Throughput: Leaky International Space Station Edition

This new infrared image of NGC 346 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) traces emission from cool gas and dust. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, N. Habel (JPL). Image Processing: P. Kavanagh (Maynooth University).

[ThTh1] Earlier this week, the International Space Station sprung a leak. The leak was not life-threatening, but was concerning. The backup coolant tank for the Russian module began spurting ammonia out into space. This postponed spacewalks since ammonia is incredibly toxic. The cause of the leak is not clear — it most likely was hit by something small like a tiny meteorite. But it is the latest in a string of failure for Russian modules aboard the station.

The ISS has now been in orbit for 24 years and its future is a bit unclear. Officially, NASA plans to deorbit the station in 2031. The station is old and costs about $3 billion a year to run. Russia is planning to back out in 2024 to build their own station. China has their own station now. There is no planned NASA replacement although private interests are supposed to be aiming for launching their own stations toward the end of the decade.

I will be sad to see ISS go, if indeed it does. It has made valuable contributions to science — the Cubesat program alone has been a boon to astrophysics. It has tested a variety of space technology. But, more important, it’s been the only thing to really fire the imagination since the shuttle program died.

NASA is now fully committed to the return to the Moon and I’m hoping that will yield the discoveries and breakthroughs they claim. But for now, let’s enjoy the ISS while it’s still around.

[ThTh2] Every time we look, we find our ancestors were even cleverer than we thought they were. The newest discovery: evidence that they used wood for construction almost half a million years ago.

[ThTh3] Sometimes, black holes don’t swallow stars whole. They nibble on them.

[ThTh4] Another day, another study claiming that exercise can substitute for medicine in treating depression. As usual, there are huge biases in this claim.

[ThTh5] What makes up a huge fraction of ocean pollution? Tires.

[ThTh6] JWST is now probing the atmosphere of distant planets. So far, we’re not finding anything promising but it’s still just beginning.

🚨Attention TRAPPIST-1 fans 🚨

We just published the first JWST spectrum of one of the TRAPPIST-1 planets!

Our findings could have important implications for the planets in the habitable zone.

THREAD pic.twitter.com/qmB4WRX199

— Ryan MacDonald (@MartianColonist) September 27, 2023

[ThTh7] The spacecraft also produced the stunning image that headlines this post.

[ThTh8] And found evidence of carbon on the surface of Europa. No, it doesn’t prove Europa has life, but it’s encouraging.

[ThTh9] Long COVID is real. And vaccination can prevent it.

ThTh10] The NYT has a great look at how the Cosmic Microwave Background was discovered (gift link).

[ThTh11] The article is unfortunately behind a paywall but California’s experiment in dumbing math down is going about as well as you’d expect. And other states want to copy this garbage. In the name of equity. Personally, I think equity involves lifting people up rather than pushing everyone down to the lowest common denominators. But then again, I’m not a professional “educator”.

One note: the Elonization of Twixxer is making this column harder to compile. I used to be able to rely on Twixxer to feed me a steady diet of interesting science stories. But it now prioritizes garbage and many of the friends who used to send me good stories have left. So I’m figuring out how to revamp my process.