NASA is about to expand its giant inflatable habitat on the International Space Station - here's how to watch live
NASA
As BEAM expands, NASA will also host a live Q&A on Facebook and an AMA on Reddit.
The pod was sent to the ISS in April aboard SpaceX's Dragon spaceship. The goal of the habitat, which will expand to about 6 feet long and 8 feet wide (the size of a small bedroom) is to give astronauts larger, more comfortable places to live on space missions, in particular ones headed to Mars.
Facebook/Bigelow Aerospace
At the end of the two years, BEAM will be "robotically jettisoned" back down to Earth.
Expandable habitats take up much less space on a rocket than what we use now, and also provide a "varying degree of protection from solar and cosmic radiation, space debris, atomic oxygen, ultraviolet radiation and other elements in space."
If the inflatable habitat holds up to the test of time (and space), it will make sending large habitats into space cheaper and easier.
So check it out. Because what else is there to do at 5:30 in the morning?
- I quit McKinsey after 1.5 years. I was making over $200k but my mental health was shattered.
- Some Tesla factory workers realized they were laid off when security scanned their badges and sent them back on shuttles, sources say
- I tutor the children of some of Dubai's richest people. One of them paid me $3,000 to do his homework.
- Indo-Gangetic Plains, home to half the Indian population, to soon become hotspot of extreme climate events: study
- 7 Vegetables you shouldn’t peel before eating to get the most nutrients
- Gut check: 10 High-fiber foods to add to your diet to support digestive balance
- 10 Foods that can harm Your bone and joint health
- 6 Lesser-known places to visit near Mussoorie