Americans, Russians and spacefarers from other countries have been working together aboard the International Space Station for a quarter-century. But the ISS is nearing the end of its operational life. What's next for the space station, and what comes after it retires?

Following the ISS retirement in 2030, NASA expects to see the construction of "one or more commercial space stations," said The Verge. Each station will be run by a private company "for profit and part of a thriving space economy." NASA astronauts will use these stations as a platform for their work and further exploration of space. Two companies, Blue Origin and Starlab Space, are creating their own designs, while another, Axiom Space, is building modules to "begin life" attached to the ISS. The goal is ambitious, but also a gamble. Industry leaders still don't know "whether there's money to be made or not" in space, said The Verge.

Why is the ISS being retired?

The station is "showing its age," said Florida Today. A recent report from NASA's inspector general questioned whether it would be "safe or even affordable to operate past 2030," or even if it can last that long. There is an air leak in a Russian module on the station, and space suits aboard the station have been malfunctioning. So NASA is making plans to "deorbit" the station, contracting with SpaceX to build a vehicle that will bring the station "over a remote part of Earth" in 2031.

There is debate about whether that's a wise plan. Critics say crashing the ISS into an isolated part of the Pacific Ocean "could end up polluting Earth's air and water," said Space.com. Others say the effects will be negligible: Dumping the 400-ton ISS will be a "very minor contributor to ocean pollution" compared to the shipping and cargo that already sinks every year, said Luciano Anselmo of the Space Flight Dynamics Laboratory. But others argue for boosting the ISS to a higher orbit, Kevin Holden Platt said at Forbes. Up there, it could serve as a museum for "astrophysicists, astronauts and space aficionados not yet born."

What happens after the ISS retires?

Space stations have for more than 50 years "been the preserve of nation-states," said The Telegraph. That's largely been a question of capabilities: National governments alone possessed the "billions of dollars of investment" and capability to make "dozens of rocket launches" that building a station requires. No longer. Elon Musk's SpaceX has helped bring down launch costs, and now private companies are raising "billions of dollars in an effort to build future hubs" in space. Some of the entrepreneurs have literally lofty goals. One day "there will be more people living off Earth than on Earth," predicted Max Haot, CEO of Vast, which hopes to launch a small station this year.

NASA, meanwhile, is looking beyond Earth orbit to the "moon and beyond," said Mashable. America's space agency is aiming to build a "permanent lunar presence" that could serve as a launch point for humanity's first trip to Mars.

Earth's bacteria are evolving to survive in space. Several strains sourced from the International Space Station (ISS) differed from the same strains on Earth, having qualities specifically adapted to Earth's orbit. While it is still unclear what kind of danger these bacteria pose, scientists are looking at ways to protect astronauts from potential superbugs.

Cosmic evolution

Five species of bacteria were collected from the International Space Station, according to a study published in the journal bioRxiv. "Our study shows that the microorganisms we isolated from the International Space Station have uniquely adapted to survive in space when compared to the Earth counterparts," the lead author of the study, Kasthuri Venkateswaran, said to New Scientist. "These microbes have found ways to live and possibly even thrive in space, and understanding how they do this could have big benefits for space exploration and health."

This is not the first time bacteria in space have demonstrated the ability to evolve. A separate study, also headed by Venkateswaran and published in the journal Microbiome, looked at 13 strains of the drug-resistant bacteria Enterobacter bugandensis from the ISS and found that they had evolved in ways distinct from their Earth counterparts. "The strains were able to viably persist in the ISS over time in significant abundances. E. bugandensis coexisted with multiple other microorganisms, and in some cases could have helped those organisms survive," said a press release for the study.

Much of this evolution is related to the ISS itself. "Closed human-built environments, such as the ISS, are unique areas that provide an extreme environment subject to microgravity, radiation, and elevated carbon dioxide levels," said the release. "Any microorganisms introduced to these areas must adapt to thrive."

Superbugs in space

In addition to evolving, the bacteria in the ISS may have also become more virulent. The species showed "enhanced activity of certain genes linked to bacterial virulence, including those that help them evade and damage the immune system," said New Scientist. "They can also form biofilms: slimy layers that stick to surfaces and can help bacteria resist antibiotics and disinfectants." The exact threat level to humans is unknown, though researchers are concerned for the health of astronauts.

E. bugandensis, for example, is an opportunistic pathogen, meaning it can "cause disease only if the host is already 'perturbed,' such as if they are battling disease already or if they are immunocompromised," said IFL Science. The bacteria is notoriously drug-resistant, and several antibiotic treatments are no longer effective in treating it. If evolution makes bacteria like this more invulnerable, prevention and treatment options will become increasingly essential. "Monitoring the microbial population on board the human habitats in long missions and characterizing their genetic traits are crucial for safeguarding astronaut health," Venkateswaran said.

Controlling moisture levels of the ISS may potentially decrease the proliferation of bacteria. Additionally, drugs specifically targeting the evolved genes of the bacteria could become a new research focus. "By delving into microbial dynamics in extreme environments, this research opens doors to effective preventative measures for astronaut health," said the press release for the Microbiome study.

"We've all been there," said Richard Hollingham on BBC Future: stuck on a broken-down train or stranded in an airport after a cancelled flight, unsure when we'll get home. Spare a thought, then, for Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. In June, the pair arrived on the International Space Station (ISS) with limited luggage for what was supposed to be a fleeting eight-day visit. But the spacecraft that took them there – Boeing's new Starliner – suffered helium leaks and thruster problems before docking, raising doubts about its safety for the return flight.

