space

Katy Perry has taken advantage of her trip to space to promote her tour. Going to space is like going to El Hormiguero

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The little New Shepard rocket in Blue Origin has taken off this Monday for the eleventh time with six people on board. On this occasion there were six women. Among them, pop superstar Katy Perry, who has taken the opportunity to promote the opening concert of his tour in Mexico. A space flight without men. Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission has been The first space launch without men since 1963when the Soviet Union put the first woman in space into orbit: Valentina Tereshkova. Chosen by Lauren Sanchez, the fiance of Jeff Bezos, to “inspire the coming generations,” five women and Sanchez herself They flew above the line of Kárman (the official border of the space), floating in the capsule for three minutes before falling back to the ground with parachute. In addition to Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez, among the crew members were Gayle King (co -exposed “CBS Mornings”), Aisha Bowe (former NASA rocket scientist), Amanda Nguyen (researcher in Bioastronautics) and Kerianne Flynn (film producer). Short, but intense. The six women traveled to the launch platform in two Rivian electric trucks, The rival brand of Tesla financed by Amazon and Jeff Bezos. Bezos was driving one of them. They made a brief stop in front of the rocket for some photos and then uploaded to the capsule to take off. The New Shepard rocket ignited its hydrogen and liquid oxygen engine at 13:30 UTC. Two and a half minutes later, it detached from the capsule, which amounted beyond the border of space, Up to 107 kilometers above sea level. Oprah, Kris Jenner or Khloe Kardashian looked up from the public. On the 7:30 minute, the rocket landed on its own. A minute later, the capsule opened the three parachutes to cushion its descent, between shouts of joy of the crew, who touched earth over the 10th minute. The suborbital flight was brief, but intense, judging by the micro open inside the capsule. Promotional moment Katy Perry took advantage of the minutes in the space to sing “What a Wonderful World” and reveal part of the setlist of his new tour, which will begin in Mexico; turning a space launch into promotion, as if it had gone to El Hormiguero. The singer and Gayle King have joined the growing list of celebrities who have flown to the space with Blue Origin. Jesús Calleja was in the previous missionNS-30, as part of a documentary financed by Amazon Prime Video and Mediaset. William Shatner, Captain Kirk in “Star Trek”, also did in 2021 invited by Jeff Bezos, the company’s owner. Laura Shepard (Alan Shepard’s daughter, the first American in space, which gives name to the rocket), Ed Dwight (The black astronaut that never flew) or the YouTuber Coby Cotton (of the Channel Dude Perfect) have also crossed the karm line aboard the New Shepard rocket. Many of them as part of an effort of Blue origin to promote its tourist flights. Meanwhile, in Spacex. Spacex has had a small number of totally private missions. The first It was inspiration4funded by businessman Jared Isaacman, who is one step away from directing NASA. The Missions of the AXIOM company, operated by Spacex, to the International Space Station mix services for space agencies (ESA sends some of its astronauts in this way) with space tourists willing to live a couple of weeks as authentic crew members of the ISS. Polaris Dawn, again funded by Isaacman, made history with The flight to higher altitude from the Apollo missions and The first commercial extravehicular activity of history. More recently, Fram2 launched a Bitcoin tycoonChun Wang, and his friends on the first flight in polar orbit. From Dennis Tito to Katy Perry. As the reusable rockets (and space airplanes such as Virgin Galactic) reduce the cost of launching people into space, more and more millionaires fulfill their dream of seeing the earth from above as did the New Yorker Dennis Tito, The first space touristin 2001. Tito paid $ 20 million to fly to the ISS for eight days aboard a Soyuz Russian ship. His trip opened the door to a handful of extremely rich individuals who followed their steps during the next decade: Mark Shuttleworth (South African, 2002), Gregory Olsen (American, 2005), Anousheh Ansari (Iraní and First Space Tourist, 2006), Charles Simonyi (Hungarian, 2007 and 2009), Richard Garriott (British 2008) and Guy Laliberté (Canadian and founder of the Circo del Sol, in 2009). The price of a seat in the New Shepard rocket is confidential, but It is estimated at just over one million dollars. Little more than a flight in the Richard Branson space aircraft cost Commercial Space Stations are operational. Image | Blue Origin In Xataka | The Calleja effect: Going to space is going from a great aspiration of humanity to a “Ryanair with rockets”

