ISS

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, who holds the U.S. record for longest space flight, about his unexpectedly long stay aboard the International Space Station.

A missing tomato sparked a lighthearted mystery for the astronauts on board the International Space Station — and it's finally been solved after months of accusations and intrigue.

Frank Rubio's first mission broke the record for the longest U.S. spaceflight earlier this month. Rubio is a medical doctor and was a lieutenant colonel and Blackhawk helicopter pilot in the Army.

The United Arab Emirates celebrated after Emirati astronaut Sultan Alneyadi splashed down to Earth following six months in space, a milestone for its growing space program.

The four-member crew — three astronauts and a cosmonaut — launched in March and conducted more than 200 experiments. They also performed spacewalks and did maintenance on the orbiting outpost.

The four members of the Crew-7 mission are set to dock to the International Space Station on Sunday. They'll spend six months on the orbiting outpost conducting science and other experiments.

A new study of astronaut blood finds that space travel reduces the expression of 100 genes related to the immune system.

More than 7,000 pounds of supplies are heading to the station, including science experiments and a new set of solar arrays to boost station's power capacity.

The return caps a nine-day mission to the International Space Station. The mission was funded by Axiom Space, a company that wants to build and operate the world's first commercial space station.

The mandatory isolation aims to protect the current station crew from any Earth-based pathogens that could hitch a ride with the four private astronauts.