If Nasa can confidently establish that the issues are fixed, the two astronauts may yet be able to return in the craft. If not, the Starliner will fly back empty, and Williams and Wilmore will have to remain on the ISS until they can hitch a ride with other returning astronauts on a SpaceX spacecraft – in February 2025.

The pair aren't in any danger, according to Nasa, said Stephen Bleach in The Sunday Times, and their stock of food and clothes was topped up last week by a supply capsule. Indeed, I found myself almost envying their unexpected summer in space – all that peace and quiet, "the licensed, guilt-free idleness of it". But then I remembered that they'll be working round the clock with seven other astronauts in what amounts to a "flatshare from hell", drinking recycled sweat and urine. They'll be too busy to feel sorry for themselves, said Wiliam Hunter in the Daily Mail. With lengthy work shifts and two hours of compulsory exercise a day, ISS crew members are left with little free time to ruminate.

Discomfort, risk and uncertainty are part of the deal if you're an astronaut, said Micah Maidenberg in The Wall Street Journal. "This is just the life that we live," Wilmore said in an interview in March when asked about the risk of missions going wrong. Both he and Williams have done previous stints on the ISS: she made headlines in 2006 by running a marathon inside it on a treadmill.

Williams's husband, Michael, remarked last week that his wife would be anything but disappointed by the prospect of spending more time carrying out scientific experiments and repairs on the orbiting station 250 miles above Earth. "That's her happy place," he said.

What goes up doesn't always come down — at least, not right away. Boeing's Starliner mission to the International Space Station won't return to Earth until sometime in August, CNBC said, while engineers try to figure out why the craft's helium thruster system has been so troublesome. Just don't say the two-person crew that launched in June is "stranded in space." Yes, the capsule has spent nearly two months on what was originally intended to last a bit more than a week. But the astronauts will get home, one way or another. "NASA always has contingency options," said one official.

Boeing has had a "long, difficult road" getting the capsule into space, said The New York Times. Back in 2019, it appeared the company could beat Elon Musk's SpaceX to space. But an uncrewed launch that year went awry, upended by software errors that were caused by "multiple failures in Boeing's processes." The second launch, two years later, was also plagued by faulty thrusters. It took two more years after that to get astronauts to space: The delays reportedly cost Boeing $1.5 billion. Some observers say the trial-and-error is part of the game. "It's spaceflight, it's risky, it's dangerous," former astronaut Scott Kelly told The Washington Post. "Stuff can go wrong."

What did the commentators say?

"Starliner is clearly a problem-prone, clunky spacecraft," Mark R. Whittington said at The Hill. The question now is whether it's worth the time and money to overhaul the program, or if NASA should just stick to letting SpaceX ferry astronauts to the space station. It's not even clear if Boeing is capable of fixing the problems. Maybe it's time to look at other options like the Gaganyaan spacecraft from India or the Dream Chaser spaceplane currently in development. One thing that's clear: "Boeing has seen better days as an aerospace company capable of creating flight-ready hardware."

Starliner's latest problems are a "misadventure the company's space division could ill afford," Thomas Black said at Bloomberg. The company is already suffering from a "tarnished reputation" thanks to a series of problems with its 737 Max airliner. "This is a company that doesn't need any more black marks on its reputation." That's why Boeing should spin off the space division into a standalone, "nimble" company that can focus on NASA's needs. "The space unit is a distraction for Boeing's main mission: making safe and reliable commercial aircraft."

What next?

Boeing might be looking for an exit. Just 10% of its revenues come from the spaceflight business, Marketplace said. And the industry is increasingly crowded with competitors like BlueOrigin and SpaceX that weren't around when Boeing originally got into the business. "It's the most vulnerable to disruptions of all of their businesses," one analyst said of Boeing. Starliner's future might be one of the first agenda items for new CEO Robert "Kelly" Ortberg.

In the meantime, there are still two astronauts — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — to bring home. The pair this week tested the capsule's thrusters, ABC News said, and the plan remains to return to Earth in the same craft that took them to space. But they might have to return aboard a SpaceX capsule. For now, though, NASA isn't ready to announce a return date. "We'll come home," said NASA's Steve Stich, "when we're ready."

What happened

Astronauts Suni Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore said Wednesday they are enjoying their extended stay aboard the International Space Station after their return to Earth was indefinitely postponed due to thruster glitches and helium leaks on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft. The two astronauts had planned on an eight-day stay after arriving at the ISS on June 6, on the Starliner's maiden crewed voyage.

Who said what

"I have a real good feeling in my heart that the spacecraft will bring us home, no problem," Williams said to reporters from the ISS. In the meantime, "it's great to be up here. I'm not complaining that we're here for a couple extra weeks." Wilmore said despite the thruster issues, the Starliner has been "truly impressive."
Boeing and NASA said the astronauts could fly the Starliner home now in an emergency, but the in-orbit and on-the-ground testing will add more assurances and help with future flights.

What next?

Steve Stich, who oversees NASA's commercial crew program, said the earliest the Starliner could return to Earth is late July. There has been "no discussion" about sending a SpaceX Crew Dragon craft up to "rescue" Williams and Wilmore, he added.

Becoming an astronaut is a dream for people young and old, with recent polling suggesting that two-thirds of British children want to work in space.

That dream is becoming a reality for Belfast-born Rosemary Coogan, who finally got her "astronaut wings" last month, said the Daily Mail. The 33-year-old astrophysicist is the UK's third-ever astronaut, following in the footsteps of Helen Sharman and Tim Peake.