China is developing an underwater space station more than 2,000 meters deep

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In 1971, the former Russian Soviet Union launched its first space station, Slayut 1which was 175 days in orbit. From then on, the career in the space sector has grown tirelessly. In contrast we have the oceanic fund that around 80% is without mapping or exploring, According to the Oceanic and Atmospheric National Administration (NOA). In addition, in different studies with monitors, key minerals have been found for current technology and China He has got to work. Short. China has started the construction of an underwater laboratory at 2,000 meters deep in the Meriodional China Sea. The project developed in the deep waters of Guangzhou has been described as an “underwater space station”, where six scientists will be for more than a month to study the marine ecosystem, According to Chinadily. The underwater base. As have explained in the same mediumResearchers will aim to study cold leak ecosystems, a natural phenomenon that contains high amounts of methane hydrate. This gas is considered a less polluting alternative to traditional fossil fuels, but its extraction to great depths is a complex risk. On the other hand, the laboratory will also seek to explore minerals such as cobalt, nickel and rare earths, important elements for the technological and energy industry. Dangerous extraction. The deposits in the seabed, especially those at extreme depths, can cause irreparable damage to marine ecosystems. In fact, the international authority of the seabed has not established a regulation that determines how to carry out the activity, although studies are still being carried out. Currently, ISA He is holding meetings For the regulation of seabed extraction, while environmental organizations They are claiming a protection of oceans above commercial interests. Is there a place for everyone? The research center will be open to international collaborations and is aligned with the United Nations decade for the restoration of ecosystems, According to Global Times. However, this initiative will intensify disputes in the South China Sea. All this is because the Asian giant has claimed sovereignty over a large part of the area, which has led to tensions with neighboring countries that also wish to exploit their resources. Besides, According to El Confidencialcritics of the Chinese government have alerted the risk of this underwater base that could serve as justification for an increase in Chinese military presence. The submarine laboratory. According to El Confidencialthe station will be connected to a fiber optic network in the seabed and will support pressures 200 times higher than the sea level. Scientists will spend between a month and 45 days underwater, without natural light. In addition, the base will feature advanced submersibles, surface ships and equipment to perform four -dimensional monitoring of the region. In addition, the initial phase will focus on the construction of pressure resistant structures and simulation systems. Surpassing AI and autonomous vehicles. The station, as have detailed in SCMPIt will allow scientists to perform real -time experiments under extreme conditions, which is currently not possible to arrive with artificial intelligence or autonomous vehicles. As has explained for Global Times The project director, Chaolun Li, the initiative will contribute to the ecological and experimental monitoring in situ, advancing human knowledge in these extreme environments. Image | Proteus Ocean Group Xataka | Chinese submarines are authentic crickets: a new generation promises to change the rules of the game

