Manned missions outside of low Earth orbit take a bit more planning since supplies are a trickier to deliver the farther out astronauts go. NASA is looking at a trip to Mars in a couple decades, and part of its preparations is creating edible items that are safe and nutritious for such a long trip. Here are just a few interesting stories about eating in other gravitational environments.

• The menu for astronauts headed to Mars could include items like (vegan) pizza and fresh vegetables/fruits. The gravity on Mars should allow astronauts to chop vegetables and do some food prep that's a bit harder in a zero-gravity environment. [url]
• Buzz Aldrin took a communion wafer and a vial of wine to the moon in 1969. Aldrin quietly read a few bible passages and consumed these items in the hours before he was scheduled to go for a walk on the moon's surface. [url]
• A trip to Mars requires the shelf life of its food supplies to last about five years, but NASA's current astronaut menu only lasts a couple years. Lockheed Martin researchers are looking into a bunch of different (non-meat and non-dairy) menu options for a 2030-ish planned mission to the red planet. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Recently, some cool new space efforts are lining up to deliver people and payloads into orbit. For example, SpaceX shipped some supplies to the International Space Station, and it's on track to providing a rocket system for ferrying astronauts to the ISS as well. More and more commercial space ventures are competing with government space programs, and this new space race will hopefully continue and create even more inspiring space technologies over the next decade and beyond. Here are just a few other interesting developments along the way.

• NASA and the FAA have reached a tentative agreement to provide better guidelines for regulating all kinds of space launches. Virgin Galactic has been granted a license, but it might be interesting to see if all those amateur weather balloons and sub-orbital rocket projects will run into any regulatory problems. [url]
• Excalibur Almaz is a commercial space transportation company with roots in the former Soviet Union's military space program. For about $100 million, you can hitch a ride on one of these older (but very reliable!) Soviet-era spacecraft that have been extensively tested -- possibly all the way to the moon. [url]
• Citizen scientists are putting together an ArduSat -- an open source satellite -- that could be included on a free launch via a NASA or ESA ride-along program. There ain't no such thing as a free launch? [url]
• China has recently become the third nation to successfully dock a manned space capsule with another space vessel. Three people (including China's first female astronaut/taikonaut) on the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft joined up with the Tiangong 1 space module in orbit. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Astronauts don't have an easy job. Getting up to space is an inherently risky trip, and then once they're up there, they need to be re-supplied with just about everything to continue to survive. But space agencies are at least trying to make things more comfortable for them. Here are just a few examples of some spaceships and amenities that could make astronauts' lives a bit nicer.

• NASA is developing a laundry machine for space stations, so that astronauts don't have to wear dirty clothes for days. No one can hear you scream in the vacuum of space, and thankfully, no one can smell your body odor, either.... [url]
• There are at least seven different space vehicles that are designed to get people into space, but the Space Shuttle still looks pretty cool in comparison to these new spacecraft. A huge balloon ride into space sounds awesome, actually. [url]
• A treatment for osteoporosis could help astronauts prevent bone mass loss while they're weightless. But the long-term solution might be to work on designing virtual gravity with rotating ship cabins.. [url]
• NASA is testing an inflatable space habitat for lengthy missions. This project could be adapted for bases on the moon, on Mars, on a big asteroid -- or just for flying through interplanetary space. [url]
• To discover more links on space exploration, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Astronauts haven't been back to the moon in a long time. It's not quite as simple as building a rocket in the backyard with your trusty dog. The technology to get people back to the moon could be re-created, but the benefits of doing it again don't seem to justify the costs. Maybe someday folks will go back, but until then, here are a few moon-related links for your amusement.

• Earlier this year, a piece of moondust stuck to a bit of tape was returned to NASA. All your moon bits are belong to us! Seriously, though, NASA says that its astronauts have brought back about 842 pounds of moon material, but some of the dust that stuck to equipment has been collected by enthusiasts over the years and sold. [url]
• A lunar rock from the Apollo 16 mission looks to be about 100 million years younger than expected. Isotopes of lead and neodymium suggest that the age of this rock sample is 4.36 billion years old -- which means the moon solidified much later than we'd thought or that the moon itself is younger than we expected. [url]
• The Indian Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft discovered a pretty big cave on the moon that might be suitable for a human colony. The cave is over a mile long and would provide natural shielding for a moon base. [url]
• To discover more links on space exploration, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

The failure rate of space programs makes space travel a bit of a risky venture. Sitting on enough explosive materials to escape the Earth's gravity isn't the safest-sounding job, but there are still plenty of willing volunteers to try it. Here are just a few stories on some recent space missions.

• The Russian Phobos-Grunt spacecraft isn't going to make it to Mars -- and some waterbears that were along for the ride won't make it back. Over the last year, about 10% of space missions that launched have failed (seven out of about 74). [url]
• Iran's space program tried to send a monkey to space, but the monkey didn't survive the trip. Iran's space program will probably get a bit more attention when it succeeds... [url]
• Fortunately, the International Space Station will be occupied by astronauts as planned, following a successful launch of a Soyuz re-supply mission. The ISS will resume a full 6-person crew in mid-December. [url]
• To discover more links on space exploration, check out what's floating around in StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

NASA isn't exactly having a good few months. Following the love triangle/murder attempt/diaper driving astronaut scandal that captured the nation's attention, two reports have just come out that have people scratching their heads over what is going on at the agency formally known for taking people only with "the right stuff." First there was the report that astronauts have been drinking alcohol before flying and possibly even being drunk during launch. There's not really much of a technology angle to that, but that news was quickly followed up by a story of sabotage on a space station computer. The details aren't entirely clear, but someone at a subcontractor deliberately cut internal wires in a computer that was supposed to be sent up to the space station on the space shuttles' next mission. Apparently it wouldn't have been life-threatening -- but it would have been a nuisance. It must not be very fun to be in PR at NASA these days, but it really does make you wonder what's going on there. It didn't take the agency very long to go from a position of respect to a series of punchlines on late night talk shows.