Sam's News — space — 2026-09-22¶

Space Health¶

7 NASA Study: Space Station Astronauts Chronically Sleep-Deprived, Often Use Medication¶

NASA data shows that astronauts aboard the International Space Station frequently sleep fewer than six hours per night despite eight-and-a-half-hour allocations, with three-quarters using sleep medication.

44% of ISS nights: sleep less than 6 hours despite 8.5 hours scheduled
ISS average: 6.09 hours/night; shuttle average: 5.96 hours/night
75% of astronauts reported using sleep medication in orbit
Zolpidem ~75% of medicated shuttle nights; extended-release added 12%
61 of 78 shuttle crew took sleep drugs on 52% of in-flight nights; 60% before spacewalks
Hypnotic use ~20x higher than general US population

Sources: Space Daily AI Web Searched, spacedaily.com RSS

Space¶

7 NASA discovers evidence of repeated water activity on Mars¶

NASA's Perseverance rover found evidence that rocks in Mars' Jezero Crater interacted with water on at least three separate occasions, including carbon-dioxide-rich groundwater activity, an ancient lake phase, and heated underground-water events. The findings preserve evidence relevant to searching for signs of ancient microbial life.

Three separate water-interaction episodes detected in Jezero Crater
SuperCam analyzed 185+ bedrock targets for chemistry and mineralogy
First episode: CO2-rich groundwater reacting with olivine created carbonate ridges
Later event produced calcium sulfate and fluorite mineral veins from heated water
Sequence determined but timing of events remains unknown

Sources: Qazinform News Agency AI Web Searched, Qazinform RSS

6.5 NASA Makes Progress Toward Artemis III Mission¶

NASA reports advancement on preparations and technologies required for the Artemis III lunar mission.

Sources: Newsbug.info Web Search, NASA Science (.gov) Web Search

6.5 NASA's Ingenuity helicopter ends operations on Mars¶

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter ceased flying operations on Mars after an extended mission.

Sources: SlashGear RSS

5.5 NASA Goddard Staff Express Concerns About Building Future Space Missions Like Roman Space Telescope¶

Workers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center worry that the organizational conditions that enabled construction of the Roman Space Telescope could not be replicated today.

Sources: Scientific American RSS

5.5 NASA Administrator Isaacman emphasizes mission acceleration across space programs¶

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman reaffirmed the agency's focus on accelerating missions across international space programs.

Sources: satnews.com RSS

5 NASA Goddard Staff Voice Concerns About Future Telescope Construction Capacity¶

Workers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, which built the Roman Space Telescope, express doubt about the facility's ability to undertake similar large projects in the future.

Sources: Scientific American Web Search

4.5 Jared Isaacman Sends Lengthy Note to NASA¶

SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman submits correspondence to NASA regarding space activities or missions.

Sources: NASA Watch RSS

Space History¶

5.5 Galileo spacecraft ends Jupiter mission with destructive atmospheric dive on September 21, 2003¶

NASA's Galileo spacecraft concluded its groundbreaking Jupiter mission by deliberately plunging into the gas giant's atmosphere.

Sources: Space Web Search

Space Policy¶

4.5 Albania becomes newest signatory to NASA's Artemis Accords¶

Albania has joined the Artemis Accords, NASA's international framework for civil space exploration cooperation.

Sources: NASA (.gov) Web Search