There are so much space garbage that the ESA has said enough

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When astronauts run to take refuge in their ships within a few months, rocket fragments fall into populated areas and multiple flights are diverted, it is that The problem of space garbage It is getting worse. The European Space Agency wants more strict rules and greater international cooperation, and will impose them even if no one follows. The goal: avoid the dreaded Kessler syndrome. From bad to worse. In 2024, the amount of space waste increased considerably after several incidents. In May, a Russian satellite that had been inactive for three years disintegrated in the low orbitforcing astronauts of the International Space Station to take refuge in their ships. In August, A CZ-6A Chinese rocket exploded After deploying 18 satellites in low orbit, generating a cloud of more than 300 fragments. In October, the IS-33E communications satellite Manufactured by Boeing, but he did it in the geostationary orbit. Up there, the 700 documented pieces will last thousands of years. Official data. According to a Recent ESA Reportapproximately 54,000 objects of more than 10 centimeters are known orbiting the earth, including active satellites. However, there are at least 1.2 million objects between 1 and 10 centimeters that could also put manned missions at risk and satellites due to its great kinetic energy. ESA warns in its report that the current trend increases the real risk of Kessler syndrome, a cascade of collisions in the low terrestrial orbit that could use this region for future generations. This scenario would not only put the new satellite constellations, such as those of Starlink, Kuiper or Oneweb, but seriously affect the safety of astronauts. It is not strange that China has dedicated much of 2024 To fortify its Tiangong Space Station to protect it from spatial garbage fragments and small meteoroids. But the implications of space waste are not limited only to space, they also have tangible impacts on the mainland. Not only does it affect space. As the cadence of launches increases, so do the uncontrolled falls of satellites and rockets. They almost always disintegrate in the atmosphere, but some elements, such as carbon fiber tanks, can resist the heat of the reentry even traveling 27,000 kilometers per hour. Spacex could be touching the limits of its launching capacity after suffering several incidents. The closest to a misfortune has occurred this year in the airspace of Poland, where a second stage of Falcon 9 was disintegrated. Several large fragments managed to survive the heat of the reentry and They fell near the city of Poznanincluding a subway and a half deposit on the grounds of an industrial plant. The frequent tests of new rockets are also a reason for concern. The Spacex starship has exploded twice on the Atlantic Ocean this year, causing two debris rainfall and Several deviations on commercial flights of the Caribbean or Florida. Bluen’s New Glenn rocket propeller fell out of control in the Atlantic during its debut flight, but did so at dawn, without great consequences. New ESA rules. Although there were already rules such as 25 years (which establishes that obsolete satellites must get out of orbit within a maximum period of 25 years after their useful life), the level of compliance varies according to the type and size of the object. It is only 52% for large satellites. Therefore, ESA has introduced a more strict five -year limit in its missions, seeking to set an example to establish more rigorous standards globally. All this is part of A “Zero Debris” commitment which seeks to reach an orbital environment without waste by 2030. The frame includes technical measures to avoid space garbage, actively eliminate waste through advanced technologies and foster a spatial circular economy based on the beginning of the four R: “Remove, reuse, refurbish, recycle”, eliminate, reuse, restore and recycle. In search of an international framework. It is not clear that ESA will lead the world by imposing stricter norms, because it could affect the development of new commercial constellations, but the problem of space garbage is becoming a real priority in the international legal field. There is a legal framework: the 1972 Responsibility Convention. It was applied, for example, in the case of the Kosmos 954 Soviet satellite, which spread radioactive remains over northern Canada in 1978, or when part of a Spacex Crew Dragon ship of Spacex fell on a Saskatchewan farm In 2024. In most cases, however, it is difficult to purify responsibilities, he points out A report from the University of New York. According to the report, more robust and binding international agreements are urgently needed. Image | THAT In Xataka | The new space race has created Boomerang scrap. The probability that clash against a plane has also increased

Put solar panels in space has never been profitable, but there is something that motivates the current interest: its military use

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The old idea of ​​collecting energy from the sun from space to transmit it uninterrupted to Earth has always collided with the huge costs and technological barriers that have prevented their deployment. Until now. A global interest. Governments and companies around the world seem to have a renewed interest in space solar energy. The drastic drop in launch costs, thanks to the emergence of reusable rockets such as Spacex, could have cleared the main economic obstacle from the equation. The necessary technology has also matured in parallel: solar panels are lighter and more efficient, and wireless energy transmission (microwave or laser) is more advanced. The same with robotics, which will be necessary to assemble the stations in orbit. The military factor. As with any renewable project, the energy transition and emission commitments are the engine of this new effort. But behind the recent interests of the Chinese government or the pentagon there is something else: the military potential of space solar energy. “The military utility of transmitting energy to land, aerial or maritime units is obvious,” He said to Spacenews Darpa’s tactical technology project manager Paul Jaffe. Transporting fuel to remote places with tank airplanes can be a usual practice, but “it is not a practical way to bring energy where we need it for defense purposes.” In addition to DARPA, who has conversations with space solar energy startups and invests in the development of long -distance wireless energy transmission, the United States Air Force and Navy are also in garlic. Pentagon projects. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFR) actively develops space solar technology through its “Space Solar Incremental Demonstrations and Research” program. Its flagship mission “Arachne” will prove in orbit a sandwich panel that converts sunlight into radiofrequency energy to transmit it to a terrestrial receptor. Led by Northrop Grumman, it is scheduled for this year with the explicit objective of providing energy to the forces and reducing the dependence of fuel convoys, which are more vulnerable. For its part, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) integrated a module called PRAM into the X-37B secret space plane to prove the conversion of solar energy to microwave. Now the project is part of the space force. What can we expect. Military interest is an important catalyst, and possibly one of the motivations behind the gigantic project of the Chinese Academy of Space Technology (CASC), which will display its first satellites in low orbit by 2028 and in geostationary orbit for 2030. But in the coming years we will also see all kinds of commercial and space agencies, including the European Space Agency with its Solaris initiative, which focuses on viability studies. Despite these progress, the challenges are still considerable. The two major doubts are profitability, in the case of commercial efforts, which will compete with the renewable energies deployed on land, increasingly profitable despite their intermittency. And security, which depends on the fact that you are issued at distances of hundreds or tens of thousands of kilometers are very precise. Maybe let’s see some “fried” birds along the way.

