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In this thread you can ask any space related question that you may have.

Two examples of potential questions could be; "How do rockets work?", or "How do the phases of the Moon work?"

If you see a space related question posted in another subreddit or in this subreddit, then please politely link them to this thread.

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Hi all!

This might be a silly question, but from my understanding, despite well researched and increasingly effective fitness regimens aboard the space station, returning astronauts still experience a fair amount of physical weakness during readjustment to full earth gravity. Astronauts travelling to mars will live in microgravity for around 9 months, which is less than some of the longest stays on the ISS, however unlike those returning to earth, astronauts landing on mars will need to get straight to work with first words, planting flags and science upon landing, albeit in 1/3 earth gravity. Basically my question is, based on our understanding of the readjustment period to gravity, how much is said readjustment a possible issue for the first travellers to Mars in that crucial period of their mission.

NASA has plans for a Mars Sample Return mission to be launched in 2027/2028 to transfer Martian samples from the Perseverance rover on Mars back to Earth in 2033. "Mars Sample Return Mission" is a pretty dull name, so if there's rovers named Curiosity, Insight, Opportunity, and Perseverance, what would be a fitting name for the Mars Sample Return mission?

While we're at it, what would be a good name for a manned Mars mission? It could be Ares, but there are a few problems with that name. Ares is the god of war, and I think a name that represents violence shouldn't be plastered on a ground-breaking mission. Also- it was in The Martian. Be original.

6.15am today I saw my first fireball, green and white and very different to shooting stars. Like a rectangle with the broadest side falling to the earth. I’m still feeling amazed!

I’m curious how satellites are designed to potentially be flown on different launch vehicles. Considering how much adding extra weight or volume costs, I would assume the mounting hardware would be carefully planned out very early in the design period.

How do they deal with last minute changes in launch vehicle, like choosing to go with Atlas V over Falcon Heavy or vise versa? Do they have to redesign the mount, use an adapter, or do both rockets use the same hardware?

What about rideshare missions with dozens of smallsats? Do all the satellite designers know exactly which launch vehicle they will be using from the start or do they have to design the satellite to be adaptable to different vehicles?

Any info or resources I can use to learn about this would be appreciated. Thanks!