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As NASA prepares to double the number of astronauts living aboard the International Space Station, nothing may do more for crew bonding than a machine being launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday.

One of my favourite devices from Science Fiction would have to be the “Force Field”. Be it the quaint let’s get it up in a hurry force field from the original Lost in Space TV series, or the nail biting “shields at 5% Captain” from the original Star Trek.

These fictional force fields protect us from a host of nasties ranging from a Klingon phaser blast to the unceasing onslaught of the Wraith in Stargate Atlantis. It’s all well and good for sci-fi but how close are we to developing a real world force field? A lot closer than you think! Welcome to “Cold Plasma”.

When humans set foot on the planet Mars, the world will be treated to a live telecast of stunning clarity and colour - a far cry from the blurry, grainy images of the first lunar landing four decades ago.
The television pictures will arrive courtesy of a technology called a ‘beamformer’, designed by CSIRO scientist Dr [...]

The Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft carrying a new crew for the International Space Station (ISS) has docked with the orbiting outpost.
Flying with American Mike Fincke and Russian Yuri Lonchakov is the US fare-paying tourist Richard Garriott.
Mr Garriott, who paid about $30m (£17m) for a 10-day trip to the ISS, is following in the footsteps of his [...]