After matching his space bet, Jeff Bezos has invested in the other great Elon Musk project: electric cars

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Jeff Bezos is financing under a startup of electric vehicles called Slate Auto, which works since 2022 in a Pickup Compact and affordable with an expected price of $ 25,000, as it has revealed Techcrunch. Why is it important. This investment is a very different approach to the one followed by the majority of electric startups, which have opted for luxury models with high margins. Slate Auto changes the usual strategy when directing directly to the mass market, that of the general public. And just at a time when the growth of some brands has slowed down. In the case of Tesla, has collapsed. Between bambalins. The company was born as part of Re Manufacturing, another company supported by Bezos and co -founded by Jeff Wilke, former CEO of Amazon Consumer. Since then, he has attracted several executives from Ford, GM, Stellantis and Harley-Davidson, in addition to several former Amazon ex-employed. The figures. Slate raised at least 111 million dollars in a series A round in 2023, and according to documents from the state of Delaware mentioned by Motorpasionhas authorized about 500 million preferential shares for a series B $ 2.37 per share. That is, almost 1.2 billion dollars. In addition to Bezos, the company has the investment of Mark Walter, majority owner of the Dodgers, a baseball team, and Thomas Tull, main re manufacturing investor. The strategy. The Pickup of two Slate places follow a minimalist philosophy inspired by the Ford Model T and the Volkswagen Beetle. The company’s plan is to compensate for the low margins of the vehicle with an accessories line for customization, similar to the Harley-Davidson business model or division Mopar of Stellantis. And now what. Slate plans to start production at the end of 2026 in an installation in Indiana. During these days a prototype of the car in Los Angeles has been sighted and photographed, showing a simple and functional design, published in Reddit and collected by Carscoops. Far away from the futuristic lines of a possible rival like the Cybertruck of Tesla. Expected that, after the exclusive Techcrunch And the first photo of the prototype, the company is encouraged to share some more information than until now, where it has been cryptic in its communications. Outstanding image | Reddit In Xataka | The problem of US cars in Europe is not tariffs: they are not interested in the least

Too many generators in little space

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If just a few days ago the Supreme Court endorsed environmental processing From the Xunta de Galicia to reactivate 64 judicially blocked wind projects, it has now been a varapalo to the sector. Short. The supreme has decided to provisionally suspend the authorization of the “Moeche Wind Park”, promoted by Enel Green Power Spain (Endesa subsidiary), after admitting an appeal of the Petón do Lobo Ecologist Association, According to Galicia’s voice. On the tightrope. The same Galician medium has detailed that the 50.4MW installation was projected in the province of A Coruña, among the municipalities of Moeche, San Sadurñino and As Somozas. By exceeding 50 megawatts, the process depended on the State and not on the Xunta. However, the TS has stopped the initiative since it considers that its cumulative impact on the environment has not been properly evaluated, that is, the proximity with other macroprojects. And more macroprojects. As the environmental organization has denounced, Moeche is part of a fragmented macroproject that includes other large facilities in the area, such as Barqueiro (126MW), Tesouro (50.4MW), Sanctuary (161MW) and Badulaque (102,4MW). In addition, the group has explained that the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) does not sufficiently analyze how these projects interact with each other or their global impact on the territory, How the Vigo lighthouse has had access. Too many wind turbines. The supreme does not enter to assess the possible fragmentation of the project, it does consider that there is a high concentration of wind farms within a radius of 20 kilometers, being a total of 37 in operation and 62 projected, according to the vigués medium. In the court of the court, remember that the environmental precautionary principle should prevail: it is better to prevent irreversible damage than to try to correct it afterwards, although there is a restoration plan. In addition, there is a current regulation that stipulates that exist a minimum distance Among the parks. Against. Both the state lawyer and Endesa opposed the precautionary measure. According to Galicia’s voiceThey argued that environmental risks were already duly evaluated in the Environmental Impact Declaration (DIA) and that the study took into account all the environmental parks of the environment. In addition, they denied that there was a fragmentation of the project and recalled that, According to recent jurisprudence of the Supreme, it is not mandatory to present all the sectorial reports in the initial phase of the environmental evaluation process. And now what? The Moeche case has again reopened the debate on the development of the wind sector in Galicia, especially in saturated areas of projects, and about the need to perform more integrated analysis of the environmental impact. Besides, As reported expandingit is the first time that the Supreme Court agrees a precautionary suspension of this type, and does so by stressing that the “general interest” of advancing in decarbonization cannot automatically impose itself when there are reasonable doubts about possible damage to the natural environment. Image | Flickr Xataka | Wind energy in Galicia faces a wind against: legal and social barriers that threaten the future

