By Michael May Introduction If scientific research was reflective of high school level science courses, then every field would lie within its own separate sphere: biology dealing with all things living, chemistry describing the interactions of physical matter, and physics covering topics such as motion and the behavior of particles. However, it is fairly common knowledge that there is plenty of overlap between these fields, with studies such as biochemistry and biophysics dedicated to describing how one subject operates within […]

By Devika S How does a sail on a boat work? Simply put, the forces of the wind on the sails (aerodynamics) work against the drag force from the water (hydrodynamics) to propel the boat through the water. But not all sails are powered by the winds on Earth. Applying sail technology to space has led to the development of the “solar sail”, a technology that relies on powering spaceflight by the force of radiation from a star. Solar sailing […]

By Ignacy Górecki There is no doubt that being an astronaut may be among the toughest jobs on the planet. Despite the dangers of working in space and the incredibly demanding selection process, many people dream of going into space. It is clear that being an astronaut requires excellency and a remarkable set of skills. But are those skills universal? What differentiates the class of “Mercury Seven” from candidates of the latest European Space Agency astronaut selection? Each class of […]

by Andrea Di Mauro The fascination of space exploration lies not only in the immensity of discoveries and knowledge offered, but also due to the variety of disciplines and fields of study that it requires. From an early age, when we think of space, images of satellites, spacecraft, and/or rockets may often come to mind. Those of us who even dream of building some of these spacecraft in the near future cannot help but venture into the arduous but rewarding […]

By Andrew Bartnik “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came…”  John F. Kennedy Covering three quarters of the Earth’s surface and containing 97% of the planet’s water, it is unsurprising that the ocean has an immense influence on life on Earth. The ocean is the Earth’s “Great Moderator” — by sequestering enormous amounts of carbon it […]