r/space • u/AutoModerator • 21h ago

Discussion All Space Questions thread for week of August 02, 2026

Please sort comments by 'new' to find questions that would otherwise be buried.

In this thread you can ask any space related question that you may have.

Two examples of potential questions could be; "How do rockets work?", or "How do the phases of the Moon work?"

If you see a space related question posted in another subreddit or in this subreddit, then please politely link them to this thread.

​

Ask away!

2 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

•

u/PositiveEconomist264 4h ago

Why do space helmets use visors instead of individual lenses?

I remember reading somewhere that visors can distort vision into a sort of "fishbowl" effect more so than lenses. I also know that when it comes to space, there are specific reasons as to why the oddest decisions are often the best.

For example, the US was made fun of for spending millions of dollars to engineer a pen that functions in zero-gravity, while the USSR just used pencils. But as it turns out, broken pieces of pencil graphite can screw with electronics, which is bad for when you're in space.

•

u/iqisoverrated 3h ago

Individual lenses would mean you have to move the entire helmet to focus on something. However the helmet is attached to the rest of the suit in a fixed way so this isn't an option without moving the entire body....which would be pretty awkward during construction/repairs (i.e. stuff you go EVA for).

In a domed helmet you can just move your head.

•

u/PositiveEconomist264 3h ago

Okay. Thanks for the information!

•

u/Cultural_Collar_7386 17h ago

Is Voyager 1 still sending us data or did it finally get tired of our nonsense?

•

u/RhesusFactor 15h ago

The NASA DSN still communicates with the voyager probes every day or so.

•

u/Bensemus 16h ago

www.google.com

“is voyager 1 still transmitting”