On Monday, SpaceX and NASA made history by successfully launching a four-member team for the International Space Station. The launch event was attended by Vice President Mike Pence and his wife as well as NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

News Alert: SpaceX-NASA makes history, successfully launches first operational crew mission

SpaceX has launched four astronauts on a flight to the International Space Station under NASA's first full-fledged mission sending a crew into orbit aboard a privately owned spacecraft.

SpaceX's newly designed Crew Dragon capsule, which the crew has dubbed Resilience, lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 7:27 p.m. Sunday eastern time (0027 GMT on Monday) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The 27-hour ride to the space station, an orbiting laboratory some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, was originally scheduled to begin on Saturday. But the launch was postponed for a day due to forecasts of gusty winds that would have made a return landing for the Falcon 9's reusable booster stage difficult.

US Vice-President Mike Pence attended the launch and said beforehand that under President Donald Trump, America had "renewed our commitment to lead in human space exploration."

President-elect Joe Biden tweeted his congratulations, saying the launch was "a testament to the power of science."

NASA is calling the flight its first "operational" mission for a rocket and crew-vehicle system that was 10 years in the making. It represents a new era of commercially developed spacecraft - owned and operated by a private entity rather than NASA - for sending Americans into orbit.

A trial flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon in August, carrying just two astronauts to and from the space station, marked NASA's first human space mission to be launched from US soil in nine years.

Elon Musk, the billionaire SpaceX chief executive who is also CEO of electric carmaker and battery manufacturer Tesla Inc, will likely not have watched the liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center launch control room. Musk said on Saturday he "most likely" has a moderate case of COVID-19.

SpaceX has launched four astronauts on a flight to the International Space Station under NASA's first full-fledged mission sending a crew into orbit aboard a privately owned spacecraft.

SpaceX has launched four astronauts on a flight to the International Space Station under NASA's first full-fledged mission sending a crew into orbit aboard a privately owned spacecraft. SpaceX's newly designed Crew Dragon capsule, which the crew has dubbed Resilience, lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 7:27 p.m. Sunday eastern time (0027 GMT on Monday) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The 27-hour ride to the space station, an orbiting laboratory some 250 miles (400 km) above Earth, was originally scheduled to begin on Saturday. But the launch was postponed for a day due to forecasts of gusty winds that would have made a return landing for the Falcon 9's reusable booster stage difficult. US Vice-President Mike Pence attended the launch and said beforehand that under President Donald Trump, America had "renewed our commitment to lead in human space exploration." President-elect Joe Biden tweeted his congratulations, saying the launch was "a testament to the power of science." NASA is calling the flight its first "operational" mission for a rocket and crew-vehicle system that was 10 years in the making. It represents a new era of commercially developed spacecraft - owned and operated by a private entity rather than NASA - for sending Americans into orbit. A trial flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon in August, carrying just two astronauts to and from the space station, marked NASA's first human space mission to be launched from US soil in nine years. Elon Musk, the billionaire SpaceX chief executive who is also CEO of electric carmaker and battery manufacturer Tesla Inc, will likely not have watched the liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center launch control room. Musk said on Saturday he "most likely" has a moderate case of COVID-19.

SpaceX, NASA begin first operational astronaut mission to space

SpaceX is slated to launch four astronauts into the International Space Station on Sunday -- the first of what the US hopes will be many routine missions following a successful test flight in late spring.

Three Americans -- Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker -- and Japan's Soichi Noguchi will blast off at 7:27 pm Sunday (0027 GMT Monday) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida -- on the SpaceX Crew Dragon "Resilience".

In May, SpaceX completed a demonstration mission showing it could take astronauts to the ISS and bring them back safely, thus ending almost a decade of reliance on Russia for rides on its Soyuz rockets.

The launch will be attended by Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence.

The crew will dock at their destination at around 11:00 pm Monday night (0400 GMT Tuesday), joining two Russians and one American onboard the station, and stay for six months.

The Crew Dragon earlier this week became the first spacecraft to be certified by NASA since the Space Shuttle nearly 40 years ago.

At the end of its missions, the Crew Dragon deploys parachutes then splashes down in water, just as in the Apollo era.

NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing after shuttering the checkered Space Shuttle programme in 2011, which failed in its main objectives of making space travel affordable and safe. &nbsp;

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, has leapfrogged its much older rival Boeing, whose program has floundered after a failed test of its uncrewed Starliner last year.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

SpaceX is slated to launch four astronauts into the International Space Station on Sunday -- the first of what the US hopes will be many routine missions following a successful test flight in late spring.

SpaceX is slated to launch four astronauts into the International Space Station on Sunday -- the first of what the US hopes will be many routine missions following a successful test flight in late spring. Three Americans -- Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker -- and Japan's Soichi Noguchi will blast off at 7:27 pm Sunday (0027 GMT Monday) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida -- on the SpaceX Crew Dragon "Resilience". In May, SpaceX completed a demonstration mission showing it could take astronauts to the ISS and bring them back safely, thus ending almost a decade of reliance on Russia for rides on its Soyuz rockets. The launch will be attended by Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence. The crew will dock at their destination at around 11:00 pm Monday night (0400 GMT Tuesday), joining two Russians and one American onboard the station, and stay for six months. The Crew Dragon earlier this week became the first spacecraft to be certified by NASA since the Space Shuttle nearly 40 years ago. At the end of its missions, the Crew Dragon deploys parachutes then splashes down in water, just as in the Apollo era. NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing after shuttering the checkered Space Shuttle programme in 2011, which failed in its main objectives of making space travel affordable and safe. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, has leapfrogged its much older rival Boeing, whose program has floundered after a failed test of its uncrewed Starliner last year.

SpaceX to launch four astronauts to International Space Station

NASA and high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk`s rocket company SpaceX announced on Friday a 24-hour weather delay of their planned launch of four astronauts into orbit for NASA`s first full-fledged human mission using a privately owned spacecraft.

The liftoff time slipped from Saturday to Sunday evening due to forecasts of gusty, onshore winds over Florida - remnants of Tropical Storm Eta - that would have made a return landing for the Falcon 9 rocket`s reusable booster stage difficult, NASA officials said.

SpaceX`s newly designed Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed "Resilience" by its crew, was rescheduled for launch atop the Falcon 9 at 7:27 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday (0027 GMT on Monday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/another-big-leap-spacex-set-to-launch-first-fully-crewed-iss-mission-342288">'Another big leap': SpaceX set to launch first fully-crewed ISS mission</a>

The crew for the flight to the International Space Station includes three American astronauts - Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and the mission commander, Mike Hopkins, a U.S. Air Force colonel who is to be sworn into the fledgling U.S. Space Force once aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The fourth crew member is Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, making his third trip to orbit after flying on the U.S. space shuttle in 2005 and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2009.

The journey to the space station - lengthened from about eight hours to a little over a day by the new launch time - is considered SpaceX’s first "operational" mission for the Crew Dragon.

A so-called test flight of the vehicle to and from the space station with two crewmen aboard the Dragon in August marked the first space flight of NASA astronauts launched from U.S. soil in nine years, following the end of the shuttle program.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/spacexs-envisioned-machinery-will-not-only-take-us-to-mars-but-reduce-travel-time-on-earth-tremendously-306615">SpaceX's envisioned machinery will not only take us to Mars, but reduce travel time on Earth tremendously!</a>

NASA officials only just signed off on Crew Dragon’s final design earlier this week, capping a nearly 10-year development phase for SpaceX under the space agency’s public-private crew program.

The advent of the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon represents a new era of commercially developed space vehicles - owned and operated by a private entity rather than NASA - being used to carry Americans into orbit.

"The history being made this time is we’re launching what we call an operational flight to the International Space Station," NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said at a press conference at Kennedy Space Center on Friday.

Musk, the billionaire Silicon Valley titan who also is chief executive of electric carmarker and battery manufacturer Tesla Inc , usually attends high-profile SpaceX missions in person. But his presence for the launch was thrown into question on Thursday after he said he had taken a series of four coronavirus diagnostic tests, with two coming back positive and two negative.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/spacex-launches-third-batch-of-mini-satellites-into-orbit-272623">SpaceX launches third batch of mini-satellites into orbit</a>

Asked if Musk would be in the launch control room for liftoff, Bridenstine said agency policy required employees to quarantine and self-isolate after testing positive for the disease, "so we anticipate that that will be taking place."

Whether Musk came into contact with the astronauts was unclear but unlikely since the crew has been in routine quarantine for weeks prior to the flight.

NASA contracted SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to develop competing space capsules aimed at replacing the shuttle program that ended in 2011 and weaning the United States off dependence on Russian rockets to send U.S. astronauts to space.

Boeing’s first crewed test mission with its Starliner capsule is planned for late next year.

NASA and high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk`s rocket company SpaceX announced on Friday a 24-hour weather delay of their planned launch of four astronauts into orbit for NASA`s first full-fledged human mission using a privately owned spacecraft.

NASA and high-tech entrepreneur Elon Musk`s rocket company SpaceX announced on Friday a 24-hour weather delay of their planned launch of four astronauts into orbit for NASA`s first full-fledged human mission using a privately owned spacecraft. The liftoff time slipped from Saturday to Sunday evening due to forecasts of gusty, onshore winds over Florida - remnants of Tropical Storm Eta - that would have made a return landing for the Falcon 9 rocket`s reusable booster stage difficult, NASA officials said. SpaceX`s newly designed Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed "Resilience" by its crew, was rescheduled for launch atop the Falcon 9 at 7:27 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday (0027 GMT on Monday) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral. Also read| 'Another big leap': SpaceX set to launch first fully-crewed ISS mission The crew for the flight to the International Space Station includes three American astronauts - Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and the mission commander, Mike Hopkins, a U.S. Air Force colonel who is to be sworn into the fledgling U.S. Space Force once aboard the orbiting laboratory. The fourth crew member is Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi, making his third trip to orbit after flying on the U.S. space shuttle in 2005 and a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in 2009. The journey to the space station - lengthened from about eight hours to a little over a day by the new launch time - is considered SpaceX’s first "operational" mission for the Crew Dragon. A so-called test flight of the vehicle to and from the space station with two crewmen aboard the Dragon in August marked the first space flight of NASA astronauts launched from U.S. soil in nine years, following the end of the shuttle program. Also read| SpaceX's envisioned machinery will not only take us to Mars, but reduce travel time on Earth tremendously! NASA officials only just signed off on Crew Dragon’s final design earlier this week, capping a nearly 10-year development phase for SpaceX under the space agency’s public-private crew program. The advent of the Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon represents a new era of commercially developed space vehicles - owned and operated by a private entity rather than NASA - being used to carry Americans into orbit. "The history being made this time is we’re launching what we call an operational flight to the International Space Station," NASA chief Jim Bridenstine said at a press conference at Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Musk, the billionaire Silicon Valley titan who also is chief executive of electric carmarker and battery manufacturer Tesla Inc , usually attends high-profile SpaceX missions in person. But his presence for the launch was thrown into question on Thursday after he said he had taken a series of four coronavirus diagnostic tests, with two coming back positive and two negative. Also read| SpaceX launches third batch of mini-satellites into orbit Asked if Musk would be in the launch control room for liftoff, Bridenstine said agency policy required employees to quarantine and self-isolate after testing positive for the disease, "so we anticipate that that will be taking place." Whether Musk came into contact with the astronauts was unclear but unlikely since the crew has been in routine quarantine for weeks prior to the flight. NASA contracted SpaceX and Boeing in 2014 to develop competing space capsules aimed at replacing the shuttle program that ended in 2011 and weaning the United States off dependence on Russian rockets to send U.S. astronauts to space. Boeing’s first crewed test mission with its Starliner capsule is planned for late next year.

SpaceX launch of crew on first 'operational' mission delayed by weather

November 12 in history: Release of the first images of Saturn's rings and more

November 11 in history: Launch of Gemini 12, death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and more

Elon Musk's rocket company&nbsp;SpaceX is set to launch its first fully-crewed bound for the International Space Station on Saturday.