The US has detected an object in space with strange behavior. The source that released it has also located: Russia

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Last year there was a fact that formalized the rhetoric of the “spatial war” It was a fact. It was known, in some cases it was intuited, that the United States, Russia and China had transferred their confrontations hundreds of kilometers from the earth through their satellites. However, in December any glimpse of doubt was cleared: United States He designed the bases of a war attack in space. Now they have detected something unusual, and their source comes from Moscow. First was surveillance. In March, The CNN counted that the Pentagon had intensified the surveillance of the spatial activities of Russia and China in the face of growing evidence that both powers are testing New capabilities Offensive in orbit. As American defense officials then said, Russia had carried out coordinated satellite exercises that simulate attack and defense tactics, including maneuvers in which several satellites surround and isolate another, demonstrating a possible scenario of neutralization of enemy ships. China, meanwhile, had executed similar maneuversincluding the closed formation of satellites and offensive approach practices, actions that reinforce suspicions about the growing militarization of outer space. Three satellites and a stranger. Thus we arrive at the news of these days. Russia has launched space three highly secret satellites (Kosmos 2581, 2582 and 2583) that have revived concerns about a possible preparation for space war. On February 2, the satellites were sent to orbit aboard a Soyuz rocket, without Moscow revealing details about their purpose. Not just that. To the unusual maneuvers they have performed since their deployment, the recent appearance of A mysterious objectpossibly released by the Kosmos 2583 satellite on March 18, whose strange draw Observe with concern. The United States’s space force has already cataloged the new object, while some speculation suggests that these satellites could be practicing “attack and defense” tactics orbital, designed to isolate or neutralize enemy satellites in case of a future conflict. Trajectory of the object detected Theories Although astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, from Harvard-Smithsonian Center, nuanced interpretations Alarmists when considering that the observed maneuvers can simply be due to similar orbits, recent history also reinforces skepticism. In 2022, Russia had already launched the Kosmos 2558 in the same orbital trajectory as an American military satellite, which was interpreted as an act of spatial espionage. The geopolitical context and the background of the Kremlin in the matter of covert technologies They raise suspicions that this new satellite trio may be carrying out surveillance missions, interception or testing tests Antisatellite technologiesalthough for now there are no conclusive evidence of hostile actions. The “conquest” of space. We said it at the beginning. The maneuvers attributed to satellites Kosmos 2581-2583 They are framed in a broader scenario in which both Russia and China would be exploring New combat capabilities orbital. The Recent CNN reports They quote officials of the United States Department of Defense, who say that both countries are carrying out military training in low orbits, a key zone for their proximity to land and its frequent use for communication, recognition and intelligence satellites. This trend reinforces the fear that space will be consolidated as a new confrontation field Strategic, one where powers develop technologies to deactivate, interfere or even destroy enemy space assets. Uncertainty and surveillance. So far we write, the nature or function of the object released in March has not been determined with certainty, which increases the tension around this satellite trio. McDowell explained That between February 25 and March 14, proximity operations were registered between the satellites, and that two of them passed near Kosmos 2583 on March 7, although it could not be confirmed if there was an attempt at offensive coordination. Even so, the US spatial force maintains close surveillance on the orbital movements and patterns of these artifacts, given the possibility that it is covert tests of new military capacities in space, a dimension that is no longer purely scientific or commercial, but also tactic. The challenge of “interpreting.” In the background, a problem that until now had not taken place in space, that of the opacity of the nations with respect to the missions of their satellites and the repeated use of covert technologies in their space operations that make it difficult to obtain certainty. In an environment where the simple fact of sharing orbits or making approaches between satellites can have both harmless and aggressive aims, analysts, in this case of the United States, must move between caution and prevention. As We already explainedwhile the calls multiply to establish clear international standards on behavior in space, Washington and its allies already consider spatial domain as a Active strategic theaterand each new mysterious object, such as the newly released by Kosmos 2583, adds one more tension layer to technological and military rivalry in orbit. Image | POT In Xataka | The space is no longer a two thing with the arrival of China, so the US has devised a war plan just in case: “Space fire” In Xataka | Satellites with missiles from Earth is ended up: the United States takes the first step to end the practice

