Astronomers successfully observed and captured a supernova blast in space over 14 years. Now, it has given them fascinating insights into the supernovas that mark the end of a star’s life-cycle.

With images from over a decade, astronomers observed the supernova in space as it exploded with speeds of up to 4,000 kilometres per second (2,485 miles).

What is a supernova? How far is this one from Earth?

They observed the remains of a supernova called “MSH 15-52”, situated 17,000 light-years away from Earth. It is one of the youngest known legacies of a supernova within the Milky Way and flung its remains into a gas of cloud called “RCW 89”.

Approximately 1,700 years ago, the star began to die after running out of fuel. The death of stars in space is markedly violent, as they explode the outer material to collapse unto themselves.

Supernovas are essentially large-scale explosions that take place once the star runs out of energy and collapses into itself. For this reason, they are considered the largest explosions in space.

Once the star collapsed, it became a dead star called a “pulsar”, with densely packed neutrons and high speed rotations. Its rotational movement played an important role in the X-ray which shows the explosion in action. In a new study, scientists used images from 2004, 2008, and 2017-18 to note and understand the changes in the gas cloud “RCW 89”, which the supernova seems to be expanding.

How did the scientists study the supernova?

Scientists calculated the distance travelled by the dead star’s remnants to understand its reach. The scientist were literally guided by a “hand” to the explosion, the fingertip of which shows the MSH 15-52 meeting RCW 89. This meeting was rather fierce, causing movement at speeds of 4,000-5,000 kilometres per second.

According to ScienceAlert, the many knots visible in the graphic are cosmic entities made of magnesium and neon that formed in the star before the explosion. The slowest speed touched by the remnants is reportedly 1,000 kilometres per second!

Watch the movement below

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The movement of the explosion's blast wave is occurring at the speed of almost 96 lakh kilometres per hour, with some debris even moving at faster speeds of 1.7 crore kilometres per hour. <a href="https://t.co/q0TVFkFWF6">pic.twitter.com/q0TVFkFWF6</a>
— The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) <a href="https://twitter.com/weatherindia/status/1408394337512087552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2021</a></blockquote>
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But as the interaction between RCW 89 and MSH 15-52 slows down, so do these features, spanning a distance of 75-light years between the dead star and RCW 89, the gaseous cloud.

The material moving rapidly in the aftermath of the explosion passed a low-density bubble surrounding the dead star before merging into RCW 89, the study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters claims. The findings prove that the understanding scientists have of any star’s death is true, that&nbsp;the collapse of the life-providing core triggers a supernova.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/in-a-first-new-3d-map-reveals-details-about-the-edge-of-our-solar-system-393123" hreflang="en">In a first, new 3D map reveals details about the edge of our solar system</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/how-nasas-plans-to-send-detergent-to-iss-could-change-space-exploration-393320" hreflang="en">How NASA's plans to send detergent to ISS could change space exploration</a> 
 
Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/hubble-space-telescope-beams-back-mesmerising-image-of-a-nebula-370330" hreflang="en">Hubble Space Telescope beams back mesmerising image of a nebula!</a>

Astronomers successfully observed and captured a supernova blast in space over 14 years. Now, it has given them fascinating insights into the supernovas that mark the end of a star’s life-cycle.

