proposals in response to the Physical Science Informatics System call for proposals. These proposals are in the research areas of biophysics, combustion science, fluid physics, and materials science. The five investigators…
Space Station Research Advances NASA’s Plans to Explore the Moon, Mars
Space, the saying goes, is hard. And the farther humans go, the harder it can get. Some of the challenges on missions to explore the Moon and Mars include preventing microbial contamination of these destinations, navigating there safely, protecting crew…
Researchers Develop ‘Founding Document’ on Synthetic Cell Development
Cells are the fundamental units of life, forming the variety of all living things on Earth as individual cells and multi-cellular organisms. To better understand how cells perform the essential functions of life, scientists have begun developing synthetic cells –…
Growing Beyond Earth Annual Student Research Symposium
NASA Science Activation’s Growing Beyond Earth project is a 6th-12th grade classroom-based citizen science project developed by Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in partnership with scientists at NASA, designed to advance NASA research on growing plants in space. It includes a…
International Space Station welcomes biological and physical science experiments
NASA is sending several biological and physical sciences experiments and equipment aboard SpaceX’s 30th commercial resupply services mission. Studying biological and physical phenomena under extreme conditions allows researchers to advance the fundamental scientific knowledge required to go farther and stay…