Some astronauts have a much longer wait before blasting into space than Coogan is likely to face. Last weekend, Ed Dwight finally fulfilled that ambition at the age of 90, more than 60 years after he was chosen by then US president John F. Kennedy to become the country's first Black astronaut. Nasa ultimately did not select Dwight for a mission, but he is now the oldest person to go to space, following a 10-minute flight on Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin capsule.

Although few have to wait as long as Dwight, the path to becoming a professional astronaut is always long.

'Tremendous responsibility' 

By the time professional astronauts reach space, they generally have at least a decade of professional and educational experience in technical fields. It then takes about two years to qualify for space and several more years of mission training.

Candidates need to be between 27 and 37 years old and fluent in English. Russian is spoken with English on the International Space Station, so a basic grasp of that language is also a definite plus.

Hopefuls need a degree and a postgraduate qualification in a relevant subject such as science, engineering or aeronautics, and "you'll have an advantage if you're a pilot with at least 1,000 hours of flying experience in a high-performance aircraft like a fighter jet", said the National Careers Service.

A strong character is important too, because astronauts have to "bear tremendous responsibility while in orbit", said the European Space Agency, and because it is "a challenge to live in a confined space for long periods with other people".

Other helpful characteristics are "an ability to adapt quickly to changing situations" and "mature judgement", as well, of course, as a willingness "to spend long periods away from home".

'Pressure chambers'

Most agencies require a newly selected individual to pass a series of basic tests across two to three years of training before qualifying as an astronaut.

Coogan was trained in technical skills including spacecraft systems, flight engineering, robotics and life-support systems. She took part in winter survival training in the "snowy mountains of the Spanish Pyrenees" and "experienced the effects of hypoxia first-hand in a pressure chamber", said gov.uk, enabling her to "recognise symptoms and respond accordingly" in low-oxygen environments in case of an air leak or reduced pressure in a spacecraft.

Graduating from astronaut basic training was "an incredibly moving moment for me", said Coogan. "From dreaming about space to now being one step closer to reaching it", she said she felt "filled with gratitude and determination to make the most of this extraordinary opportunity". 

Coogan visited Nasa's facilities in the US, where she took part in scuba diving for spacewalk training underwater in a 12-metre-deep Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and spent time in a replica of the International Space Station, where astronauts can perform underwater simulations of spacewalks.

"Even after that", said Space, astronauts "may spend years or decades on the ground", waiting for a slot to open on a rocket mission. They are kept busy, however, with "supporting other space missions, working on spacecraft development" and other agency tasks.

Russia and India have kick-started a space race to the Moon’s South Pole in search of water and other precious resources.

The Luna-25 mission, Russia’s first to the Moon since the Soviet Union's Luna-24 in 1976, is due to land at the same time next week as India’s Chandrayaan-3, which launched last month.

Both missions “reflect the renewed interest in the Moon for space exploration”, said the BBC, as Earth enters “a new era of lunar exploration” in which other nations including the US, Israel and China, as well as private companies, are also competing.

What did the papers say?

What is at stake will become “the seventh continent of the Earth, the only one whose riches and resources are yet to be conquered and exploited”, said El País. On the lunar South Pole, “the space powers will compete for the new lunar gold: water”.

In recent years, scientists at Nasa and other international space agencies have detected traces of ice in the region’s shadowed craters. The rough terrain makes landings difficult, however, and India has never successfully landed a spacecraft on the Moon.

This race is a “David and Goliath battle”, the Spanish newspaper added, with India as “the clear underdog”.

But the prize of discovering water ice could be “historic”, said Sky News, “as it may be used for fuel and oxygen, as well as for drinking water”.

Russia also has “much riding” on the Luna-25 mission politically, said France 24. The Kremlin is out to prove its continued capabilities in space, as the country’s aerospace sector is hamstrung by sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.

The mission will also test Russia’s growing independence in space. Nearly all of Moscow’s space ties with the West are severed, with the exception of the International Space Station, “where the Russian space agency’s cooperation with Nasa is seen as crucial to the outpost’s survival”.

Successfully landing a spacecraft on the rocky lunar South Pole would be a first for any nation, said Politico, and would “prove to Beijing that Moscow still has something to offer when it comes to cutting-edge aerospace technology”. The two countries have already pledged to work together to build a Moon base by the 2030s, but Beijing “is the clear leader these days”, according to the news site.

What next?

Whoever wins the race to the South Pole may grab bagging rites, but the real race will have only just begun.

In contrast to the Russian and Indian missions, which are both unmanned, the US is planning to send astronauts to the lunar South Pole as part of its Artemis programme, which is supported by Canada and European countries.

Artemis II, carrying three Americans and one Canadian, will depart in late 2024 for a flyby of the Moon. Their journey will help Nasa prepare for Artemis III, a crewed mission to the lunar South Pole that will launch no sooner than late 2025.

Experts say that the main rival to the US in this space race is not Russia or India but rather China.

Only the US, China and the Soviet Union have successful landed spacecraft on the Moon, while the likes of India, Japan and Israel have all tried and failed. And with Russia currently facing major hurdles, that leaves the US and China.

Nasa administrator Bill Nelson warned last week that the lunar South Pole might become “another South China Sea”, reported the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. Pointing to Beijing’s claims of sovereignty over the disputed sea, Nelson said that “the interest of the international community” also needed to be protected on the Moon.

“If indeed we find water in abundance that could be utilised for future crews and spacecraft, we want to make sure that that’s available to all, not just the one that’s claiming it,” he added.

A question mark hangs over who has the right to claim ownership over part or all of the Moon and its resources.

