Tampa, United States | AFP | SpaceX blasted off a load of supplies Monday for the International Space Station aboard a rocket and a cargo ship that have both flown before, marking the second such flight for the California-based company. “Falcon 9 is on its way,” a SpaceX commentator said …
Read More »Year in space changes astronaut’s genes
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | NASA astronaut Scott Kelly is not the man he used to be — at least genetically speaking. His genetic expression has changed, according to preliminary results from a NASA study that compared the bodily changes between the astronaut and his identical twin, who stayed …
Read More »US wants to privatize International Space Station: report
Washington, United States | AFP | Could the International Space Station become a commercial venture run by private industry? That is the wish of the White House, which hopes to end funding for the costly program within a few years, The Washington Post reported Sunday. The US plan, the paper …
Read More »SPACEX: World’s biggest rocket soars toward Mars after perfect launch
Cape Canaveral, United States | AFP | The world’s most powerful rocket, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, blasted off Tuesday on its highly anticipated maiden test flight, carrying CEO Elon Musk’s cherry red Tesla Roadster toward an orbit near Mars. Screams and cheers erupted at mission control in Cape Canaveral, Florida as …
Read More »Artificial intelligence finds solar system with 8 planets like ours
Miami, United States | AFP | A solar system with as many planets as our own has been discovered with the help of NASA’s Kepler space telescope and artificial intelligence, the US space agency said Thursday. “Our solar system now is tied for most number of planets around a single …
Read More »Trump tells NASA to send Americans to Moon
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump directed NASA on Monday to send Americans to the Moon for the first time since 1972, in order to prepare for future trips to Mars. “This time we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprint,” Trump said at …
Read More »The last thing comet probe Rosetta saw
Paris, France | AFP | Robotic comet explorer Rosetta sent home a last-gasp photo of her target’s rocky facade before crashing into its surface to end a 12-year deep-space odyssey, ground controllers said Thursday. Almost a year to the day since Rosetta’s demise on September 30 last year, the European Space …
Read More »NASA’s $3.9 bn Cassini spacecraft makes death plunge into Saturn
Tampa, United States | AFP | After 20 years in space, NASA’s famed Cassini spacecraft made its final death plunge into Saturn on Friday, ending a storied mission that scientists say taught us nearly everything we know about Saturn today and transformed the way we think about life elsewhere in …
Read More »Record-breaking NASA astronaut comes back to Earth
Washington, United States | AFP | A record-shattering NASA astronaut touched down to Earth on Sunday, finishing a 288-day mission that put her over the top as the American who has spent the most cumulative amount of time in space. Peggy Whitson, 57, is also the oldest female astronaut in the …
Read More »SpaceX to launch super-computer to space
Miami, United States | AFP | SpaceX is poised to launch an unmanned cargo ship toward the International Space Station Monday, including a super-computer that could direct astronauts on future deep-space missions. The liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon cargo ship, is planned for 12:31 pm (1631 GMT) …
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