ISS

Spiders in Space: Light as a Substitute for Gravity Life

Spiders in Space: Light as a Substitute for Gravity

The University of Basel has just issued a very nice story in a press release. It's about spiders, and the following is probably only great for those who like the useful animals at least a little bit. But let the (translated) press release have its say. On earth, spiders form asymmetrical webs, whose center is shifted towards the upper edge. In resting state the spiders sit upside down, because they can move faster in the direction of gravity towards freshly caught prey. But what do arachnids do in zero gravity? In 2008, NASA wanted to get high schools in…
ISS Above: your direct line to the International Space Station Space

ISS Above: your direct line to the International Space Station

Since 2014, four high-definition cameras on the outside of the International Space Station ISS have been tracking what’s going on in space. “ISS Above” can bring this video stream (and a lot more information) right to your television screen. Normally, the cameras are filming our planet and thus offer a unique look at the Earth as usually experienced only by astronauts. However, the Earth is visible in the video stream only when the ISS is above the Sun-lit side of the Earth during its 92-minute orbit around our planet at an altitude of about 450 kilometers (280 miles). That…