On Thursday, 2009 March 12, a tiny piece of space debris from an old rocket motor caused the three astronauts aboard the International Space Station ( ISS) to don their space suits and hustle to the attached Soyuz spacecraft just in case—just in case the 13-centimeter-diameter (about five inches wide) poked a hole in their home away from home.

We never hear about it, but when the wagon trains were working their way West, the folks must have had to find some way to, well, take care of their bodily functions. The men, of course, because of their somewhat different physiques, might not have had much trouble taking care of business, but for the women it was a different story. Crossing the vast plains of what is now Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, and then the great deserts of the West with nary a tree or bush in sight must have caused some concern. But we never hear about it, so those hardy folk must have found some way to preserve their dignity and their privacy.

“Nowhere is out of reach, even space!”

A diamond may be forever, but a trip to space is out-of-this-world romantic.

By Carol Pinchefsky

Sapporo Breweries, the Japanese beermaker established in 1876, is bringing beer into the 21st century. The new brew: beer made from barley descended from seeds that spent five months on the International Space Station ( ISS).

by Carol Pinchefsky

Space Future's Dr. Patrick Collins and Technologies of the Frontier's Adriano Autino have created an initiative to amend the European Union Constitution. As a draft, the wording of the initiative may change, but the meaning will remain: a plea to the E.U. nations to give its citizens the right to travel to space.

By G.B. Leatherwood

by Carol Pinchefsky