It is&nbsp;the program's first six-month routine mission since the United States resumed crewed space flight in May after nine years of reliance on Russia. &nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/spacexs-envisioned-machinery-will-not-only-take-us-to-mars-but-reduce-travel-time-on-earth-tremendously-306615">SpaceX's envisioned machinery will not only take us to Mars, but reduce travel time on Earth tremendously!</a>

NASA on Tuesday officially certified as safe the Crew Dragon capsule developed for regular astronaut transportation by SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk that carried two astronauts to the ISS in May and back to Earth again in August without major incident.&nbsp;

"I'm extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said.&nbsp;

The mission, named CREW-1, will deliver four of the seven individuals from Expedition 64 to the ISS: NASA space travelers Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, just as Japanese space explorer Soichi Noguchi. Endeavor 64 is the term for this 64th gathering of individuals to possess and chip away at the ISS long haul.

Take-off is planned for 7:49 pm Saturday (0049 GMT Sunday) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and they are expected to arrive at the ISS eight hours later, at 0920 GMT Sunday.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/spacex-launches-third-batch-of-mini-satellites-into-orbit-272623">SpaceX launches third batch of mini-satellites into orbit</a>

The mission marks a culmination for SpaceX, setting it up to be NASA's favored,&nbsp;and so far most reliable, transportation provider as the agency waits on Boeing's Starliner capsule, which has been held up in testing and is not expected to be ready before next year.&nbsp;

SpaceX has been operating space station re-supplying flights with the cargo version of the Dragon since 2012.&nbsp;

"For the next 15 months, we will fly seven crew and cargo Dragon missions for NASA," SpaceX head of crewed flights Benji Reed said during a phone call Tuesday.&nbsp;

"That means that (from December) starting with Crew-1, there will be a continuous presence of SpaceX Dragons in orbit."

The next crewed mission is expected to blast off at the end of March 2021, carrying one European, one Japanese and two American crew members.&nbsp;

Elon Musk's organisation has dispatched two individuals into space to date: NASA space explorers Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who rode to the International Space Station May 30 on board a Crew Dragon container mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket. That experimental drill, named DEMO-2, denoted the primary ever business manned dispatch, and the principal dispatch from American soil since the finish of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.

In any case, it was an experimental drill, with only two space explorers on board, enduring only 64 days with the vast majority of that time in zero-gravity spent on the International Space Station (ISS). On Nov. 14, if all works out as expected, four space explorers will take a Crew Dragon to the ISS and stay on the space station for a half year. It will check the start of the period of commonsense business spaceflight.&nbsp;

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX is set to launch its first fully-crewed bound for the International Space Station on Saturday. It is the program's first six-month routine mission since the United States resumed crewed space flight in May after nine years of reliance on Russia.

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX is set to launch its first fully-crewed bound for the International Space Station on Saturday. It is the program's first six-month routine mission since the United States resumed crewed space flight in May after nine years of reliance on Russia. Also read: SpaceX's envisioned machinery will not only take us to Mars, but reduce travel time on Earth tremendously! NASA on Tuesday officially certified as safe the Crew Dragon capsule developed for regular astronaut transportation by SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk that carried two astronauts to the ISS in May and back to Earth again in August without major incident. "I'm extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said. The mission, named CREW-1, will deliver four of the seven individuals from Expedition 64 to the ISS: NASA space travelers Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, just as Japanese space explorer Soichi Noguchi. Endeavor 64 is the term for this 64th gathering of individuals to possess and chip away at the ISS long haul. Take-off is planned for 7:49 pm Saturday (0049 GMT Sunday) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and they are expected to arrive at the ISS eight hours later, at 0920 GMT Sunday. Also read: SpaceX launches third batch of mini-satellites into orbit The mission marks a culmination for SpaceX, setting it up to be NASA's favored, and so far most reliable, transportation provider as the agency waits on Boeing's Starliner capsule, which has been held up in testing and is not expected to be ready before next year. SpaceX has been operating space station re-supplying flights with the cargo version of the Dragon since 2012. "For the next 15 months, we will fly seven crew and cargo Dragon missions for NASA," SpaceX head of crewed flights Benji Reed said during a phone call Tuesday. "That means that (from December) starting with Crew-1, there will be a continuous presence of SpaceX Dragons in orbit." The next crewed mission is expected to blast off at the end of March 2021, carrying one European, one Japanese and two American crew members. Elon Musk's organisation has dispatched two individuals into space to date: NASA space explorers Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who rode to the International Space Station May 30 on board a Crew Dragon container mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket. That experimental drill, named DEMO-2, denoted the primary ever business manned dispatch, and the principal dispatch from American soil since the finish of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. In any case, it was an experimental drill, with only two space explorers on board, enduring only 64 days with the vast majority of that time in zero-gravity spent on the International Space Station (ISS). On Nov. 14, if all works out as expected, four space explorers will take a Crew Dragon to the ISS and stay on the space station for a half year. It will check the start of the period of commonsense business spaceflight.

'Another big leap': SpaceX set to launch first fully-crewed ISS mission

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued warnings regarding three&nbsp;asteroids over 30 metres&nbsp;in diametre&nbsp;travelling&nbsp;Earth’s way starting&nbsp;on November 10 with a double-header.&nbsp;

Estimating generally a large portion of the size of the Statue of Liberty (46m), space rock 2020 UN3 will pass the planet at a projected separation of 4.4 million kilometers. Not long after, and practically twofold the size, the 72-meter 2020 UL3, will take shots past at 5.8 million kilometers.&nbsp;

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LJBv4reH9IU" width="560"></iframe>

In case anybody gets excessively agreeable,&nbsp;on November 12, space rock 2020 VC, estimating 34 meters in width or generally, a large portion of the wingspan of a 747 fly, is set to buzz the planet a ways off of 5.2 million kilometers.&nbsp;

The respectable notice goes to 2018 VS4, 23 metres&nbsp;in breadth (generally half as tall as the Arc de Triomphe) and the 27-meter 2020 VC1 (a large portion of the Leaning Tower of Pisa), the two of which will make a flyby of Earth this week yet are not expected to represent any danger to humankind.

In the interim, information from NASA's Osiris-Rex rocket, which as of late ravaged the potential planet-executioner space rock Bennu for a portion of its residue, demonstrates this specific feature taking space rock may, indeed, be empty.&nbsp;

Moreover, not exclusively is Bennu probably empty, yet it is additionally turning quickly, driving material to its surface and conceivably destroying itself all the while.&nbsp;

Still some 321,868,800km away, Bennu has a one-in-2,700 possibility of affecting Earth somewhere in the range of 2175 and 2199.&nbsp;

In an ongoing report, the University of Colorado analysts figured out how to compute its gravity, and along these lines, it's mass,&nbsp;by following the movement of rocks flung outwards by the space rock before they slammed down on its surface. The discoveries lead the boffins to speculate that Bennu has an unfilled center.

"It's as though there is a void at its middle, inside which you could fit two or three football fields," Daniel Scheeres, who drove the exploration, clarified.&nbsp;

The most recent information from the space rock shows that it finishes one revolution at regular intervals, however, that its pace of turn is expanding.&nbsp;

"You could envision perhaps in 1,000,000 years or less, the entire thing flying separated," Scheeres said.&nbsp;

The NASA group behind the fantastic mission likewise found that Bennu's stone was shockingly delicate, after the Osiris-Rex test shot the surface with an explosion of nitrogen gas, stirring up substantially more material than anticipated, finding everybody napping.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued warnings regarding three asteroids over 30 metres in diametre travelling Earth’s way starting on November 10 with a double-header.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has issued warnings regarding three asteroids over 30 metres in diametre travelling Earth’s way starting on November 10 with a double-header. Estimating generally a large portion of the size of the Statue of Liberty (46m), space rock 2020 UN3 will pass the planet at a projected separation of 4.4 million kilometers. Not long after, and practically twofold the size, the 72-meter 2020 UL3, will take shots past at 5.8 million kilometers. In case anybody gets excessively agreeable, on November 12, space rock 2020 VC, estimating 34 meters in width or generally, a large portion of the wingspan of a 747 fly, is set to buzz the planet a ways off of 5.2 million kilometers. The respectable notice goes to 2018 VS4, 23 metres in breadth (generally half as tall as the Arc de Triomphe) and the 27-meter 2020 VC1 (a large portion of the Leaning Tower of Pisa), the two of which will make a flyby of Earth this week yet are not expected to represent any danger to humankind. In the interim, information from NASA's Osiris-Rex rocket, which as of late ravaged the potential planet-executioner space rock Bennu for a portion of its residue, demonstrates this specific feature taking space rock may, indeed, be empty. Moreover, not exclusively is Bennu probably empty, yet it is additionally turning quickly, driving material to its surface and conceivably destroying itself all the while. Still some 321,868,800km away, Bennu has a one-in-2,700 possibility of affecting Earth somewhere in the range of 2175 and 2199. In an ongoing report, the University of Colorado analysts figured out how to compute its gravity, and along these lines, it's mass, by following the movement of rocks flung outwards by the space rock before they slammed down on its surface. The discoveries lead the boffins to speculate that Bennu has an unfilled center. "It's as though there is a void at its middle, inside which you could fit two or three football fields," Daniel Scheeres, who drove the exploration, clarified. The most recent information from the space rock shows that it finishes one revolution at regular intervals, however, that its pace of turn is expanding. "You could envision perhaps in 1,000,000 years or less, the entire thing flying separated," Scheeres said. The NASA group behind the fantastic mission likewise found that Bennu's stone was shockingly delicate, after the Osiris-Rex test shot the surface with an explosion of nitrogen gas, stirring up substantially more material than anticipated, finding everybody napping.

Three asteroids over 30 metres in diametre travelling Earth’s way

A decade ago, a band of astronomers set out to investigate one of the oldest questions taunting philosophers, scientists, priests, astronomers, mystics and the rest of the human race: How many more Earths are out there, if any? How many far-flung planets exist that could harbor life as we know it?

Their tool was the Kepler spacecraft, which was launched in March 2009 on a 3-1/2-year mission to monitor 150,000 stars in a patch of sky in the Milky Way. It looked for tiny dips in starlight caused by an exoplanet passing in front of its home star.

“It’s not E.T., but it’s E.T.’s home,” said William Borucki when the mission was launched in March 2009. It was Borucki, an astronomer now retired from NASA’s Ames Research Center, who dreamed up the project and spent two decades convincing NASA to do it.

Before the spacecraft finally gave out in 2018, it had discovered more than 4,000 candidate worlds among those stars. So far, none have shown any sign of life or habitation. (Granted, they are very far away and hard to study.) Extrapolated, that figure suggests that there are billions of exoplanets in the Milky Way galaxy. But how many of those are potentially habitable?

After crunching Kepler’s data for two years, a team of 44 astronomers led by Steve Bryson of NASA Ames has landed on what they say is the definitive answer, at least for now. Their paper has been accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal.

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Kepler’s formal goal was to measure a number called eta-Earth: the fraction of sunlike stars that have an Earth-size object orbiting them in the “goldilocks” or habitable zone, where it is warm enough for the surface to retain liquid water.

The team calculated that at least one-third, and perhaps as many as 90%, of stars similar in mass and brightness to our sun have rocks like Earth in their habitable zones, with the range reflecting the researchers’ confidence in their various methods and assumptions. That is no small bonanza, however you look at it.

According to NASA estimates there are at least 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, of which about 4 billion are sunlike. If only 7% of those stars have habitable planets — a seriously conservative estimate — there could be as many as 300 million potentially habitable Earths out there in the whole Milky Way alone.

“We want to be very conservative in case nature has any surprises regarding habitability,” said Ravi Kumar Kopparapu, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and one of the authors of the report. “So we are lowballing the estimates intentionally.”

On average, the astronomers calculated, the nearest such planet should be about 20 light-years away, and there should be four of them within 30 light-years or so of the sun.

