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took more than 200 astronauts from 12 countries more than a dozen years to build the International Space Station (ISS).

, an astronaut from Japan, matched that feat in just about two hours

his space station was made out of LEGO.

Curiosity's Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) is the first instrument to measure the radiation environment during a Mars cruise mission from inside a spacecraft that is similar to potential human exploration spacecraft

The findings,

indicate radiation exposure for human explorers could exceed NASA's career limit for astronauts if current propulsion systems are used.

The 2013 astronaut candidate class comes from the second largest number of applications NASA ever has received -- more than 6,100

Josh A. Cassada, Ph. D

a former naval aviator

NASA and General Motors have come up with a robotic glove capable of giving today's astronauts and factory workers an extra-strong cyborg grip

Robo-Glove" technology emerged when NASA and General Motors (GM) built "Robonaut 2" as a robot assistant for astronauts living aboard the space station

glove's mechanical strength allows human wearers to grip tools longer and more comfortably

take care of the astronauts 24/7 in the Astronaut Crew Quarters during preflight training and leading up to all shuttle launches

they work in shifts, with additional staff called in as needed to help cook and clean.

The crew is extremely busy when they come in," Hooper said. "We could not function without all of the group's efforts to take care of the astronauts."

SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule is due to deliver food, supplies and science experiments

SpaceX is one of two companies with NASA contracts for robotic cargo delivery flights (Virginia's Orbital Technologies Corp. is the other), but is the first to actually try a launch

Here's how the robotic mission is expected to play out:

" I didn't feel a sonic boom because I was so busy just trying to stabilize myself,"

went into a tough spin at the jump's beginning. "It was really a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.

Several NASA and ESA astronauts

Radiation levels at the Martian surface appear to be roughly similar to those experienced by astronauts in low-Earth orbit

add more support

that astronauts can indeed function on the Red Planet for limited stretches of time.

The Netherlands-based nonprofit Mars One, which hopes to put the first boots on the Red Planet in 2023, released its basic astronaut requirements

(Jan. 8),

televised global selection process that will begin later this year.

July 14

NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency spaceflyer Akihiko Hoshide 

part of the space station's Expedition 32 mission, and is due to stay for about four months.

First astronauts selected

In 1959, NASA announced the selection of America's first seven astronauts for project Mercury. Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton were chosen from 110 applicants. Their training program at Langley, which ranged from a graduate-level course in introductory space science to simulator training and scuba-diving. Project Mercury, NASA's first high profile program, was an effort to learn if humans could survive in space. NASA required astronaut candidates to be male, not over 40 years old, not more than 5' 11" height and in excellent physical condition. On 5 May 1961, Shepard became the first American in space

Mars colony project will do its best to avoid disturbing potential Red Planet life rather than aggressively hunt it down

The Netherlands-based nonprofit Mars One

opened its astronaut-selection process

The crewed version of SpaceX's Dragon space capsule has passed a key design review, moving one step closer to carrying astronauts into orbit, NASA officials announced

July 12).

company officials gave NASA details about every phase of a potential crewed Dragon mission to the International Space Station

In those first few moments on the moon, during the climax of a heated space race with the then-Soviet Union, Armstrong stopped in what he called "a tender moment" and left a patch to commemorate NASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who had died in action.

'[The moon was] simply magnificent, beyond any visual experience that I had ever been exposed to.'- Neil Armstrong

estimated 600 million people -- a fifth of the world's population -- watched and listened to the moon landing, the largest audience for any single event in history.

A Dutch company that aims to land humans on Mars in 2023 as the vanguard of a permanent Red Planet colony has received its first funding from sponsors

Mars One plans to fund most of its ambitious activities via a global reality-TV media event

follow the mission from the selection of astronauts through their first years on the Red Planet

Apollo XIII rescue

In 1970, an explosion during the Apollo 13 mission led to one of the most spectacular rescue missions in US space history. The explosion aboard the Odyssey spacecraft left the crew stranded for four days more than 200,000 miles from Earth. An oxygen leak forced the Apollo 13 astronauts to abandon ship and return in lunar module. Against all odds, the three astronauts and thousands of others brought the capsule safely back to Earth. The astronauts were Fred Haise, Jack Swigert, and Commander Jim Lovell, and the mission was to have made the third manned landing of the moon

The vanilla with swirled chocolate sauce ice cream cups won't melt on their three-day journey to the space station thanks to a freezer on board the Dragon capsule

e first time we are taking powered cargo up. We are taking up a GLACIER freezer, which has refrigerated science samples in it

The mini-fridge sized freezer previously flew aboard the space shuttle.

problem with the Soyuz’ parachute – it deployed about 5 seconds later than planned – caused the crew to land several miles away from the planned landing site, but a Russian recovery team and NASA personnel reached the landing site by helicopter shortly afterward to assist the crew in getting out of the spacecraft, which landed on its side

127 days in space

125 days spent aboard the International Space Station

The competition is hosted by the Mars Society, a non-profit research organization dedicated to promoting the exploration and eventual settlement of Mars

The competition site is located at the society's Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), a rocky barren landscape that's about as close to Martian terrain as you can get on Earth

Each team was allowed to spend up to $15,000 on their rovers, which can weigh no more than 50 kilograms — about 110 lbs.