The Outer Space Treaty, signed in 1967, established that no nation can own the Moon. However, a subsequent treaty known as the Moon Agreement, “which more carefully defines that no nation can own resources on the Moon, has never been signed by key countries including the US, China and Russia”, said the BBC.

North Korea has blamed its Covid-19 outbreak on “alien things” sent over its border. Defectors and other activists in South Korea have often flown balloons across the border to send leaflets and humanitarian aid. According to North Korean state media, two people became infected after coming into contact with unidentified materials near the South Korean border. It called on North Koreans to “vigilantly deal with alien things coming by wind and other climate phenomena and balloons in the areas along the demarcation line and borders”.

Astronauts lose bone mass in space

A study has found that astronauts lose decades’ worth of bone mass in space. Researchers scanned the wrists and ankles of 17 astronauts before, during and after a stay on the International Space Station. The bone density lost by astronauts was equivalent to how much they would shed in several decades if they had never left Earth, said study co-author Dr Steven Boyd, of Canada’s University of Calgary. He added that the news could be a “big concern” for future missions to Mars. It is believed that the lack of gravity in space takes pressure off astronauts’ legs when it comes to standing and walking.

Octogenarian breaks UK cycling record

An 82-year-old has become the oldest woman to cycle from Land’s End to John o’ Groats. Gina Harris, from Birmingham, took 28 days to make the journey, raising thousands of pounds for domestic abuse charities along the way. The grandmother of five said the journey was “a lot of hard work” but “when you get into a rhythm, you just keep going”. When she arrived at the Scottish village she toasted the completion of her bike ride with a slice of chocolate cake. So far, she has raised more than £5,000 for Women’s Aid and Refuge.

Heather Muir, a PhD candidate in computational physics at Cambridge University, on the many risks involved in getting the station from orbit to the Pacific Ocean’s Point Nemo ‘spacecraft graveyard’

Nasa has announced plans for the International Space Station (ISS) to be officially decommissioned in 2031. After dozens of launches since 1998 got the station up and into orbit, bringing it down will be a feat of its own – the risks are serious if things go wrong.

Nasa’s plans for the decommissioning operation will culminate in a fiery plunge into the middle of the Pacific Ocean – a location called Point Nemo, also known as the “spacecraft graveyard”, the furthest point from all civilisation.

Finding Point Nemo will be the final stop in a complex and multi-staged mission to transition the operations of the ISS to new commercial space stations, and to bring the remaining structure safely down to Earth.

Originally commissioned for a 15-year lifespan, the ISS is outliving all expectations. It has already been in operation for 21 years, and Nasa has given the go-ahead for one more decade, thereby doubling its total planned time in orbit.

Purpose of the ISS

The ISS has enabled one giant leap for science and collaboration across mankind, involving five different space agencies (US, Russia, Europe, Canada and Japan). The modules and parts of the ISS have been built progressively by many different countries, only coming into contact for the first time in space.

The monumental conglomerate structure now stretches the length of a football field and is the largest human-made object in space. It is visible by the naked eye from Earth while it completes its 16 daily orbits, passing 400km above the Earth’s surface.

Research in the so-called microgravity environment of the ISS has yielded breakthroughs in drug discovery, vaccine development and medical treatments in the last decade. The ISS also helps to monitor Earth’s ecosystems and natural disasters in real time. It is used to test future spacecraft technologies and to study health effects of long-term space flight for the possibility of future human exploration of the solar system.

Despite onboard research gaining momentum, Nasa has noticed signs of infrastructure and components slowing down. For every orbit around the Earth, the ISS gets scorched by solar radiation on one side, and freezes on the other. These thermal extremes cause cyclic expansion and contraction which wears the material. Space radiation chars the transparent glass on the solar cells which are used to power the station, and repeated docking and undocking causes gradual structure degradation, which will ultimately lead to its demise.

The rise of flying space junk also poses unplanned and catastrophic risk of destruction. In 2016, a fly-away speck of paint chipped a window, and just last year, ISS crew went into evacuation standby when Russia obliterated a dead satellite with a missile, causing thousands of pieces of debris to fly by the station at 5km per second. Despite this, Nasa assesses there is “high confidence” the station will see it through to the end of 2030.

The decommissioning operation

While Nasa has committed to maintaining the station until 2030, its partner organisations are yet to officially sign on, meaning the final decision to de-orbit will depend on politics as much as engineering.

If degradation or unplanned damage occurs before the official decommissioning, a free-falling ISS poses serious dangers. In fact, it would not be the first space station to fall out of the sky. In 1979, Nasa’s Skylab station was not re-fuelled in time and came crashing down, out of control, leaving chunks of the station scattered across Australia. While no one was harmed, this led to reforms and “design for demise” guidelines.

Design for demise is an important principle for the engineering of satellites and other orbiting space infrastructure. Objects that fall freely from orbit must disintegrate into tiny pieces to make sure they don’t pose a danger to people on the ground.

The ISS is too large to satisfy the design for demise principle, which is why we need special operations for de-orbit. Experts estimate that if it were to crash down uncontrolled in a metropolitan area, the worst-case scenario could be on the scale of a “9/11 event”. However, this is highly improbable.

In the planned, controlled, de-orbit operation for the ISS, newly built modules will first detach from the main structure and remain in orbit to eventually recombine as parts of future space stations. The ISS will then be gently decelerated by onboard thrusters, causing its orbiting altitude to gradually lower over the course of a few months.

The remaining descent will be more rapid, but controlled by a series of spacecrafts sent to attach and steer the structure as it begins to plummet towards Earth. As it re-enters the atmosphere the majority of the structure will burn away, however the remaining mass should remain on a targeted trajectory to its deep-sea resting place.