“It took 11 years from launch to publication, but this is it,” said Natalie Batalha, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who directed the Kepler mission during most of its life and was one of the authors of the new paper, in a triumphant email. “This is the science result we’ve all been waiting for — the reason that Kepler was selected for flight in December 2001.”

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The new result means that the galaxy is at least twice as fertile as estimated in one of the first analyses of Kepler data, in 2013. That finding, by Andrew Howard, Erik Petigura and Geoffrey Marcy, who were not part of the Kepler team, concluded that about one-fifth of sunlike stars harbored planets in their habitable zones.

Batalha said that one improvement this time around was the addition of data from the European GAIA satellite, which has measured the position and brightness of 1 billion stars. That knowledge allowed the Kepler scientists to more precisely chart the habitable zones of their stars.

Another improvement was better handling of the statistics, although, as Batalha noted, “surveys are inherently incomplete. You can’t call up every citizen; you can’t observe every star.”

In the case of Kepler, that limitation was serious. The spacecraft’s orientation system failed before Kepler could complete its prime survey, which limited it to detecting planets that had orbital periods of less than about 700 days — about twice the duration of an Earth year.

In an email, David Charbonneau, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said he was slightly skeptical of the results: “The Kepler Mission didn’t detect many (arguably, any) true Earth analogues, i.e. planets with the same radius as Earth AND orbiting at the same period, and hence receiving the same amount of light, AND orbiting sun-like stars.”

As Batalha said at the time, “We don’t yet have any planet candidates that are exact analogues of the Earth in terms of size, orbit or star type.” We still don’t. As a result, the astronomers had to extrapolate data from the planets they did see.

Although these Kepler planets are Earth-size — one-half to 1 1/2 the radius of Earth — and are presumably rocky, nobody knows what they are like in any detail, nor whether anything does, or could, live on them. They are too far away for further study. So far we know of only one planet, our own, that harbors life.

But there are plenty of opportunities yet to find one. The Kepler measurement of eta-Earth only pertains to stars like the sun, but in the galaxy those stars are vastly outnumbered by smaller, dimmer stars known as red dwarfs. One-quarter to one-half of red dwarfs also harbor habitable-zone planets, according to work by Courtney Dressing, now at the University of California, Berkeley, although some astronomers worry that radiation flares from such stars would doom any life trying to get started there. Red dwarf planets were not included in the new analysis of eta-Earth.

The red dwarf planets are relevant to the search for life because Kepler has passed the torch to a spacecraft called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, which was launched in 2018 to scour the entire sky for exoplanets within a few hundred light years of Earth — the local neighborhood. So far TESS has discovered 66 new exoplanets and has cataloged more than 2,000 candidates.

Most of those planets were expected to be found circling red dwarfs, said George Ricker, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and principal investigator for the mission, in an email: “Since about three-fourths of the stars in the solar neighborhood are M dwarfs, that leaves open a very large discovery space for TESS in the decade ahead!”

Batalha said that young scientists in the future might yet find a way to improve the value of eta-Earth; “until then, this will be the de facto standard.”

The value of eta-Earth is an important and hitherto unknown factor in a mathematical expression known as the Drake equation. It is used by astronomers to estimate how many technological civilizations might exist in the galaxy — and that we might be able to contact by radio or other means some cosmic day.

It’s time to move on the next factor in the Drake equation for extraterrestrial civilizations: the fraction of these worlds on which life emerges. The search for even a single slime mold on some alien rock would revolutionize biology, and it is a worthy agenda for the next half-century as humans continue the climb out of ourselves and into the universe in the endless quest to end our cosmic loneliness.

A decade ago, a band of astronomers set out to investigate one of the oldest questions taunting philosophers, scientists, priests, astronomers, mystics and the rest of the human race: How many more Earths are out there, if any?

A decade ago, a band of astronomers set out to investigate one of the oldest questions taunting philosophers, scientists, priests, astronomers, mystics and the rest of the human race: How many more Earths are out there, if any? How many far-flung planets exist that could harbor life as we know it? Their tool was the Kepler spacecraft, which was launched in March 2009 on a 3-1/2-year mission to monitor 150,000 stars in a patch of sky in the Milky Way. It looked for tiny dips in starlight caused by an exoplanet passing in front of its home star. “It’s not E.T., but it’s E.T.’s home,” said William Borucki when the mission was launched in March 2009. It was Borucki, an astronomer now retired from NASA’s Ames Research Center, who dreamed up the project and spent two decades convincing NASA to do it. Before the spacecraft finally gave out in 2018, it had discovered more than 4,000 candidate worlds among those stars. So far, none have shown any sign of life or habitation. (Granted, they are very far away and hard to study.) Extrapolated, that figure suggests that there are billions of exoplanets in the Milky Way galaxy. But how many of those are potentially habitable? After crunching Kepler’s data for two years, a team of 44 astronomers led by Steve Bryson of NASA Ames has landed on what they say is the definitive answer, at least for now. Their paper has been accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Also Read | Scientists uncover oldest evidence of 'slingshot' tongue Kepler’s formal goal was to measure a number called eta-Earth: the fraction of sunlike stars that have an Earth-size object orbiting them in the “goldilocks” or habitable zone, where it is warm enough for the surface to retain liquid water. The team calculated that at least one-third, and perhaps as many as 90%, of stars similar in mass and brightness to our sun have rocks like Earth in their habitable zones, with the range reflecting the researchers’ confidence in their various methods and assumptions. That is no small bonanza, however you look at it. According to NASA estimates there are at least 100 billion stars in the Milky Way, of which about 4 billion are sunlike. If only 7% of those stars have habitable planets — a seriously conservative estimate — there could be as many as 300 million potentially habitable Earths out there in the whole Milky Way alone. “We want to be very conservative in case nature has any surprises regarding habitability,” said Ravi Kumar Kopparapu, a researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and one of the authors of the report. “So we are lowballing the estimates intentionally.” On average, the astronomers calculated, the nearest such planet should be about 20 light-years away, and there should be four of them within 30 light-years or so of the sun. “It took 11 years from launch to publication, but this is it,” said Natalie Batalha, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who directed the Kepler mission during most of its life and was one of the authors of the new paper, in a triumphant email. “This is the science result we’ve all been waiting for — the reason that Kepler was selected for flight in December 2001.” Also Read | Did we just discover the Moon's long-lost sibling? The new result means that the galaxy is at least twice as fertile as estimated in one of the first analyses of Kepler data, in 2013. That finding, by Andrew Howard, Erik Petigura and Geoffrey Marcy, who were not part of the Kepler team, concluded that about one-fifth of sunlike stars harbored planets in their habitable zones. Batalha said that one improvement this time around was the addition of data from the European GAIA satellite, which has measured the position and brightness of 1 billion stars. That knowledge allowed the Kepler scientists to more precisely chart the habitable zones of their stars. Another improvement was better handling of the statistics, although, as Batalha noted, “surveys are inherently incomplete. You can’t call up every citizen; you can’t observe every star.” In the case of Kepler, that limitation was serious. The spacecraft’s orientation system failed before Kepler could complete its prime survey, which limited it to detecting planets that had orbital periods of less than about 700 days — about twice the duration of an Earth year. In an email, David Charbonneau, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, said he was slightly skeptical of the results: “The Kepler Mission didn’t detect many (arguably, any) true Earth analogues, i.e. planets with the same radius as Earth AND orbiting at the same period, and hence receiving the same amount of light, AND orbiting sun-like stars.” As Batalha said at the time, “We don’t yet have any planet candidates that are exact analogues of the Earth in terms of size, orbit or star type.” We still don’t. As a result, the astronomers had to extrapolate data from the planets they did see. Although these Kepler planets are Earth-size — one-half to 1 1/2 the radius of Earth — and are presumably rocky, nobody knows what they are like in any detail, nor whether anything does, or could, live on them. They are too far away for further study. So far we know of only one planet, our own, that harbors life. But there are plenty of opportunities yet to find one. The Kepler measurement of eta-Earth only pertains to stars like the sun, but in the galaxy those stars are vastly outnumbered by smaller, dimmer stars known as red dwarfs. One-quarter to one-half of red dwarfs also harbor habitable-zone planets, according to work by Courtney Dressing, now at the University of California, Berkeley, although some astronomers worry that radiation flares from such stars would doom any life trying to get started there. Red dwarf planets were not included in the new analysis of eta-Earth. The red dwarf planets are relevant to the search for life because Kepler has passed the torch to a spacecraft called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, which was launched in 2018 to scour the entire sky for exoplanets within a few hundred light years of Earth — the local neighborhood. So far TESS has discovered 66 new exoplanets and has cataloged more than 2,000 candidates. Most of those planets were expected to be found circling red dwarfs, said George Ricker, an astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and principal investigator for the mission, in an email: “Since about three-fourths of the stars in the solar neighborhood are M dwarfs, that leaves open a very large discovery space for TESS in the decade ahead!” Batalha said that young scientists in the future might yet find a way to improve the value of eta-Earth; “until then, this will be the de facto standard.” The value of eta-Earth is an important and hitherto unknown factor in a mathematical expression known as the Drake equation. It is used by astronomers to estimate how many technological civilizations might exist in the galaxy — and that we might be able to contact by radio or other means some cosmic day. It’s time to move on the next factor in the Drake equation for extraterrestrial civilizations: the fraction of these worlds on which life emerges. The search for even a single slime mold on some alien rock would revolutionize biology, and it is a worthy agenda for the next half-century as humans continue the climb out of ourselves and into the universe in the endless quest to end our cosmic loneliness.

Looking for another Earth? Here are 300 million, maybe

With only four days to go for the US election 2020,&nbsp;President Donald Trump's differences with rival presidential candidate Joe Biden extend far beyond planet Earth.

However, NASA's moonshot, aerospace company Boeing,&nbsp;Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, and&nbsp;SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk also have a&nbsp;lot riding on the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/us-election">US&nbsp;election</a> on November 3.

While Republican candidate&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Trump</a>&nbsp;plans to win the race in space call for a 2024 moon mission and ending direct US&nbsp;financial support for the International Space Station in 2025, turning&nbsp;over control of the decades-old orbital laboratory to private space companies.

Biden, on the other hand, would likely call for a delayed&nbsp;moonshot&nbsp;and propose a funding extension for the International Space Station if he wins the White House, according to people familiar with the fledging Biden space agenda.

Earlier,&nbsp;NASA had&nbsp;selected&nbsp;Bezos's Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX&nbsp;to develop human landers for Artemis moon missions.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bezoss-blue-origin-and-musks-spacex-to-collaborate-in-building-nasas-lunar-lander-296099">Bezos's Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX to collaborate in building NASA's lunar lander</a>

Pushing back the moon mission could cast more doubt on the long-term fate of Boeing Co's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, just as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin scramble to bring rival rockets to market as soon as next year.

Extending support for the space station for a decade would also be a major boost for Boeing, whose $225 million annual ISS operations contract is set to expire in 2024 and is at the depths of a financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 737 MAX grounding after fatal crashes.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/new-shepard-capsule-bezos-blue-origin-conducts-successful-test-flight-for-space-tourism-335120">New Shepard capsule: Bezos' Blue Origin conducts successful test flight for space tourism</a>

Boeing and SpaceX are already supplying spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the ISS under a program begun under the Obama administration and supported by both Trump and Biden.

Though slowing the&nbsp;moonshot&nbsp;would push back contracts for moon landers and related equipment the companies aim to win, the emerging Biden space agenda appears broadly set to promote competition between traditional defense contractors like Boeing and "new space" rivals like SpaceX who promise lower-cost and reusable rocket systems and space vehicles.

Craving consistency

For the commercial space industry, "consistency is key," said Mike French, a vice president at the Aerospace Industries Association trade group who earlier served as NASA chief of staff under Obama.

"If you shake the etch-a-sketch now, you will (be) risking a series of potentially historic accomplishments and the strong and sustained bipartisan support NASA has seen across its portfolio," French told Reuters.

Roughly 20 former senior NASA officials and scientists have assembled as a volunteer subgroup under the Biden campaign's science committee to informally help draw up ideas for a space platform.

