Tag: Washington State University
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Liftoff! Pacific Northwest National Lab’s microbe study could blaze a trail for future farmers on Mars
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from its Florida launch pad. (SpaceX via YouTube) An experiment that’s on its way to the International Space Station focuses on a subject that’s as common as dirt, but could be the key to growing crops in space. The NASA-funded experiment — known as Dynamics of Microbiomes in Space, or…
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Ancient art of origami provides a pathway for building a better tank for rocket fuel
A plastic bladder folded into an origami shape can stand up to cryogenic temperatures. (WSU Photo) Build a better fuel tank, and the space industry will beat a path to your door. At least that’s what Washington State University researchers are hoping after they harnessed the ancient art of origami to develop a foldable fuel…
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Life on the moon? It could have happened billions of years ago, astrobiologists say
The moon passes right across Earth’s disk in a 2015 image captured by the DSCOVR satellite from its observation point, a million miles out in space. (NASA / NOAA Photo) The moon is one of the last places in the solar system you’d expect to find life today, but astrobiologists say life could have found…
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Small seeds on Cygnus cargo ship could lead to giant leap for farming in space
Plants grow in a prototype of the habitat that will be used on the International Space Station to study which strains of crops do best in a weightless environment. (Washington State University Photo) When Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket launches a robotic Cygnus cargo spaceship toward the International Space Station, as early as Monday, it’ll be…