In 2019 we discovered some fungi capable of metabolizing gold. There are already those who want to make it the key to space mining

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The story Start more than five years ago In Boddington, south of the Australian city of Perth. Over there, Between murderous animals and gold mines, a team of researchers from the Australian Csiro discovered something truly rare: that certain fungus strains Fusarium oxysporum Not only could they extract gold from its surroundings and integrate it into their structure, but in doing so they managed to spread faster than the rest. It seemed a curiosity without more, but in recent years the situation has begun to change. But, a moment, why is something so “weird”? Good question. After all, we know of good ink that fungi “play an essential role in degradation and recycling of all types of organic material (Like leaves or bark), but also in the cycle of certain metals such as aluminum, iron, manganese and calcium. “Why would it be different with gold? Because, as Tsing Bohu explained, a researcher in charge of the project, “Gold is so inactive (chemically speaking) that this type of interactions is unusual and surprising, he had to see him to believe it.” And he saw it. In fact, lo published in Nature Communications. It was the first solid evidence that fungi could have a relevant role in the gold cycle in the earth’s crust. The “mushroom” of golden eggs. Quickly the mining industry put his eyes on the investigation. Especially right there, in Australia. The continent island is the second largest gold producer in the world, but The consensus among analysts It is that without new deposits the production was going to fall (and much) in a short time. Initially, the industry thought that CSIRO’s investigation could serve to locate these new deposits. As we explained years agoin Australia it is relatively common to do prospects in forests of the Aucaliptos family or near termites because they have a close relationship with the precious metal. Why not analyze the land in search of those strains of Fusarium oxysporum? But there is one more possibility. As Eduardo Bazo explained to Eugenio Fernández In a very interesting interviewin recent years there have appeared companies that work on what we could call “Metabolic mining“That is, in using organisms to extract gold. “And what do you want that?” You could ask. “Isn’t it easier to identify where gold is and extract with industrial methods?” Yes, here on earth, yes. But these companies look a little further: in space mining. For years we have talked about the existence of huge mineral deposits in the solar system and, for almost the same, We have fantasized to be able to exploit them. The problem is that, Beyond the current technological limitationsS, to the danger of normal mining, is added the fact that we talk about processing metal in space. But and if we use ‘metabolic mining’? The idea of ​​sending modified strains of these fungi (or other microorganisms) that They will process the mineral for useverything would become easier. I don’t know if more viable, but simpler. It is much less rare than it seems (this type of approaches we use to innumerable products that we usually use), however to take it to the world of mining seems a little more complex by pure efficiency. However, that’s ‘now’. While I write (and while The era of cheap materials ends) Several research groups They are cultivating all kinds of microorganisms with the idea of ​​being able to grow gold sooner rather than later. Image | Dominik Vanyi | Jaap Straydo In Xataka | The next richest person in the world will come from space: the future millionaire of space mining

We have studied the bones of some mice that passed 37 days in space. The results are not optimistic