Many held jobs in the Obama administration and are jockeying for influential roles on the transition team or in a Biden administration.

Members of the subgroup also want to boost NASA funding for Earth science and support partnerships with other nations. They stressed that Biden's space agenda, and the staff assignments to lead it, were in a formative stage as his campaign prioritizes more pressing issues, like the coronavirus pandemic and joblessness.

A Biden campaign spokesman pointed to earlier remarks from Biden. In August, after SpaceX launched and returned the first astronauts from US&nbsp;soil on a trip to the ISS in nearly a decade, Biden said he looked forward to "leading a bold space program that will continue to send astronaut heroes to expand our exploration and scientific frontiers."

Representatives for Blue Origin and Boeing declined to comment. SpaceX and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Fight over Boeing rocket

But the Biden space group is divided on what to do about Boeing's SLS, several sources said.

The super heavy-lift rocket has been beset by development delays and cost overruns, but supports tens of thousands of jobs in Alabama and California and is seen by backers as central to NASA's exploration plans and the only path to Trump's 2024 timeline for the Artemis mission.

Critics say the rocket's aging technology and launch costs of $1 billion or more permission should prompt a formal White House or Congressional review of the program, particularly if SpaceX and Blue Origin are able to offer new rockets at a lower cost.

It costs as little as $90 million to fly Musk's massive but still less-powerful Falcon Heavy, and some $350 million per launch for United Launch Alliance's legacy Delta IV Heavy.

Whether a Biden space policy would be more friendly to SLS or to newer commercial alternatives from "new space" players will be heavily influenced by his choice for NASA administrator, a role the campaign wants to be filled by a woman, two people said.

NASA views SLS as its only human-rated ride to the moon in the near term, said Doug Loverro, the former NASA head of human spaceflight.

"But is that the long-term direction to continue to pursue?" Loverro asked.

With only four days to go for the US election 2020, President Donald Trump's differences with rival presidential candidate Joe Biden extend far beyond planet Earth.

With only four days to go for the US election 2020, President Donald Trump's differences with rival presidential candidate Joe Biden extend far beyond planet Earth. However, NASA's moonshot, aerospace company Boeing, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, and SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk also have a lot riding on the US election on November 3. While Republican candidate Trump plans to win the race in space call for a 2024 moon mission and ending direct US financial support for the International Space Station in 2025, turning over control of the decades-old orbital laboratory to private space companies. Biden, on the other hand, would likely call for a delayed moonshot and propose a funding extension for the International Space Station if he wins the White House, according to people familiar with the fledging Biden space agenda. Earlier, NASA had selected Bezos's Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX to develop human landers for Artemis moon missions. Also read: Bezos's Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX to collaborate in building NASA's lunar lander Pushing back the moon mission could cast more doubt on the long-term fate of Boeing Co's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, just as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin scramble to bring rival rockets to market as soon as next year. Extending support for the space station for a decade would also be a major boost for Boeing, whose $225 million annual ISS operations contract is set to expire in 2024 and is at the depths of a financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 737 MAX grounding after fatal crashes. Also read: New Shepard capsule: Bezos' Blue Origin conducts successful test flight for space tourism Boeing and SpaceX are already supplying spacecraft to ferry astronauts to the ISS under a program begun under the Obama administration and supported by both Trump and Biden. Though slowing the moonshot would push back contracts for moon landers and related equipment the companies aim to win, the emerging Biden space agenda appears broadly set to promote competition between traditional defense contractors like Boeing and "new space" rivals like SpaceX who promise lower-cost and reusable rocket systems and space vehicles. Craving consistency For the commercial space industry, "consistency is key," said Mike French, a vice president at the Aerospace Industries Association trade group who earlier served as NASA chief of staff under Obama. "If you shake the etch-a-sketch now, you will (be) risking a series of potentially historic accomplishments and the strong and sustained bipartisan support NASA has seen across its portfolio," French told Reuters. Roughly 20 former senior NASA officials and scientists have assembled as a volunteer subgroup under the Biden campaign's science committee to informally help draw up ideas for a space platform. Many held jobs in the Obama administration and are jockeying for influential roles on the transition team or in a Biden administration. Members of the subgroup also want to boost NASA funding for Earth science and support partnerships with other nations. They stressed that Biden's space agenda, and the staff assignments to lead it, were in a formative stage as his campaign prioritizes more pressing issues, like the coronavirus pandemic and joblessness. A Biden campaign spokesman pointed to earlier remarks from Biden. In August, after SpaceX launched and returned the first astronauts from US soil on a trip to the ISS in nearly a decade, Biden said he looked forward to "leading a bold space program that will continue to send astronaut heroes to expand our exploration and scientific frontiers." Representatives for Blue Origin and Boeing declined to comment. SpaceX and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Fight over Boeing rocket But the Biden space group is divided on what to do about Boeing's SLS, several sources said. The super heavy-lift rocket has been beset by development delays and cost overruns, but supports tens of thousands of jobs in Alabama and California and is seen by backers as central to NASA's exploration plans and the only path to Trump's 2024 timeline for the Artemis mission. Critics say the rocket's aging technology and launch costs of $1 billion or more permission should prompt a formal White House or Congressional review of the program, particularly if SpaceX and Blue Origin are able to offer new rockets at a lower cost. It costs as little as $90 million to fly Musk's massive but still less-powerful Falcon Heavy, and some $350 million per launch for United Launch Alliance's legacy Delta IV Heavy. Whether a Biden space policy would be more friendly to SLS or to newer commercial alternatives from "new space" players will be heavily influenced by his choice for NASA administrator, a role the campaign wants to be filled by a woman, two people said. NASA views SLS as its only human-rated ride to the moon in the near term, said Doug Loverro, the former NASA head of human spaceflight. "But is that the long-term direction to continue to pursue?" Loverro asked.

US election 2020: Why are the polls crucial for NASA's moonshot, Boeing, Bezos and Musk

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has been used to study a rare metallic asteroid, named Psyche 16, during two points of its rotation. The investigation has given interesting results.

The new study, which was published this week in The Planetary Science Journal, indicates that asteroid’s composition is key to its astronomical value.

The value when written out in full comes out to be $10,000,000,000,000,000,000. This makes Psyche 70,000 times more valuable than the global economy, worth about $142 trillion in 2019.

Also, the said asteroid could have been a protoplanet. Researchers said, "The Earth has a metallic core, a mantle and a crust. It is possible that during the formation of a protoplanet Psyche, it was struck by another object in our solar system and lost its mantle and crust."

The asteroid is the largest piece of space debris in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is currently about 230 million miles from Earth in the Solar System’s main asteroid belt.

NASA plans to send a spacecraft into orbit around the asteroid. The mission, named Psyche, will launch in 2022, with the spacecraft reaching the asteroid in 2026.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has been used to study a rare metallic asteroid, named Psyche 16, during two points of its rotation. The investigation has given interesting results.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has been used to study a rare metallic asteroid, named Psyche 16, during two points of its rotation. The investigation has given interesting results. The new study, which was published this week in The Planetary Science Journal, indicates that asteroid’s composition is key to its astronomical value. The value when written out in full comes out to be $10,000,000,000,000,000,000. This makes Psyche 70,000 times more valuable than the global economy, worth about $142 trillion in 2019. Also, the said asteroid could have been a protoplanet. Researchers said, "The Earth has a metallic core, a mantle and a crust. It is possible that during the formation of a protoplanet Psyche, it was struck by another object in our solar system and lost its mantle and crust." The asteroid is the largest piece of space debris in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It is currently about 230 million miles from Earth in the Solar System’s main asteroid belt. NASA plans to send a spacecraft into orbit around the asteroid. The mission, named Psyche, will launch in 2022, with the spacecraft reaching the asteroid in 2026.

Hubble telescope gives closer look at rare asteroid worth 70,000 times the global economy

October 27 in history: Killing of Armenia's prime minister in an open fire and more

Osiris-Rex spacecraft of&nbsp;the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to begin on Tuesday a delicate operation&nbsp;to stow its samples collected from asteroid Bennu.

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One week ahead of schedule &amp; exceeding all expectations, our <a href="https://twitter.com/OSIRISREx?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OSIRISREx</a> spacecraft is ready to stow its samples collected from asteroid Bennu! 
 
Read more about the latest mission developments <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ToBennuAndBack?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ToBennuAndBack</a>: <a href="https://t.co/GFjKADhuaT">https://t.co/GFjKADhuaT</a> <a href="https://t.co/ciTXUD73Kj">pic.twitter.com/ciTXUD73Kj</a>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1320836379383877632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The probe is on a mission to collect fragments that scientists hope will help unravel the origins of our solar system, but that hit a snag after it picked up too big of a sample.

On October 22,&nbsp;the OSIRIS-REx mission team received images that showed the spacecraft’s collector head overflowing with material collected from Bennu’s surface, well over the two-ounce (60-gram) mission requirement, and that some of these particles appeared to be slowly escaping from the collection head, called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM).

A mylar flap on the TAGSAM allows the material to easily enter the collector's head and should seal shut once the particles pass through. However, larger rocks that didn’t fully pass through the flap into the TAGSAM appear to have wedged this flap open, allowing bits of the sample to leak out.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-collected-an-asteroid-sample-but-some-of-it-is-leaking-into-space-337667" hreflang="en">NASA collected an asteroid sample. But some of it is leaking into space</a>

Because the first sample collection event was so successful, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has given the mission team the go-ahead to expedite sample stowage, originally scheduled for November&nbsp;2, in the spacecraft’s Sample Return Capsule (SRC) to minimize further sample loss.

"The abundance of material we collected from Bennu made it possible to expedite our decision to stow,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “The team is now working around the clock to accelerate the stowage timeline so that we can protect as much of this material as possible for a return to Earth."

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Tomorrow, the OSIRIS-REx mission will begin the process to stow its abundant sample of asteroid Bennu. It’s a few days earlier than originally anticipated, but the team is working hard to make sure we get every bit of Bennu we possibly can. More details: <a href="https://t.co/b7Wnoz219q">https://t.co/b7Wnoz219q</a> <a href="https://t.co/PXIlkZhnzi">pic.twitter.com/PXIlkZhnzi</a>
— NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) <a href="https://twitter.com/OSIRISREx/status/1320826816202825728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Fragments from the asteroid's surface area in a collector at the end of the probe's three-meter (10-foot) arm, slowly escaping into space because some rocks have prevented the compartment from closing completely.

That arm is what came into contact with Bennu for a few seconds last Tuesday in the culmination of a mission launched from Earth some four years ago.&nbsp;

The team will send the preliminary commands to the spacecraft to start the stow sequence and, once OSIRIS-REx completes each step in the sequence, the spacecraft sends telemetry and images back to the team on Earth and waits for the team’s confirmation to proceed with the next step.

Osiris-Rex is set to come home in September 2023, hopefully with the largest sample returned from space since the Apollo era.

The stowing operation will take several days, NASA said, because it requires the team's oversight and input unlike some of Osiris-Rex's other operations that run autonomously.

After each step in the process, the spacecraft will send information and images back to Earth so scientists can make sure everything is proceeding correctly.

The probe is so far away that it takes 18.5 minutes for its transmissions to reach Earth, and any signal from the control room requires the same amount of time to reach Osiris-Rex.

Osiris-Rex spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to begin on Tuesday a delicate operation to stow its samples collected from asteroid Bennu.