A Russian space station was previously brought safely down in the same way, however the ISS is approximately four times larger, so an operation on this scale remains untested.

New era

Before complete de-orbit in 2031, the ISS will first undergo a transition phase to sustain the crucial scientific research currently being conducted, and to form the basis of new industries in space.

Jeff Bazos’ Blue Origin recently announced plans to replace the ISS with the company’s privately operated space station. Other key players include Northropp Grumman and Axiom Space (partnered with SpaceX), who have a contract to start building modules off of the existing ISS as early as 2024.

There are also plans for a Russian space station which is likely to comprise modules detached from the existing ISS. Meanwhile, China launched the first module of their independent Tiangong Space Station last year, and plan to complete its expansion in the coming months.

At present, Nasa and its partner agencies oversee the use of their jointly owned infrastructure and are consulted on operations due to their governing expertise. However, times are changing and Nasa now purchases seats on board spacecraft owned by SpaceX. Ultimately, Nasa will become just another customer of commercial operators.

Heather Muir, PhD candidate in computational physics, University of Cambridge.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. Read the original article.

A rare painting by David Bowie purchased for $4.09 (£2.94) at a thrift store in Ontario, Canada is expected to sell for tens of thousands of dollars at auction next week. Auction house Cowley Abbott said there was “cautious excitement” when it was first contacted about the 1997 work, as Bowie’s paintings are rarely sold at auction. Between 1995 and 1997, Bowie painted a series of 47 portraits.

‘Drowned woman’ turned out to be a sex doll

Rescuers called to fish a drowned woman out of the sea have discovered she was in fact a discarded sex doll. A team was scrambled to Hachinohe in northeastern Honshu, Japan, after reports of a “drowned woman” floating in the waters. However, the rescue turned out to be of a “Dutch Wife”, Japanese slang for a rubber sex doll. An onlooker said: “It’s funny for sure, but not fun for the emergency services.”

Baby squid sent to space

Baby squid from Hawaii are being sent to space for study. The baby Hawaiian bobtail squid were blasted into space on a SpaceX resupply mission to the International Space Station. Researchers are exploring how spaceflight affects the squid in hopes of bolstering human health during long space missions. The squid will return to Earth in July.

Tom Cruise is in talks with Nasa about shooting a film in space, according to the head of the US space agency.

Sky News reports that the 57-year-old actor “is set to board the International Space Station to film the first narrative feature outside Earth”.

Confirming the news, Nasa administrator Jim Bridenstine tweeted: “Nasa is excited to work with Tom Cruise on a film aboard the Space Station! We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make Nasa’s ambitious plans a reality.”

Bridenstine gave no further details about the project, but according to Hollywood-focused magazine Deadline, SpaceX founder Elon Musk is also involved.

Musk has not confirmed the claim, but gave the production the thumbs-up in a tweeted reply to Bridenstine.

According to Deadline, the space-based action adventure movie will not be part of the Mission Impossible series and “no studio is in the mix at this stage”.

As The Guardian notes, Cruise is famous for his “daredevil films and for doing his own stunts”.

The American actor “flew fighter jets” for the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, and “hung off the side of a plane as it took off” and “climbed the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai” for the Mission Impossible films.

A few previous films have been shot on board the space station, including a 2002 IMAX documentary that Cruise narrated and 2012’s Apogee of Fear, reports CNN.

But Cruise’s next project could see him become the “first actor to endure extraterrestrial travel”, says the US news network.

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A Japanese billionaire is looking for a “single woman” to join him on a special trip in 2023 - to the Moon.

Fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa this week tweeted a link to a website dedicated to his goal of finding a women aged “over 20” to accompany him into space on a SpaceX rocket.

The mission will be the first lunar journey by humans since 1972, and 44-year-old Maezawa and his lucky guest will become the first civilian passengers to fly around the Moon - if the trip goes ahead.

What is space tourism?

Space tourism offers private civilians unaffiliated with any government body or space programme the chance to pay to go into space for recreational purposes.

US entrepreneur Dennis Tito became the first space tourist in 2001, flying to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket at a cost of $20m (£15m).

Six others have added their names to the exclusive list of private citizens who have journeyed into space, but no one has blasted off since 2009.

However, over the past year, space tourism has shifted from futuristic gimmick to serious business proposition, with Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and Boeing all vying to become leaders in the potentially lucrative market.

What’s the current state of play?

Virgin Galactic, backed by British billionaire Richard Branson, became the first publicly listed space company in October.

The firm - which says its mission is to become “the spaceline for Earth” - has already sold 603 seats to aspiring astronauts and has received thousands more “expressions of interest” from would-be customers, The Observer reports.

Chamath Palihapitiya, chair of the spaceflight firm’s holding company Social Capital Hedosophia, said he expects Virgin Galactic to start operating commercially this year and to be profitable by 2021.

But the immediate priority is to launch Branson into space before his 70th birthday, in July. “It’s gonna be a huge moment,” Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides told US broadcaster CNBC last week.

The race to take paying customers into space hotted up after Nasa announced last June that it would allow tourists to visit the ISS, for a fee of $35,000 (£27,000) per night.

The US space agency said that privately funded astronauts would be allowed to travel to the space station on US spacecrafts for stays of up to 30 days, as the BBC reported at the time.

Nasa officials added that private commercial companies would take responsibility for the crews and private astronauts, including checking they meet medical and training requirements for spaceflight.

Nasa has hired two firms to provide those services - Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which will use its Dragon capsule, and Boeing, which is building a spacecraft called the Starliner.