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In November of this year, if there are no unforeseen events, in November of this year humanity will celebrate an anniversary. They will be fulfilled 25 years of human presence continued in space. The exploration of the last border has advanced significantly and humans spend more time in space and aspire to get further. But that has a price. The cost of microgravity. A team of researchers has analyzed The effects of a spatial mission on mice and the results do not invite optimism. They observed that the stay severely affected the bones of these rodents, who lost bone density in parts of their body. The femur, great victim. This loss of bone mass was not given in all areas equally. The team observed, for example, that the femur was one of the bones where the most extended bone cavities. In contrast, the lumbar zone of mammalian spine were the least affected. This makes the study responsible for the study suspect that the main trigger for this loss of bone density is in the microgravity. For example, the team indicates an alternative hypothesis, radiation. As they explain, the mice in the ISS were not exposed to large doses of radiation from space, but if this had been the loss of bone mass would have occurred from outside, that is, that the bones closest to the surface would have been more damaged, while the most surrounded by muscle bones would have been more protected. 37 days in orbit. The experiment used mice to explore how long rooms in space affect. They were used Two groups of micesome that were sent to the space station for a mission of 37 days and others that remained on Earth as a control group. The team responsible for the study simulated flight conditions in the control group to be able to make the conditions similar in everything except in the space stay. Similar, not identical. Those responsible for the study explain in a video how mice and humans keep important biological similarities that imply the changes we see in some are probably also giving in others. There are also differences to consider. For example, the fact that humans are bipeds implies that the bones of our lumbar zone have a more important role in supporting the weight of the upper part of our body. This implies that these bones are probably more affected in humans than in mice. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Plos One. If you don’t use it, you lose it. The body often tries to optimize resources. That is why a possible explanation to this phenomenon is there, in the idea that, since the bones in microgravity do not need to endure the weight of our body, they lose mass and density. Other risks. The study points to microgravity as the main suspect of the loss of bone density but this is not the only risk to take into account when we devise long -term space trips. Radiation is perhaps the most important in this sense, to the point that it was considered as a candidate to cause bone mass loss in mice. Radiation implies an additional problem and that, although in places like the moon and Mars the seriousness of the bodies could reduce the deterioration of the bones associated with the microgravity conditions, the same cannot be said of radiation. Moreover, the radiation in these environments is greater since the International Space Station even protected by the Earth’s magnetic shield. In Xataka | The 24 most spectacular videos and photos from the International Space Station Image | POT / Rukmani Cahill, et al. (2025)

This Bitcoin millionaire paid Spacex to make the first space flight around the poles: he has achieved it

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The Fram2 mission images They do not disappoint. For the first time in history, there are humans flying over the earth from space in polar orbit. And not because a space agency such as NASA or ESA has financed it. It’s about A private mission of Spacex For a cryptocurrency customer. The first manned flight in polar orbit. The mission Fram2 He took off during the early morning of March 31 from Cabo Cañaveral, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The first stage of the rocket returned to the earth to land in a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. The second stage went south to place the Crew Dragon ship in a polar orbit. FRAM2 is the first manned space flight in history with a 90 degree inclination, which means that Its four crew They are the first people who fly over the north and south poles of the earth from space. A Bitcoin tycoon. None of the crew had gone to space before. The commander and patron of the mission is a Chinese millionaire of Maltese nationality called Chun Wang. Wang made fortune as founder of F2POOL, one of the biggest Bitcoin mining platforms that exist. Next to him travel Jannicke Mikkelsen, Norway Cinematographer, ship’s commander and responsible for documenting the mission. Rabea Rogge, expert in robotics and pilot of the mission. And Eric Philips, doctor and mission specialist, who brings his experience as a tanning explorer of the poles. 22 experiments. Even if they are financed by Wang, the four travelers will collaborate with Spacex and NASA with A series of experiments in flight. Among them, the first radiography taken in space and a mushroom culture in microgravity. In addition to a multitude of images of the polar caps taken through the dome, the Module with panoramic views of the Crew Dragon ship. But perhaps the most interesting happens on your return. When Americann, they will be in charge of opening the hatch and leaving the ship, without the help of Spacex rescue equipment, demonstrating this possibility for the first time. A new era. Chun Wang has become the Person number 722 In crossing the line of karm, the official “border” of the space. Characters such as the television presenter Jesús Callejaand will follow him shortly Katy Perry or Lauren SanchezJeff Bezos’s fiancee. Private spatial flights have come to stay and, when there is enough money at the table, the border between space tourism and space exploration is blurred. The Fram2 mission is the first one that flies in polar orbit, but the mission Polaris Dawn, financed by Millionaire Jared IsaacmanIt was the first private mission in which two people carried out an extravehicular activity. Images | Spacex In Xataka | Of the 719 people who have traveled to space, only one has done so without revealing their name. Now we know who it is

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