Osiris-Rex spacecraft of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to begin on Tuesday a delicate operation to stow its samples collected from asteroid Bennu. One week ahead of schedule & exceeding all expectations, our @OSIRISREx spacecraft is ready to stow its samples collected from asteroid Bennu! Read more about the latest mission developments #ToBennuAndBack: https://t.co/GFjKADhuaT pic.twitter.com/ciTXUD73Kj — NASA (@NASA) October 26, 2020 × The probe is on a mission to collect fragments that scientists hope will help unravel the origins of our solar system, but that hit a snag after it picked up too big of a sample. On October 22, the OSIRIS-REx mission team received images that showed the spacecraft’s collector head overflowing with material collected from Bennu’s surface, well over the two-ounce (60-gram) mission requirement, and that some of these particles appeared to be slowly escaping from the collection head, called the Touch-And-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM). A mylar flap on the TAGSAM allows the material to easily enter the collector's head and should seal shut once the particles pass through. However, larger rocks that didn’t fully pass through the flap into the TAGSAM appear to have wedged this flap open, allowing bits of the sample to leak out. Also read: NASA collected an asteroid sample. But some of it is leaking into space Because the first sample collection event was so successful, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has given the mission team the go-ahead to expedite sample stowage, originally scheduled for November 2, in the spacecraft’s Sample Return Capsule (SRC) to minimize further sample loss. "The abundance of material we collected from Bennu made it possible to expedite our decision to stow,” said Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator at the University of Arizona, Tucson. “The team is now working around the clock to accelerate the stowage timeline so that we can protect as much of this material as possible for a return to Earth." Tomorrow, the OSIRIS-REx mission will begin the process to stow its abundant sample of asteroid Bennu. It’s a few days earlier than originally anticipated, but the team is working hard to make sure we get every bit of Bennu we possibly can. More details: https://t.co/b7Wnoz219q pic.twitter.com/PXIlkZhnzi — NASA's OSIRIS-REx (@OSIRISREx) October 26, 2020 × Fragments from the asteroid's surface area in a collector at the end of the probe's three-meter (10-foot) arm, slowly escaping into space because some rocks have prevented the compartment from closing completely. That arm is what came into contact with Bennu for a few seconds last Tuesday in the culmination of a mission launched from Earth some four years ago. The team will send the preliminary commands to the spacecraft to start the stow sequence and, once OSIRIS-REx completes each step in the sequence, the spacecraft sends telemetry and images back to the team on Earth and waits for the team’s confirmation to proceed with the next step. Osiris-Rex is set to come home in September 2023, hopefully with the largest sample returned from space since the Apollo era. The stowing operation will take several days, NASA said, because it requires the team's oversight and input unlike some of Osiris-Rex's other operations that run autonomously. After each step in the process, the spacecraft will send information and images back to Earth so scientists can make sure everything is proceeding correctly. The probe is so far away that it takes 18.5 minutes for its transmissions to reach Earth, and any signal from the control room requires the same amount of time to reach Osiris-Rex.

NASA's Osiris-Rex ready to stow its samples collected from asteroid Bennu

NASA has confirmed, for the first time, that there is water on the sunlit surface of the moon. The discovery means future missions to the moon could be prolonged by making use of these water molecules which are scattered across the moon.

NASA reveals discovery of water molecules on moon

NASA has confirmed the presence of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface.

NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, located in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.&nbsp;

In an announcement on Monday, Nasa said the molecules discovered are equivalent to a twelve-ounce bottle of water within a cubic meter of lunar soil.

The water likely arrived at the Moon via one of two ways. It may have been carried there by radiation known as the solar wind, or on tiny meteorites, NASA said.

SOFIA’s results build on years of previous research examining the presence of water on the Moon.

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We just announced that - for the first time - we’ve confirmed H2O💧 in sunlit☀️ areas of the Moon. This indicates that water might be distributed across the lunar surface. <a href="https://t.co/Gn0DSu5K95">https://t.co/Gn0DSu5K95</a>
— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASAMoon/status/1320763660629807106?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Previous research has found indications of water by scanning the surface -- but these were unable to distinguish between water (H2O) and hydroxyl, a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom.&nbsp;&nbsp;

SOFIA’s follow-up flights will look for water in additional sunlit locations and during different lunar phases to learn more about how the water is produced, stored, and moved across the Moon.&nbsp;

Scientists still don’t know exactly where the water is being stored on the Moon, or if it can be used at all.&nbsp;

Two papers describing the new discoveries – ‘Molecular water detected on the sunlit Moon by SOFIA’ and ‘Micro cold traps on the Moon’ – are published today in Nature Astronomy.

Using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Airborne Telescope, researchers scanned the lunar surface at a more precise wavelength than had been used before -- six microns instead of three.&nbsp;

This allowed them to "unambiguously" distinguish the spectral fingerprint of molecular water, said co-author Casey Honniball, of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.

Researchers believe the water might be trapped in glass beads, or another substance that protects it from the harsh lunar environment.

Further observations would help better understand where the water may have come from and how it is stored.&nbsp;

The second study looks at areas of the Moon's polar regions, where water ice is believed to be trapped in lunar craters that never see sunlight.&nbsp;

Large hollows had previously been discovered --&nbsp;&nbsp;NASA in 2009 found water crystals in a deep crater near the Moon's southern pole.&nbsp;

But the new study found evidence of billions of micro-craters that could each cradle a miniscule amount of water ice.

"If you were standing on the Moon near one of the poles, you would see a whole 'galaxy' of little shadows speckled across the surface," said lead author Paul Hayne of the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Colorado.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"Each of these tiny shadows -- most of them smaller than a coin -- would be extremely cold, and most of them cold enough to harbour ice."&nbsp;

This suggests that water could be much more widespread on the Moon than previously thought.

Scientists hope that samples from these cold traps could tell us more about how the Moon -- and even Earth -- got its water, he said, perhaps providing evidence of water delivered by asteroids, comets and the solar wind.&nbsp;&nbsp;

NASA, which plans to establish a space station in the lunar orbit called Gateway, envisages that ice excavated from the Moon's south pole may one day supply drinking water.&nbsp;They could also split the molecules apart to make rocket fuel for an onward journey.

(with inputs)

NASA has confirmed the presence of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface. NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, located in the Moon’s southern hemisphere.

NASA has confirmed the presence of water on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery indicates that water may be distributed across the lunar surface. NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has detected water molecules (H2O) in Clavius Crater, one of the largest craters visible from Earth, located in the Moon’s southern hemisphere. In an announcement on Monday, Nasa said the molecules discovered are equivalent to a twelve-ounce bottle of water within a cubic meter of lunar soil. The water likely arrived at the Moon via one of two ways. It may have been carried there by radiation known as the solar wind, or on tiny meteorites, NASA said. SOFIA’s results build on years of previous research examining the presence of water on the Moon. We just announced that - for the first time - we’ve confirmed H2O💧 in sunlit☀️ areas of the Moon. This indicates that water might be distributed across the lunar surface. https://t.co/Gn0DSu5K95 — NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) October 26, 2020 × Previous research has found indications of water by scanning the surface -- but these were unable to distinguish between water (H2O) and hydroxyl, a molecule made up of one hydrogen atom and one oxygen atom. SOFIA’s follow-up flights will look for water in additional sunlit locations and during different lunar phases to learn more about how the water is produced, stored, and moved across the Moon. Scientists still don’t know exactly where the water is being stored on the Moon, or if it can be used at all. Two papers describing the new discoveries – ‘Molecular water detected on the sunlit Moon by SOFIA’ and ‘Micro cold traps on the Moon’ – are published today in Nature Astronomy. Using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) Airborne Telescope, researchers scanned the lunar surface at a more precise wavelength than had been used before -- six microns instead of three. This allowed them to "unambiguously" distinguish the spectral fingerprint of molecular water, said co-author Casey Honniball, of the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. Researchers believe the water might be trapped in glass beads, or another substance that protects it from the harsh lunar environment. Further observations would help better understand where the water may have come from and how it is stored. The second study looks at areas of the Moon's polar regions, where water ice is believed to be trapped in lunar craters that never see sunlight. Large hollows had previously been discovered -- NASA in 2009 found water crystals in a deep crater near the Moon's southern pole. But the new study found evidence of billions of micro-craters that could each cradle a miniscule amount of water ice. "If you were standing on the Moon near one of the poles, you would see a whole 'galaxy' of little shadows speckled across the surface," said lead author Paul Hayne of the Department of Astrophysics at the University of Colorado. "Each of these tiny shadows -- most of them smaller than a coin -- would be extremely cold, and most of them cold enough to harbour ice." This suggests that water could be much more widespread on the Moon than previously thought. Scientists hope that samples from these cold traps could tell us more about how the Moon -- and even Earth -- got its water, he said, perhaps providing evidence of water delivered by asteroids, comets and the solar wind. NASA, which plans to establish a space station in the lunar orbit called Gateway, envisages that ice excavated from the Moon's south pole may one day supply drinking water. They could also split the molecules apart to make rocket fuel for an onward journey. (with inputs)

NASA discovers water on sunlit surface of the Moon

The historic collection of a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has become a victim of its own success.

The US probe that collected a sample from the asteroid earlier this week retrieved so much material that a rock is wedged in the container door, allowing rocks to spill back out into space, NASA officials said on Friday.

The robotic arm of the probe, OSIRIS-REx, on Tuesday night kicked up a debris cloud of rocks on Bennu, a skyscraper-sized asteroid some 200 million miles (320 million km) from Earth and trapped the material in a collection device for the return to Earth.

But images of the spacecraft's collection head beamed back to ground control revealed it had caught more material than scientists anticipated and was spewing an excess of flaky asteroid rocks into space.

The leakage had the OSIRIS-REx mission team scrambling to stow the collection device to prevent additional spillage.

The team isn't sure of the exact loss rate because it's not steady.

If this continues, NASA will not know how much material it collected until the sample capsule returns in 2023.&nbsp;

The roughly $800 million, minivan-sized OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, launched in 2016 to grab and return the first US sample of pristine asteroid materials.

The spacecraft won't begin its journey back to Earth until March 2021

The historic collection of a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has become a victim of its own success. The US probe that collected a sample from the asteroid earlier this week retrieved so much material that a rock is wedged in the container door, allowing rocks to spill back out into space, NASA officials said on Friday.

The historic collection of a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu by NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has become a victim of its own success. The US probe that collected a sample from the asteroid earlier this week retrieved so much material that a rock is wedged in the container door, allowing rocks to spill back out into space, NASA officials said on Friday. The robotic arm of the probe, OSIRIS-REx, on Tuesday night kicked up a debris cloud of rocks on Bennu, a skyscraper-sized asteroid some 200 million miles (320 million km) from Earth and trapped the material in a collection device for the return to Earth. But images of the spacecraft's collection head beamed back to ground control revealed it had caught more material than scientists anticipated and was spewing an excess of flaky asteroid rocks into space. The leakage had the OSIRIS-REx mission team scrambling to stow the collection device to prevent additional spillage. The team isn't sure of the exact loss rate because it's not steady. If this continues, NASA will not know how much material it collected until the sample capsule returns in 2023. The roughly $800 million, minivan-sized OSIRIS-REx spacecraft, built by Lockheed Martin, launched in 2016 to grab and return the first US sample of pristine asteroid materials. The spacecraft won't begin its journey back to Earth until March 2021

NASA collected an asteroid sample. But some of it is leaking into space

NASA released new images by the OSIRIS-REx mission on the asteroid Bennu.&nbsp;

The spacecraft collected a sample that will reach earth in 2023.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasas-osiris-rex-grabs-a-piece-of-asteroid-bennu-in-historic-mission-336773">NASA's Osiris-Rex grabs a piece of asteroid Bennu in historic mission</a>

In the photographs, the spacecraft could be seen touching down, crushing some rocks on the surface.

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(Courtesy: AFP)

Osiris-Rex will return back in September 2023, hopefully with the largest sample ever collected from space since the Apollo mission, potentially helping in knowing the origins of our solar system.&nbsp;

The images taken provide a play-by-play sequence of the dramatic landing, which include Osiris-Rex's sampling arm breaking a large but fragile rock on contact.&nbsp;

"Bottom line is, from analysis of the images that we've gotten down so far, is that the sampling event went really well, as good as we could have imagined it would," said Dante Lauretta, mission head.&nbsp;

"Particles are flying all over the place. We really did kind of make a mess on the surface of this asteroid, but it's a good mess, it's the kind of mess we were hoping for."&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

NASA released new images by the OSIRIS-REx mission on the asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft collected a sample that will reach earth in 2023. Also read | NASA's Osiris-Rex grabs a piece of asteroid Bennu in historic mission In the photographs, the spacecraft could be seen touching down, crushing some rocks on the surface.