“These companies are likely to charge any private astronaut a similar ‘taxi fare’ to what they intend to charge Nasa for its astronauts - close to $60m (£45m) per flight,” according to the broadcaster.

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, Blue Origin, is also looking to get in on the action. The firm has performed test flights of its tourism rocket, called New Shepard, as recently as December, and hopes to take paying passengers into space this year.

What does the future hold?

According to data from marketstudyreport.com, the space tourism market is expected to be worth $1.18bn (£900m) by 2024.

Blue Origin is attempting to build a lunar landing system in a bid to deliver the US government’s goal of taking humans to the Moon by 2024.

SpaceX is prioritising lunar travel too, and last September unveiled its Starship Mk1 - a prototype for the firm’s reusable launch system - which is capable of carrying up to 100 people to the Moon, Mars or other destinations in space or around Earth, as Space.com reported at the time.

Boeing’s contract to provide Nasa with space travel also allows for the opportunity to sell seats to private space tourists. In October, Boeing announced plans to invest $20m in Virgin Galactic to help develop commercial flights.

The recent advances have fuelled hopes that space tourism is about to take off.

“What’s exciting is that anyone can go, as long as they’re physically fit,” says Tamela Maciel from the National Space Centre in Leicester.

But while being fit may be an important selection criterion, so is being wealthy.

“There’s hope that the price will come down over time, as the technology becomes more advanced and less expensive to run. Though it’s safe to say it’s not going to rival Ryanair anytime soon,” says BT News.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have reportedly managed to plug a 2mm hole in the structure, after it was hit by space junk or a micrometeorite.

Mission flight controllers in Houston and Moscow were alerted to the situation when air pressure inside the ISS started to drop on Wednesday night.

The astronauts were instructed to try to find the leak, eventually tracing it to the Russian Soyuz vehicle that was used to carry three crewmembers to the ISS on 8 June.

German astronaut Alexander Gerst initially plugged the hole with his finger, before covering it with duct tape.

What caused the hole?

According to Russian space agency staff members “the incident may have been caused by an impacting micrometeoroid — a tiny piece of rock or other material”, Space.com says.

“Although the leak is small, if it had not been spotted the crew would have run out of air in 18 days,” the Daily Telegraph says.

The ISS crew are now working with engineers on the ground to decide if a “more robust” repair will be necessary, the BBC says.

Three ISS crewmembers are due to use that same Soyuz vehicle to return to Earth at the end of the year.

The world’s first ‘virtual nation’ has been launched into space - but is the idea revolutionary, or one man’s crazy vanity project?

What is Asgardia?

The pet project of Russian scientist and billionaire Igor Ashurbeyli, the Space Kingdom of Asgardia is the world’s first ‘virtual nation’.

Ashurbeyli says he established Asgardia last year, naming it after the home of the Norse gods, to create a “peaceful society”, offer easier access to space technologies, and protect Earth from space threats such as asteroids and man-made debris.

At an official unveiling, Ashurbeyli said he believed the space-bound private ‘country’ could “offer an independent platform free from the constraint of a land-based country’s laws”.

He created his new nation in space so that it falls outside the juristication of Earth governments - although behaviour in space is governed by the Outer Space Treaty, signed by 103 countries including the US and Russia.

Who can become a citizen?

Anyone over the age of 18 with an email address, including ex-convicts, can become citizens. Around 114,000 people from 204 countries have signed up.

In June, voting began to determine the details of Asgardia’s constitution, with only those who agree to the finalised terms counted as official Asgardians.

According to Newsweek, Turkey is the source of the largest number of applicants - more than 16,500.

What was launched last week?

Last week, the Asgardia-1 satellite set off to the International Space Station using Nasa’s commercial Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft. The ‘nanosat’, roughly the size of a loaf of bread, is carrying half a terabyte of data belonging to 18,000 of Asgardia’s citizens and is set to be deployed to low-Earth orbit where it will stay for the next 18 months.

The data includes personal family photos as well as digital representations of the space nation’s flag, coat of arms and constitution.

Longer term, CNN says Asgardia’s team hopes to create habitable platforms in low-earth orbits, the first one located 100 to 200 miles from space, which is also where the ISS is located, and launch manned-test flights within eight years.

Is it officially recognised?

Ashurbeyli hopes to convince the UN to recognise Asgardia as a sovereign nation. That would require a two-thirds majority in the UN Security Council.

Ashurbeyli plans to form a democratic government following parliamentary elections next year. Governmental departments such as a prosecutor’s office and a national audit office will be run by an administrative centre based in Vienna.

The Daily Mail says Asgardia already has its own cryptocurrency, the Solar, which is registered at the European Union Intellectual Property Office.

Dr Ram Jakhu, associate professor at McGill University told the Daily Express: “Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the great Asgardian experiment is its commitment to transnational democracy. The parliamentary elections give everyone a chance to play their role in shaping this new nation.”

Despite its ambitious plans, Asgardia is not currently recognised as a nation, “so for now, the only benefit offered to citizens of the space nation is the ability to upload data to Asgardia-1 in orbit”, says New Scientist.

Pope Francis was in a philosophic mood yesterday as he asked US, Russia and Italian astronauts to share their thoughts about “man’s place in the universe” during a video call linking the Vatican to the International Space Station.

American astronaut Mark Vande Hei told the Pope that seeing Earth from space made them all “realise how fragile we are”, reports Sky News, while Italian Paolo Nespoli said that man’s place in the universe was a “complex question”.

“Our aim here is to spread knowledge,” Nespoli said, “[but] the more we learn, the more we realise we do not know.”

