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As of Sunday, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has clocked more time in Earth orbit than any other astronaut, surpassing the mark held by his Russian colleague Gennady Padalka. And as a fun quirk introduced by Einstein’s Special and General Theories of Relativity, Kononenko has traveled farther into the future than anyone else—even if by the tiniest fraction of a second.Alex Winter on Innovative Horror Movies Kononenko has now spent 879 days in orbit and counting. The illustrious record was set aboard the International…

A view of Starship’s 33 Raptor engines during its second test flight on November 18.Image: Photo: SpaceXExperimental rockets, Moon landers, planetary flybys, breathtaking spacewalks, and vintage boosters—these are just a few of the many stories that contributed to the most striking and memorable images of 2023.Indeed, the past 12 months have been a whirlwind of activity in the realm of spaceflight, whether in the lab, on the launch pad, or in space itself. The resulting visuals from the past year are particularly…

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For a year, a rogue tomato was missing in action on board the International Space Station (ISS), sparking rumors that an astronaut may have eaten it during a moment of weakness. It turns out that there were actually two missing tomatoes, not just one, found squished in a tiny ziplock bag, and they’re looking a little rough tbh.Google’s AI Isn’t a Gimmick, It’s the Future | AI UnlockedNASA shared an update on the case of the missing tomatoes on Thursday, releasing a photo of the retrieved ziplock bag containing the…

The curious case of the conspicuously absent cherry tomato has finally been put to rest eight months after the lab-grown edible went missing.Zillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With… AI? | AI UnlockedIn space, no one can hear a tomato scream, even when it’s lost. NASA’s Veg-05 experiment, a project focusing on growing fruits and vegetables in space, experienced an unusual turn of events when a Red Robin dwarf tomato vanished shortly after being harvested in March. This tomato, part of a study to explore the feasibility…

SpaceX Crew Dragon approaching the ISS on May 23, 2023. On board is the Axiom-2 crew. Photo: NASASomeone once said that May is a month of renewal, growth, and endless possibilities. That was certainly the case for spaceflight last month, as these striking visuals attest.May 2023 was a busy one for spaceflight, with private missions blasting off to the ISS, a space tourism venture getting back on track, and an assortment of previously launched spacecraft navigating the cosmic highways. Here are some of our favorite visuals…

This week, NASA announces the names of the four astronauts who will venture beyond the Moon for the planned Artemis 2 mission next year, and we couldn’t be more excited.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewSpring is in the air and so are Falcon 9 rockets, two of which are set to launch this week. It’s also the season for new insights into an upcoming private mission to the ISS and the launch of an important pollution-monitoring sensor. NASA’s big Artemis 2 astronaut revealOn Monday…

NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore could finally hitch a ride to the ISS aboard Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on July 21, but tests of the capsule’s parachute system threaten to delay the beleaguered project even further.Astronomers Could Soon Get Warnings When SpaceX Satellites Threaten Their ViewThe first crewed mission of Starliner and its third flight overall has a launch date, but you’ll have to excuse my trepidation,given the project’s highly regrettable history. The $4.3 billion Starliner is…

A few months after a Russian crew capsule sprung a leak while docked to the International Space Station, the MS-22 returned to Earth carrying cargo but with no crew on board.Three Astronauts May Be Stranded on the ISS After Disturbing Soyuz Coolant LeakRussian space agency Roscosmos’s Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft undocked from the ISS on Tuesday at 5:57 a.m. ET before landing in the Kazakh Steppe, an area of open grassland in northern Kazakhstan, with the help of a parachute about two hours later at 7:46 a.m. ET, according to…

The Soyuz MS-22 capsule, as seen on October 8, 2022.Photo: NASARussia’s Soyuz MS-24 crew capsule could launch to the International Space Station sooner than planned to replace a potentially unsafe spacecraft slated to return three astronauts back to Earth, Russian media reported. Upsettingly, the potentially unsafe spacecraft is MS-23, a replacement craft sent to the ISS to replace the damaged MS-22.The Soyuz MS-24 was scheduled for launch on September 15, but may now launch on June 7 instead, three anonymous industry…