NASA released new images by the OSIRIS-REx mission on the asteroid Bennu. The spacecraft collected a sample that will reach earth in 2023. Also read | NASA's Osiris-Rex grabs a piece of asteroid Bennu in historic mission In the photographs, the spacecraft could be seen touching down, crushing some rocks on the surface. (Courtesy: AFP) Osiris-Rex will return back in September 2023, hopefully with the largest sample ever collected from space since the Apollo mission, potentially helping in knowing the origins of our solar system. The images taken provide a play-by-play sequence of the dramatic landing, which include Osiris-Rex's sampling arm breaking a large but fragile rock on contact. "Bottom line is, from analysis of the images that we've gotten down so far, is that the sampling event went really well, as good as we could have imagined it would," said Dante Lauretta, mission head. "Particles are flying all over the place. We really did kind of make a mess on the surface of this asteroid, but it's a good mess, it's the kind of mess we were hoping for."

NASA releases new images to show historic landing, sample collection on asteroid

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shared news of "exciting new discovery" about the moon on Twitter and revealed it will hold a media conference onboard it’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) on Monday (October 26) to disclose the findings.

The new results are courtesy of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). It's the world's largest airborne observatory and is actually a Boeing 747SP plane with a hole cut out in it, modified to carry a large reflecting telescope.&nbsp;

"Mark your calendars: We will be revealing a new discovery about the surface of the Moon from our airborne SOFIATelescope observatory, and YOU are invited," it wrote on Twitter.

"Pencil us in for 12 pm ET on Monday, Oct. 26!

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🗓️ Mark your calendars: We will be revealing a new discovery about the surface of the Moon from our airborne <a href="https://twitter.com/SOFIAtelescope?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SOFIATelescope</a> observatory, and YOU are invited. 
 
✏️ Pencil us in for 12pm ET on Monday, Oct. 26! To participate: <a href="https://t.co/gzfTK43snB">https://t.co/gzfTK43snB</a> <a href="https://t.co/HHNXOAYfMh">pic.twitter.com/HHNXOAYfMh</a>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1319072983630123008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
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According to NASA's press release, "This new discovery contributes to NASA’s efforts to learn about the Moon in support of deep space exploration. Under NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 to prepare for our next giant leap – the human exploration of Mars as early as the 2030s. Understanding the science of the Moon also helps piece together the broader history of the inner solar system."

(With inputs from agencies)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shared news of "exciting new discovery" about the moon on Twitter and revealed it will hold a media conference onboard it’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) on Monday (October 26) to disclose the findings.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has shared news of "exciting new discovery" about the moon on Twitter and revealed it will hold a media conference onboard it’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) on Monday (October 26) to disclose the findings. The new results are courtesy of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). It's the world's largest airborne observatory and is actually a Boeing 747SP plane with a hole cut out in it, modified to carry a large reflecting telescope. "Mark your calendars: We will be revealing a new discovery about the surface of the Moon from our airborne SOFIATelescope observatory, and YOU are invited," it wrote on Twitter. "Pencil us in for 12 pm ET on Monday, Oct. 26! 🗓️ Mark your calendars: We will be revealing a new discovery about the surface of the Moon from our airborne @SOFIATelescope observatory, and YOU are invited. ✏️ Pencil us in for 12pm ET on Monday, Oct. 26! To participate: https://t.co/gzfTK43snB pic.twitter.com/HHNXOAYfMh — NASA (@NASA) October 22, 2020 × According to NASA's press release, "This new discovery contributes to NASA’s efforts to learn about the Moon in support of deep space exploration. Under NASA’s Artemis program, the agency will send the first woman and next man to the lunar surface in 2024 to prepare for our next giant leap – the human exploration of Mars as early as the 2030s. Understanding the science of the Moon also helps piece together the broader history of the inner solar system." (With inputs from agencies)

NASA to announce an 'exciting new discovery about the moon' 

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/thai-government-shuts-news-site-linked-to-ex-pm-amid-protests-336771">Thai government shuts news site linked to ex-PM amid protests</a>

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At least two protest leaders were arrested on Tuesday as Prayuth Chan-ocha's cabinet agreed to an emergency session of parliament next week.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasas-osiris-rex-grabs-a-piece-of-asteroid-bennu-in-historic-mission-336773">NASA's Osiris-Rex grabs a piece of asteroid Bennu in historic mission</a>

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The historic mission was 12 years in the making and rested on a critical 16 second period where the spacecraft performed a delicate autonomous maneuver to grab its payload.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/us-offers-1-billion-deal-to-brazil-to-sway-it-away-from-chinas-huawei-5g-network-336778">US offers $1 billion deal to Brazil to sway it away from China's Huawei 5G network</a>

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China is Brazil's top trading partner, and Huawei has emerged as the leading supplier of fast and cheap next-generation telecoms infrastructure.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/champions-league-manchester-uniteds-rashford-stuns-paris-saint-germain-336795">Champions League: Manchester United's Rashford stuns Paris Saint-Germain</a>

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&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-china-the-only-country-profiting-in-the-pandemic-336768">Watch:&nbsp;Gravitas: China - The only country profiting in the pandemic</a>

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Thai government shuts news site linked to ex-PM amid protests At least two protest leaders were arrested on Tuesday as Prayuth Chan-ocha's cabinet agreed to an emergency session of parliament next week.

Thai government shuts news site linked to ex-PM amid protests At least two protest leaders were arrested on Tuesday as Prayuth Chan-ocha's cabinet agreed to an emergency session of parliament next week. NASA's Osiris-Rex grabs a piece of asteroid Bennu in historic mission The historic mission was 12 years in the making and rested on a critical 16 second period where the spacecraft performed a delicate autonomous maneuver to grab its payload. US offers $1 billion deal to Brazil to sway it away from China's Huawei 5G network China is Brazil's top trading partner, and Huawei has emerged as the leading supplier of fast and cheap next-generation telecoms infrastructure. Champions League: Manchester United's Rashford stuns Paris Saint-Germain Watch: Gravitas: China - The only country profiting in the pandemic

Morning news brief: Thai government shuts news site amid protests, Manchester United's Rashford stuns PSG in Champions League & more

A first-of-its-kind near-Earth mission launched by US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will briefly touch down an asteroid called Bennu on Tuesday.

The American spacecraft is going to lower itself and manoeuvre for a 'high-five' and deliver a squirt of gas to stir up the surface.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="426" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gtUgarROs08" width="756"></iframe>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasas-osiris-rex-all-set-to-grab-a-piece-of-asteroid-bennu-336579" hreflang="en">NASA's Osiris-Rex all set to grab a piece of asteroid Bennu</a>

It can be watched live on October 20 at around 3:12 p.m. on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/">NASA TV</a>&nbsp;and will also post it on the agency's website.

Lockheed Martin, who had built the&nbsp;robot explorer will also stream the daring mission live.

The main goal collect of the mission is to carbon samples from an asteroid, a cosmic body that may have delivered life-giving materials to our planet billions of years.&nbsp;

It is also expected to&nbsp;shed light on how to find precious resources such as water and metals in asteroids, a field that has generated increasing interest worldwide.

The&nbsp;first-of-its-kind near-Earth asteroid mission had blasted off at 7:05 pm (23:05 GMT) atop an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 8, 2016.

A first-of-its-kind near-Earth mission launched by US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will briefly touch down an asteroid called Bennu on Tuesday.

A first-of-its-kind near-Earth mission launched by US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will briefly touch down an asteroid called Bennu on Tuesday. The American spacecraft is going to lower itself and manoeuvre for a 'high-five' and deliver a squirt of gas to stir up the surface. Also read: NASA's Osiris-Rex all set to grab a piece of asteroid Bennu It can be watched live on October 20 at around 3:12 p.m. on NASA TV and will also post it on the agency's website. Lockheed Martin, who had built the robot explorer will also stream the daring mission live. The main goal collect of the mission is to carbon samples from an asteroid, a cosmic body that may have delivered life-giving materials to our planet billions of years. It is also expected to shed light on how to find precious resources such as water and metals in asteroids, a field that has generated increasing interest worldwide. The first-of-its-kind near-Earth asteroid mission had blasted off at 7:05 pm (23:05 GMT) atop an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 8, 2016.

NASA's Osiris-Rex poised to grab a piece of asteroid Bennu: How to watch live

In a first, NASA's van-size asteroid chaser Osiris-Rex probe&nbsp;is going to attempt the audacious task of grabbing a piece of asteroid Bennu.

The event marks a potential boon for science, exploration, and the comprehension of the solar system.

It can be watched live on October 20 at around 3:12 p.m. on <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/">NASA TV</a> and will also post it on the agency's website.

The American spacecraft is going to lower itself and manoeuvre for a 'high-five' and deliver a squirt of gas to stir up the surface.

The main goal collect of the mission is to carbon samples from an asteroid, a cosmic body that may have delivered life-giving materials to our planet billions of years.&nbsp;

It is also expected to&nbsp;shed light on how to find precious resources such as water and metals in asteroids, a field that has generated increasing interest worldwide.

The&nbsp;first-of-its-kind near-Earth asteroid mission had blasted off at 7:05 pm (23:05 GMT) atop an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 8, 2016.

The robot explorer has been built by Lockheed Martin to carry out the seven-year, $1 billion mission to and from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

In a first, NASA's van-size asteroid chaser Osiris-Rex probe is going to attempt the audacious task of grabbing a piece of asteroid Bennu. The event marks a potential boon for science, exploration, and the comprehension of the solar system.

In a first, NASA's van-size asteroid chaser Osiris-Rex probe is going to attempt the audacious task of grabbing a piece of asteroid Bennu. The event marks a potential boon for science, exploration, and the comprehension of the solar system. It can be watched live on October 20 at around 3:12 p.m. on NASA TV and will also post it on the agency's website. The American spacecraft is going to lower itself and manoeuvre for a 'high-five' and deliver a squirt of gas to stir up the surface. The main goal collect of the mission is to carbon samples from an asteroid, a cosmic body that may have delivered life-giving materials to our planet billions of years. It is also expected to shed light on how to find precious resources such as water and metals in asteroids, a field that has generated increasing interest worldwide. The first-of-its-kind near-Earth asteroid mission had blasted off at 7:05 pm (23:05 GMT) atop an Atlas V rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 8, 2016. The robot explorer has been built by Lockheed Martin to carry out the seven-year, $1 billion mission to and from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

NASA's Osiris-Rex all set to grab a piece of asteroid Bennu

An expert at NASA has claimed that a newly discovered object approaching the Earth is actually an old rocket from a failed lunar mission.

This comes after speculation earlier this month the object would become a new “mini-moon” and join other small asteroids in getting trapped in our planet’s orbit.

The new object, dubbed 2020 SO, is expected to fall into our orbit, where it will spin from mid-October to May 2021.

It is believed 2020 SO is actually the Centaur upper rocket stage that propelled NASA’s Surveyor 2 lander to the moon.

The rocket took flight in 1966, and ended up crashing on the surface of the moon after one of its thrusters failed to fire up approach the rock. It has since remained in space as floating debris.

Current estimates put the size of the object between roughly six and 14 metres in length -- based on its observed brightness.

It won’t get very close and is on a “highly-chaotic path,” wrote orbit simulator Tony Dunn on Twitter. In fact, projections suggest it will pass by Earth on Dec. 1 at a distance of about 50,000 kilometres, and later in February at about 220,000 kilometres.