The Argentine pontiff was clearly fascinated by the conversation, which took place as he sat at a Vatican desk facing a widescreen television on which the six astronauts could be seen floating together in their blue suits, The Guardian says. He peppered the astronauts with questions, says the Associated Press, in a manner comparable to that of “a curious child”.

The Pope mused: “Astronomy makes us think about the universe’s boundless horizons and prompts questions such as, ‘Where do we come from, where are we going?’”

He also asked the astronauts about their greatest sources of joy. US mission commander Randolph Bresnik said that for him, it was being able “to look outside and see God’s creation maybe a little bit from his perspective”, a world without borders or conflict, the Catholic News Agency reports.

And what did the crew think about Dante’s verse that love is the force that moves the universe, Pope Francis asked, reports ABC News.

Russian Alexandr Misirkin said that he had been reading Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince, and that he had been taken by the young prince’s understanding of love: “Love is the force that gives you strength to give your life for someone else.”

A 30-second delay in the satellite feed gave the astronauts - who also included American Joseph Acaba and Russian Sergej Nikolaevic Rjazanskij - time to consider life’s biggest conundrums.

Nespoli thanked Francis for his philosophical questions during the 20-minute video call, saying: “You took us away from the daily mechanics of things and made us think about things that are bigger than us.”

Francis is the second Roman Catholic leader to have placed a call to the heavens. Benedict XVI spoke to astronauts on the space station in 2011.

British astronaut Tim Peake plans to return to space, saying he "misses" the view of planet Earth from the International Space Station (ISS).

In a surprise announcement today, Peake said he and his colleagues are to make a second trip to the ISS.

He said: "It's what every astronaut wants to do. It is only natural to want to return.

"The one thing you miss is the view of planet Earth, of course. It is the most spectacular thing you can possibly see. But also being involved in the space programme is hugely rewarding."

Peake made his announcement during a visit to the Science Museum in London today to unveil the spacecraft that transported him back home last June, following his six-month stint on the ISS.

Russia's Soyuz capsule is the first manned spacecraft to feature in the museum collection and still bears the scorch marks from its re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.

Business Secretary Greg Clark, who was at the ceremony, said: "The space sector is an important and growing part of the UK space agency."

Sussex-born Peake served in the army for 17 years, where he qualified as a helicopter pilot and left as a major in 2009. He gained international fame when he was chosen for the space mission and became the UK's first official astronaut.

Tim Peake: 'Moon colony is next step for space research'

30 March

A human colony on the moon is the next "great ambition" for space exploration, said astronaut Tim Peake, in his first live television interview since blasting into space in December.

Speaking from the International Space Station (ISS), where he is halfway through a six-month mission, the former army pilot told Sky News that having people living on the moon was a vital step towards the ultimate goal of reaching Mars.

A permanent research station would allow astronauts to investigate the challenges that will face astronauts on a manned mission to the Red Planet, including radiation exposure and energy production.

Earlier this month, a joint project between the European Space Agency and Russian space agency Roscosmos successfully launched a satellite which will investigate the composition of the Martian atmosphere. The two agencies hope to land a rover on the red planet in 2018.

Nasa, meanwhile, has planned to undertake the first ever manned mission during the 2030s and is already testing its Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle, which could one day carry four astronauts to Mars.

Peake added that a moon colony would be a valuable venture in and of itself, calling it a "wonderful place" to set up a research station.

"There's a huge amount that we've still yet to discover about the moon. It can tell us a lot of things about the origins of our own planet," he said.

"I hope that we see that as a next destination in itself and also as a stepping stone to Mars in the future."

The astronaut also discussed his day-to-day life on the ISS, where he and his colleagues work for up to 14 hours a day on a range of experiments. While his space mission is a "wonderful experience" that he is keen to repeat, Peake admitted he misses aspects of life on Earth.

"It is the fresh air and being outdoors, but also the colour green. We don't have the colour green on the Space Station," he said.

Tim Peake plays Space Invaders in space – see the video

21 March

British astronaut Tim Peake has been honing his alien-battling skills by playing a virtual reality version of Space Invaders inside the International Space Station (ISS).

A newly released video from the European Space Agency (ESA) captures Peake and his US colleague Scott Kelly, who returned to Earth at the beginning of March, having fun while in orbit last month. Wearing VR headsets, the two astronauts grin as they dodge and weave to escape their unseen Martian foes while firing back with invisible lasers.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"92535","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]The ESA added some special effects to the footage so viewers can get an idea of how the battle looked to the two players.

The technology is not just for fun, however. It is part of a new augmented-reality project designed to assist astronauts and improve their communication with mission control.

Peake and Kelly found plenty of unusual ways to keep themselves occupied during their downtime on the ISS. A video posted on Twitter last month showed Kelly wearing a gorilla costume as he engaged in a zero-gravity chase with Peake.

Peake has also found another way to keep busy using technology – training to run in a digital version of the London Marathon. On 24 April, he will join the thousands of amateur and professional runners for four miles of the slog around the capital, using the RunSocial app that lets runners put themselves in a virtual reality world.

Astronaut Tim Peake shares incredible view of lightning strikes on Earth – video

10 February

British astronaut Tim Peake has shared a stunning timelapse video showing lightning hitting the Earth - as seen from 248 miles above the planet.

"Amazing how much lightning can strike our planet in a short time," the 43-year-old former army pilot tweeted from inside the International Space Station (ISS).

The 30-second clip, condensed from a ten-minute journey, shows the view as the astronaut passes over Turkey, on a trajectory towards Russia, with dozens of dazzling flashes spring up across the sky. It's been retweeted more than 4,500 times since being posted on Tuesday.