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Asteroid 2020 SO may get captured by Earth from Oct 2020 - May 2021. Current nominal trajectory shows shows capture through L2, and escape through L1. Highly-chaotic path, so be prepared for lots of revisions as new observations come in. <a href="https://twitter.com/renerpho?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@renerpho</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nrco0e?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nrco0e</a> <a href="https://t.co/h4JaG2rHEd">https://t.co/h4JaG2rHEd</a> <a href="https://t.co/RfUaeLtEWq">pic.twitter.com/RfUaeLtEWq</a>
— Tony Dunn (@tony873004) <a href="https://twitter.com/tony873004/status/1307729521869611008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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An expert at NASA has claimed that a newly discovered object approaching the Earth is actually an old rocket from a failed lunar mission. This comes after speculation earlier this month the object would become a new “mini-moon” and join other small asteroids in getting trapped in our planet’s orbit.

An expert at NASA has claimed that a newly discovered object approaching the Earth is actually an old rocket from a failed lunar mission. This comes after speculation earlier this month the object would become a new “mini-moon” and join other small asteroids in getting trapped in our planet’s orbit. The new object, dubbed 2020 SO, is expected to fall into our orbit, where it will spin from mid-October to May 2021. It is believed 2020 SO is actually the Centaur upper rocket stage that propelled NASA’s Surveyor 2 lander to the moon. The rocket took flight in 1966, and ended up crashing on the surface of the moon after one of its thrusters failed to fire up approach the rock. It has since remained in space as floating debris. Current estimates put the size of the object between roughly six and 14 metres in length -- based on its observed brightness. It won’t get very close and is on a “highly-chaotic path,” wrote orbit simulator Tony Dunn on Twitter. In fact, projections suggest it will pass by Earth on Dec. 1 at a distance of about 50,000 kilometres, and later in February at about 220,000 kilometres. Asteroid 2020 SO may get captured by Earth from Oct 2020 - May 2021. Current nominal trajectory shows shows capture through L2, and escape through L1. Highly-chaotic path, so be prepared for lots of revisions as new observations come in. @renerpho @nrco0e https://t.co/h4JaG2rHEd pic.twitter.com/RfUaeLtEWq — Tony Dunn (@tony873004) September 20, 2020 ×

NASA identifies space rock approaching Earth as junk from 1966 rocket launch

Network is precious, network is everything. All of us yearn for that extra bar on our phones when we are watching movies or doing anything that is data-heavy. The buffering circle is the most annoying thing when all we want to do is unwind. We run around our homes for that perfect sweet spot of abundant network.

But what if we told you, you'll get 4G network on Moon too?

Yes, NASA seems to be doing such a thing. It has awarded USD 14.1 million to Nokia to deploy 4G cellular network on Moon.

Think about it, if you go to the Moon and in case you lose network, you can call it 'out of the world problem' instead of first/second world one. This seemingly sad tip may bring in a lot of social media cred!

But right now the set up of 4G cellular network on the Moon appears to be for scientific and research purposes.

"The system could support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds and provide more reliability than current standards," NASA noted in its contract award announcement.

The grant given to Nokia is part of USD 370 million worth of contracts signed under NASA`s "Tipping Point" selections, meant to advance research and development for space exploration.

According to United Press International, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a live broadcast said that the space agency must quickly develop new technologies for living and working on the moon if it wants to realise its goal to have astronauts working at a lunar base by 2028.

"We need power systems that can last a long time on the surface of the moon, and we need habitation capability on the surface," Bridenstine said.

Nokia`s research arm, Bell Labs, provided more details in a Twitter thread. The company intends for the network to support wireless operation of lunar rovers and navigation, as well as streaming video.

"Working with our partners at @Int_Machines, this groundbreaking network will be the critical communications fabric for data transmission applications, including the control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation over lunar geography and streaming of high definition video," Bell Labs said in a tweet.

This is not Nokia`s first attempt to launch an LTE network on the moon. It was planned to do this in 2018 in collaboration with PTScientists, a German space company, and Vodafone UK to launch an LTE network at the site of the Apollo 17 landing, but the mission never got off the ground.

(With IANS inputs)

Network is precious, network is everything. All of us yearn for that extra bar on our phones when we are watching movies or doing anything that is data-heavy. The buffering circle is the most annoying thing when all we want to do is unwind.

Network is precious, network is everything. All of us yearn for that extra bar on our phones when we are watching movies or doing anything that is data-heavy. The buffering circle is the most annoying thing when all we want to do is unwind. We run around our homes for that perfect sweet spot of abundant network. But what if we told you, you'll get 4G network on Moon too? Yes, NASA seems to be doing such a thing. It has awarded USD 14.1 million to Nokia to deploy 4G cellular network on Moon. Think about it, if you go to the Moon and in case you lose network, you can call it 'out of the world problem' instead of first/second world one. This seemingly sad tip may bring in a lot of social media cred! But right now the set up of 4G cellular network on the Moon appears to be for scientific and research purposes. "The system could support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds and provide more reliability than current standards," NASA noted in its contract award announcement. The grant given to Nokia is part of USD 370 million worth of contracts signed under NASA`s "Tipping Point" selections, meant to advance research and development for space exploration. According to United Press International, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine in a live broadcast said that the space agency must quickly develop new technologies for living and working on the moon if it wants to realise its goal to have astronauts working at a lunar base by 2028. "We need power systems that can last a long time on the surface of the moon, and we need habitation capability on the surface," Bridenstine said. Nokia`s research arm, Bell Labs, provided more details in a Twitter thread. The company intends for the network to support wireless operation of lunar rovers and navigation, as well as streaming video. "Working with our partners at @Int_Machines, this groundbreaking network will be the critical communications fabric for data transmission applications, including the control of lunar rovers, real-time navigation over lunar geography and streaming of high definition video," Bell Labs said in a tweet. This is not Nokia`s first attempt to launch an LTE network on the moon. It was planned to do this in 2018 in collaboration with PTScientists, a German space company, and Vodafone UK to launch an LTE network at the site of the Apollo 17 landing, but the mission never got off the ground. (With IANS inputs)

Nokia will now set up 4G network on Moon, courtesy NASA

Eight countries have signed an international pact for moon exploration called the Artemis Accords, NASA announced on Tuesday as the U.S. space agency tries to shape standards for building long-term settlements on the lunar surface.

Eight nations sign NASA's international agreement for Moon exploration

NASA said on Tuesday that eight nations have signed the international agreement for Moon exploration called the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-led-united-states-to-secretly-draft-artemis-accords-pact-for-moon-mining-297300">Artemis Accords</a>.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasa-picks-four-us-small-businesses-to-build-artemis-lunar-tech-311891">Also Read:&nbsp;</a><a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/nasa-picks-four-us-small-businesses-to-build-artemis-lunar-tech-311891" hreflang="en">NASA picks four US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech</a>

The US space agency aims to humans to the Moon and beyond by 2024. The signatories include the United States, UAE, Canada, Japan, Australia, Italy, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.

"Artemis will be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Accords are the vehicle that will establish this singular global coalition," Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator said, adding,"What we’re trying to do is establish norms of behaviour that every nation can agree to."

The accord seeks to create international space law by establishing "safety zones" in order to prevent countries from getting involved in conflicts in outer space.

Last year, US Vice President Mike Pence had directed NASA to send humans to the Moon by 2024. The US space agency intends to first send a robotic rover to the Moon before sending humans.

"With today's signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore the Moon and are establishing vital principles that will create a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy," Bridenstine asserted.

According to the agreement, the members would have to adhere to peaceful exploration and create hardware which can be used operated&nbsp;by other member nation ensuring transparency.

Russia said it was unlikely to join the group, with China excluded from the agreement.

NASA said on Tuesday that eight nations have signed the international agreement for Moon exploration called the Artemis Accords. Also Read: NASA picks four US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech The US space agency aims to humans to the Moon and beyond by 2024.

NASA said on Tuesday that eight nations have signed the international agreement for Moon exploration called the Artemis Accords. Also Read: NASA picks four US small businesses to build Artemis lunar tech The US space agency aims to humans to the Moon and beyond by 2024. The signatories include the United States, UAE, Canada, Japan, Australia, Italy, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom. "Artemis will be the broadest and most diverse international human space exploration program in history, and the Artemis Accords are the vehicle that will establish this singular global coalition," Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator said, adding,"What we’re trying to do is establish norms of behaviour that every nation can agree to." The accord seeks to create international space law by establishing "safety zones" in order to prevent countries from getting involved in conflicts in outer space. Last year, US Vice President Mike Pence had directed NASA to send humans to the Moon by 2024. The US space agency intends to first send a robotic rover to the Moon before sending humans. "With today's signing, we are uniting with our partners to explore the Moon and are establishing vital principles that will create a safe, peaceful, and prosperous future in space for all of humanity to enjoy," Bridenstine asserted. According to the agreement, the members would have to adhere to peaceful exploration and create hardware which can be used operated by other member nation ensuring transparency. Russia said it was unlikely to join the group, with China excluded from the agreement.

Eight nations sign NASA'S space coalition mission under Artemis Accords

NASA has delayed the launch of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) until early-to-mid November, providing additional time for SpaceX to complete hardware testing and data reviews. 
 
Originally scheduled for October 31st, the planned six-month mission was delayed as Elon Musk-run SpaceX evaluates off-nominal behaviour of Falcon 9 first stage engine gas generators observed during a recent non-NASA mission launch attempt. 
 
The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA`s Commercial Crew Programme. 
 
"With the high cadence of missions SpaceX performs, it really gives us incredible insight into this commercial system and helps us make informed decisions about the status of our missions," said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator of NASA`s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. 
 
"The teams are actively working this finding on the engines, and we should be a lot smarter within the coming week," Lueders said in a statement late on Saturday. 
 
NASA`s SpaceX Crew-1 mission will launch NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Soichi Noguchi, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA`s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 
 
After launch, Crew Dragon will perform a series of maneuvers culminating with rendezvous and docking with the space station. 
 
That milestone will mark the Crew-1 astronauts` integration with the Expedition 64 astronauts Kate Rubins, as well as Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. 
 
During their stay on the orbiting laboratory, astronauts of Crew-1 will see a range of unpiloted spacecraft including the Northrop Grumman Cygnus, the next generation of SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft, and the Boeing CST-100 Starliner on its uncrewed flight test to the station. 
 
They also will conduct a variety of spacewalks and welcome crews of the Russian Soyuz vehicle and the next SpaceX Crew Dragon in 2021, NASA said. 
 
At the conclusion of the mission, Crew Dragon will autonomously undock with the four astronauts on board, depart the space station and re-enter the Earth`s atmosphere. 
&nbsp;

NASA has delayed the launch of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) until early-to-mid November, providing additional time for SpaceX to complete hardware testing and data reviews.

NASA has delayed the launch of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) until early-to-mid November, providing additional time for SpaceX to complete hardware testing and data reviews. Originally scheduled for October 31st, the planned six-month mission was delayed as Elon Musk-run SpaceX evaluates off-nominal behaviour of Falcon 9 first stage engine gas generators observed during a recent non-NASA mission launch attempt. The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station as part of NASA`s Commercial Crew Programme. "With the high cadence of missions SpaceX performs, it really gives us incredible insight into this commercial system and helps us make informed decisions about the status of our missions," said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator of NASA`s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. "The teams are actively working this finding on the engines, and we should be a lot smarter within the coming week," Lueders said in a statement late on Saturday. NASA`s SpaceX Crew-1 mission will launch NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission specialist Soichi Noguchi, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA`s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After launch, Crew Dragon will perform a series of maneuvers culminating with rendezvous and docking with the space station. That milestone will mark the Crew-1 astronauts` integration with the Expedition 64 astronauts Kate Rubins, as well as Expedition 64 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, both of the Russian space agency Roscosmos. During their stay on the orbiting laboratory, astronauts of Crew-1 will see a range of unpiloted spacecraft including the Northrop Grumman Cygnus, the next generation of SpaceX cargo Dragon spacecraft, and the Boeing CST-100 Starliner on its uncrewed flight test to the station. They also will conduct a variety of spacewalks and welcome crews of the Russian Soyuz vehicle and the next SpaceX Crew Dragon in 2021, NASA said. At the conclusion of the mission, Crew Dragon will autonomously undock with the four astronauts on board, depart the space station and re-enter the Earth`s atmosphere.

NASA delays manned SpaceX mission to space station till November

American spcae agency NASA has shared a video depicting the explosion of a gigantic star which is 70 million light years away from the Earth.

The thermonuclear explosion was captured by the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/hubble-watches-exploding-star-fade-into-oblivion/?utm_source=TWITTER&amp;utm_medium=NASAHubble&amp;utm_campaign=NASASocial&amp;linkId=100924096">Hubble Space Telescope</a> which is jointly run by NASA and the Euoropean Sapce Agency.&nbsp;

The type of supernova seen in this sequence originated from a burned-out star,&nbsp;a white dwarf located in a close binary system, that is accreting material from its companion star.

When the white dwarf reaches a critical mass, its core becomes hot enough to ignite nuclear fusion, turning it into a giant atomic bomb. This thermonuclear runaway process tears the dwarf apart. The opulence is short-lived as the fireball fades away.

According to the introduction of the video it zooms into the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light-years away in the southern constellation Puppis.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GQ13j55P3sE" width="560"></iframe>

Roughly half the diameter of our Milky Way, it was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1791 as a "spiral nebula."

In the time-lapse sequence, spanning nearly a year, the supernova first appears as a blazing star located on the galaxy's outer edge. It initially outshines the brightest stars in the galaxy before fading out of sight.

Nobel laureate Adam Riess, of the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University&nbsp;in Baltimore,&nbsp;leader of the&nbsp;High-z Supernova Search Team, said&nbsp;"No Earthly fireworks display can compete with this supernova, captured in its fading glory by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Knowing the actual brightness of the supernova and observing its brightness in the sky, astronomers can calculate the distances of their host galaxies. This allows astronomers to measure the expansion rate of the universe.

Hubble didn't record the initial blast in January 2018, but for nearly one year took consecutive photos, from 2018 to 2019, that have been assembled into a time-lapse sequence. At its peak, the exploding star was as bright as 5 billion Suns.

American spcae agency NASA has shared a video depicting the explosion of a gigantic star which is 70 million light years away from the Earth. The thermonuclear explosion was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope which is jointly run by NASA and the Euoropean Sapce Agency.

American spcae agency NASA has shared a video depicting the explosion of a gigantic star which is 70 million light years away from the Earth. The thermonuclear explosion was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope which is jointly run by NASA and the Euoropean Sapce Agency. The type of supernova seen in this sequence originated from a burned-out star, a white dwarf located in a close binary system, that is accreting material from its companion star. When the white dwarf reaches a critical mass, its core becomes hot enough to ignite nuclear fusion, turning it into a giant atomic bomb. This thermonuclear runaway process tears the dwarf apart. The opulence is short-lived as the fireball fades away. According to the introduction of the video it zooms into the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2525, located 70 million light-years away in the southern constellation Puppis. Roughly half the diameter of our Milky Way, it was discovered by British astronomer William Herschel in 1791 as a "spiral nebula." In the time-lapse sequence, spanning nearly a year, the supernova first appears as a blazing star located on the galaxy's outer edge. It initially outshines the brightest stars in the galaxy before fading out of sight. Nobel laureate Adam Riess, of the Space Telescope Science Institute and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, leader of the High-z Supernova Search Team, said "No Earthly fireworks display can compete with this supernova, captured in its fading glory by the Hubble Space Telescope. Knowing the actual brightness of the supernova and observing its brightness in the sky, astronomers can calculate the distances of their host galaxies. This allows astronomers to measure the expansion rate of the universe. Hubble didn't record the initial blast in January 2018, but for nearly one year took consecutive photos, from 2018 to 2019, that have been assembled into a time-lapse sequence. At its peak, the exploding star was as bright as 5 billion Suns.

NASA's new stunning time lapse video shows a gigantic star exploding

NASA is planning to send a new zero-gravity toilet to the International Space Station. The toilet, that's worth $23 million- will be sent to the station for testing on a cargo ship. WION's Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: A new space toilet for International Space Station

NASA is about to launch an upgraded microgravity toilet to the International Space Station. Touted as smaller and lighter than the current toilets on the ISS, the new commode is also supposed to be more accommodating for women astronauts needing to use the space facilities.

NASA introduces an upgraded microgravity toilet to the ISS

NASA recently spent $23 million to come up with a new space toilet to improve the lives of astronauts on the International Space Station. The agency is launching the toilet on Thursday, October 1.&nbsp;

The toilet is designed to be efficient in space, and to specially cater to the needs of female astronauts onboard the ISS.

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C-65mBQ7s_Q" width="560"></iframe>

The UWMS

The new toilet is called the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), and is reportedly 65 per cent lighter and 40 per cent smaller than the previous model.&nbsp; The original Waste Collection System is still used on the station, and was built in the 1990s.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
To Boldly Go 
What's more exciting than a new toilet? A new SPACE toilet.<a href="https://twitter.com/NASA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA</a> <a href="https://t.co/6sIh97TsNI">https://t.co/6sIh97TsNI</a> <a href="https://t.co/c1hHQxDtzw">pic.twitter.com/c1hHQxDtzw</a>
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cmdr_Hadfield/status/1309832925035278336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The primary rationale behind designing a new toilet was to account for women’s needs on the space station. The earlier model only had room for the user to urinate or defecate, but not both at once - the new system eliminates that, making it more comfortable for all.

The new design, even though might come off as small and weird looking, is best designed to meet the comfort standards of space defecation.&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/us-election-2020-nasa-astronauts-on-spacexs-crew-dragon-will-vote-from-space-331336" hreflang="en">US election 2020: NASA astronauts on SpaceX's Crew Dragon will vote from space</a>

The new design will also require lesser maintenance and plumbing. Additionally, thigh restraints have been removed, and now footholds and handholds will be in place to ensure comfort.

Even though defecation may be getting easier, disposing it still remains a problem. Most of it is put into airtight bags, and then stored in a cargo ship which is sent back to Earth, but burns into the process of reentering.&nbsp; Urine, on the other hand, is filtered and reused&nbsp;on the station.

The earliest space missions did not have toilets on board. In fact, astronaut Alan Shepard had to urinate in his spacesuit in 1961.&nbsp;The earliest solution to peeing in space was to use plastic tubes, but it did not work out, especially for women, and also caused leakage.

Due to the lack of gravity on the ISS, the toilets are made keeping in mind airflow instead of gravity.&nbsp;

NASA is launching the new toilet on October 1, at 9.38 PM EDT / 7.08 AM IST.

NASA recently spent $23 million to come up with a new space toilet to improve the lives of astronauts on the International Space Station. The agency is launching the toilet on Thursday, October 1.

NASA recently spent $23 million to come up with a new space toilet to improve the lives of astronauts on the International Space Station. The agency is launching the toilet on Thursday, October 1. The toilet is designed to be efficient in space, and to specially cater to the needs of female astronauts onboard the ISS. The UWMS The new toilet is called the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS), and is reportedly 65 per cent lighter and 40 per cent smaller than the previous model. The original Waste Collection System is still used on the station, and was built in the 1990s. To Boldly Go What's more exciting than a new toilet? A new SPACE toilet.@NASA https://t.co/6sIh97TsNI pic.twitter.com/c1hHQxDtzw — Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) September 26, 2020 × The primary rationale behind designing a new toilet was to account for women’s needs on the space station. The earlier model only had room for the user to urinate or defecate, but not both at once - the new system eliminates that, making it more comfortable for all. The new design, even though might come off as small and weird looking, is best designed to meet the comfort standards of space defecation. Also read: US election 2020: NASA astronauts on SpaceX's Crew Dragon will vote from space The new design will also require lesser maintenance and plumbing. Additionally, thigh restraints have been removed, and now footholds and handholds will be in place to ensure comfort. Even though defecation may be getting easier, disposing it still remains a problem. Most of it is put into airtight bags, and then stored in a cargo ship which is sent back to Earth, but burns into the process of reentering. Urine, on the other hand, is filtered and reused on the station. The earliest space missions did not have toilets on board. In fact, astronaut Alan Shepard had to urinate in his spacesuit in 1961. The earliest solution to peeing in space was to use plastic tubes, but it did not work out, especially for women, and also caused leakage. Due to the lack of gravity on the ISS, the toilets are made keeping in mind airflow instead of gravity. NASA is launching the new toilet on October 1, at 9.38 PM EDT / 7.08 AM IST.

NASA to send its new $23 million toilet to International Space Station

Three NASA astronauts on SpaceX's first operational Crew Dragon mission will vote from space in the US election 2020 to be held on November 3.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience capsule will carry NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the space station October&nbsp;31 as the company’s first non-test mission after completing a successful two-man preliminary mission last summer.

“All of us are planning on voting from space,” Walker told a news conference, explaining that the three US&nbsp;astronauts will fill out an electronic PDF file aboard the station some 250 miles above Earth and email it to elections officials.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/pentagon-awards-united-launch-alliance-spacex-launch-contracts-318987">Pentagon awards United Launch Alliance, SpaceX launch contracts</a>

The crew’s more than six month mission in space, enabled by SpaceX’s new gumdrop-shaped Crew Dragon space capsule, comes as NASA regains its capability of sending astronauts to space after nearly a decade-long dependence on Russia’s Soyuz vehicles.

Meanwhile, another American astronaut Kate Rubins will also vote from space as she is a part of the launch of the Russian Soyuz that will take place on October 14 from the International Space Staion.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/spacex-launches-third-batch-of-mini-satellites-into-orbit-272623">SpaceX launches third batch of mini-satellites into orbit</a>

Following tradition from SpaceX’s last crewed mission named “Endeavor,” which ended in August with a successful splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, Hopkins said the crew chose the name “Resilience” as a tribute to a “challenging” 2020.

“I think all of us can agree that 2020 has certainly been a challenging year,” Hopkins said, adding that SpaceX and NASA have pressed on with launch plans despite a slew of events like the “global pandemic, economic hardships, civil unrest, isolation” that have punctuated this year.

SpaceX made a few tweaks to Crew Dragon’s heat shield and altitude sensors after analyzing data from the summer test flight carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the company’s Crew Dragon chief Benji Reed said during a separate press conference on Tuesday.

Three NASA astronauts on SpaceX's first operational Crew Dragon mission will vote from space in the US election 2020 to be held on November 3. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience capsule will carry NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the space station October 31 as the company’s first non-test mission after completing a successful two-man preliminary mission last summer.

Three NASA astronauts on SpaceX's first operational Crew Dragon mission will vote from space in the US election 2020 to be held on November 3. SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience capsule will carry NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the space station October 31 as the company’s first non-test mission after completing a successful two-man preliminary mission last summer. “All of us are planning on voting from space,” Walker told a news conference, explaining that the three US astronauts will fill out an electronic PDF file aboard the station some 250 miles above Earth and email it to elections officials. Also read: Pentagon awards United Launch Alliance, SpaceX launch contracts The crew’s more than six month mission in space, enabled by SpaceX’s new gumdrop-shaped Crew Dragon space capsule, comes as NASA regains its capability of sending astronauts to space after nearly a decade-long dependence on Russia’s Soyuz vehicles. Meanwhile, another American astronaut Kate Rubins will also vote from space as she is a part of the launch of the Russian Soyuz that will take place on October 14 from the International Space Staion. Also read: SpaceX launches third batch of mini-satellites into orbit Following tradition from SpaceX’s last crewed mission named “Endeavor,” which ended in August with a successful splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, Hopkins said the crew chose the name “Resilience” as a tribute to a “challenging” 2020. “I think all of us can agree that 2020 has certainly been a challenging year,” Hopkins said, adding that SpaceX and NASA have pressed on with launch plans despite a slew of events like the “global pandemic, economic hardships, civil unrest, isolation” that have punctuated this year. SpaceX made a few tweaks to Crew Dragon’s heat shield and altitude sensors after analyzing data from the summer test flight carrying NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, the company’s Crew Dragon chief Benji Reed said during a separate press conference on Tuesday.

US election 2020: NASA astronauts on SpaceX's Crew Dragon will vote from space

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