Peake is stationed on the ISS as part of the six-month Principia mission, during which he will participate in 265 experiments in the orbiting spacecraft's laboratory. He will also be using his 176 days in orbit to inspire and educate, holding video-link sessions with schoolchildren and sharing tweets and videos about daily life on the space station.

Videos uploaded to YouTube so far show include the astronaut explaining how to make a cup of coffee in space - and how to use a zero-gravity toilet.

[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_original","fid":"90657","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]

Who is Major Tim Peake and why is he in space?

15 January

Major Tim Peake has made history by becoming the first official British astronaut to walk in space.

Soaring roughly 250 miles above Australia, he stepped off the International Space Station alongside Nasa colleague Colonel Tim Kopra to restore a solar power unit.

Speaking from mission control in Houston, a Nasa employee said: "Tim, it's really cool to see that Union flag go out. It's explored all over the world; now it's explored space."

"It's great to be wearing it. A real privilege," Peake replied.

Prime Minister David Cameron was among those sending support and encouragement to the 43-year old Chichester-born astronaut. "The country will be watching you make history," he said.

Today's operation is expected to last almost six and a half hours as the astronauts attempt to fix a component regulating power from the station's solar panels.

"All of this is taking place at 17,500mph," says The Guardian's Ian Sample. "You need to go that fast - at this altitude - to remain in orbit.”

He adds: "Peake and Kopra are not floating around because they are beyond the pull of gravity. They seem weightless because they are constantly falling around the planet."

Astronaut Reid Wiseman, who has completed similar operations himself, will guide the pair from Houston, says the BBC. He reported that everything was going according to plan and ahead of schedule.

Part of the Principia mission, Peake is on the ISS for six months, carrying out a variety of experiments on the orbiting laboratory.

The former Army helicopter pilot is the first official UK astronaut, having been chosen by the European Space Agency. Although other Britons have gone into space, they have either had US citizenship or been funded by Nasa or private enterprise.

But what more do we know about Britain's newest space recruit and his cosmological expedition?

Who is Major Tim Peake?

He is a former Army aviator and helicopter test pilot who has "notched up over 3,000 flying hours and has flown more than 30 different types of aircraft", says the Daily Mirror. Following his retirement from active service with the British military, Peake was selected to be an astronaut by the European Space Agency in 2009. He told the Daily Telegraph last year that he was "elated" to be selected from a pool of 8,000 applicants to join the European Astronaut Corps. He also holds the honour of being the first professional astronaut who is fully British, with all the previous British citizens in space holding dual nationality or having been on privately funded trips.

When was the big launch?

The 43-year-old took off from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 11.03am (GMT) today alongside Nasa astronaut Tim Kopra and Russian commander Yuri Malenchenko, the other two crew members manning the Principia mission. Malenchenko is one of the most experienced cosmonauts in the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) programme, reports the BBC. While US Army colonel Kopra has flown into space once before, Major Peake has never before made the journey into space. Peake also took part in a special ritual for all astronauts who leave from the Baikonur Cosmodrome: he sat down and watched the 1970 Soviet western film: White Sun of the Desert.

Why's he going?

During his time aboard the ISS, The Independent reports that Major Peake will participate in 265 experiments, and observe the effects of microgravity on his own body. "I'm very excited about the physiological experiments on the effects of microgravity on the body, for instance looking at vision, the immune system, changes in bone structure, and asthma," Peake said. The mission, called 'Principia', after Isaac Newton's seminal work on gravity and motion, represents an "about-turn in the UK government's attitude to manned space flight", says the Independent. "For decades Britain has refused to have anything to do with human missions, preferring to focus on satellites and robot probes." The mission will last six months and feature 173 days in orbit for Major Peake

A groundbreaking rocket launch by private space exploration company SpaceX and Nasa has been postponed until Friday, due to a last-minute fault.

Falcon 9 will be carrying vital cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), but scientists are also hoping to make a historic rocket landing when the mission returns to Earth, which could have huge impacts for commercial space travel.

What will happen?

The main mission is to send a capsule filled with supplies of food, water and materials to the ISS, but an unprecedented feat will also be attempted once the capsule disengages from the rocket that propelled it into space - getting the rocket back to Earth in one piece so it can be re-used.

As the rocket descends at almost a mile a second, the engine will relight three times in order to adjust the point of impact and slow it down, The Guardian reports. Fins on the side of the rocket will also deploy as scientists try to land the unit on a giant floating platform in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Will it succeed?

According to the company, stabilising the rocket for re-entry will be "like trying to balance a rubber broomstick on your hand in the middle of a wind storm".

The company has been playing down expectations of the mission, says the BBC, suggesting that there is only a 50 per cent chance of success. "I'm pretty sure this will be very exciting, but, as I said, it's an experiment," warned Hans Koeningsman, the firm's vice president for mission assurance.

"There's a certain likelihood that this will not work out all right, that something will go wrong. It's the first time we have tried this – nobody has ever tried it as far as we know," he added.

Why is it so significant?

If scientists are able to retrieve the rocket and reuse it, it would herald a major breakthrough in space travel. Rocket components are normally discarded after use as they get damaged upon their return to Earth. Reusable rockets would significantly reduce the launch costs of future missions, making them more accessible to governments, private firms and even individuals.

"The reason that there's low demand for spaceflight is that it's ridiculously expensive," said SpaceX founder Elon Musk. "These spaceships are expensive and they're hard to build," he said. "You can't just leave them there."