Astronomers successfully observed and captured a supernova blast in space over 14 years. Now, it has given them fascinating insights into the supernovas that mark the end of a star’s life-cycle. With images from over a decade, astronomers observed the supernova in space as it exploded with speeds of up to 4,000 kilometres per second (2,485 miles). What is a supernova? How far is this one from Earth? They observed the remains of a supernova called “MSH 15-52”, situated 17,000 light-years away from Earth. It is one of the youngest known legacies of a supernova within the Milky Way and flung its remains into a gas of cloud called “RCW 89”. Approximately 1,700 years ago, the star began to die after running out of fuel. The death of stars in space is markedly violent, as they explode the outer material to collapse unto themselves. Supernovas are essentially large-scale explosions that take place once the star runs out of energy and collapses into itself. For this reason, they are considered the largest explosions in space. Once the star collapsed, it became a dead star called a “pulsar”, with densely packed neutrons and high speed rotations. Its rotational movement played an important role in the X-ray which shows the explosion in action. In a new study, scientists used images from 2004, 2008, and 2017-18 to note and understand the changes in the gas cloud “RCW 89”, which the supernova seems to be expanding. How did the scientists study the supernova? Scientists calculated the distance travelled by the dead star’s remnants to understand its reach. The scientist were literally guided by a “hand” to the explosion, the fingertip of which shows the MSH 15-52 meeting RCW 89. This meeting was rather fierce, causing movement at speeds of 4,000-5,000 kilometres per second. According to ScienceAlert, the many knots visible in the graphic are cosmic entities made of magnesium and neon that formed in the star before the explosion. The slowest speed touched by the remnants is reportedly 1,000 kilometres per second! Watch the movement below The movement of the explosion's blast wave is occurring at the speed of almost 96 lakh kilometres per hour, with some debris even moving at faster speeds of 1.7 crore kilometres per hour. pic.twitter.com/q0TVFkFWF6 — The Weather Channel India (@weatherindia) June 25, 2021 × But as the interaction between RCW 89 and MSH 15-52 slows down, so do these features, spanning a distance of 75-light years between the dead star and RCW 89, the gaseous cloud. The material moving rapidly in the aftermath of the explosion passed a low-density bubble surrounding the dead star before merging into RCW 89, the study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters claims. The findings prove that the understanding scientists have of any star’s death is true, that the collapse of the life-providing core triggers a supernova. Also read: In a first, new 3D map reveals details about the edge of our solar system Also read: How NASA's plans to send detergent to ISS could change space exploration Also read: Hubble Space Telescope beams back mesmerising image of a nebula!

Watch | With help from a 'cosmic hand', scientists capture death of a star

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is known to push the boundaries of space exploration and research. Now, the agency has upped its game to provide a pleasant experience for astronauts who surrender themselves to solve the universe’s mysteries.

Life in space is extremely difficult for humans. At the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts spend a long time acclimatising to changes in terms of the basic physical laws that define our lives - including gravity.

Now, to make laundry easy aboard the station, the space agency is collaborating with Procter and Gamble. NASA wants to find a permanent solution to the laundry loophole. To achieve this, the company will undertake a series of experiments using specially designed detergents.

Procter and Gamble announced on Tuesday that it would collaborate with NASA on the experiment.

What do astronauts do for laundry aboard&nbsp;ISS?

Water is an essential resource, especially on the space station where the supply is limited. Due to this, there are no provisions for laundry aboard the station and astronauts simply jettison their used clothes.

In the absence of laundry mechanisms, NASA sends 72 kilograms (160 pounds) of clothing per crew member to the station every year. With private players eyeing farther off planets like Mars, astronauts need a long-term sustainable solution to washing clothes.

The pilot tests of “NASA Tide” will assess the effects of micro-gravity and radiation and are set to take place on a cargo flight to the ISS next year. Eventually, the testing will happen at the space station itself. Most of the equipment to carry out the tests is already available on the ISS, but P&amp;G will send some paraphernalia for image analysis to the station.

That’s not it! At the same time, identical experiments will take place on Earth. Scientists will use the same material to study the differences and similarities.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/heres-how-you-can-watch-the-luminous-strawberry-supermoon-this-thursday-393290" hreflang="en">Here's how you can watch the luminous 'Strawberry Supermoon' this Thursday</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/in-a-first-new-3d-map-reveals-details-about-the-edge-of-our-solar-system-393123" hreflang="en">In a first, new 3D map reveals details about the edge of our solar system</a>

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/we-finally-know-what-causes-mesmerising-auroras-in-polar-night-skies-393085" hreflang="en">We finally know what causes mesmerising auroras in polar night skies!</a>

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is known to push the boundaries of space exploration and research. Now, the agency has upped its game to provide a pleasant experience for astronauts who surrender themselves to solve the universe’s mysteries.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is known to push the boundaries of space exploration and research. Now, the agency has upped its game to provide a pleasant experience for astronauts who surrender themselves to solve the universe’s mysteries. Life in space is extremely difficult for humans. At the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts spend a long time acclimatising to changes in terms of the basic physical laws that define our lives - including gravity. Now, to make laundry easy aboard the station, the space agency is collaborating with Procter and Gamble. NASA wants to find a permanent solution to the laundry loophole. To achieve this, the company will undertake a series of experiments using specially designed detergents. Procter and Gamble announced on Tuesday that it would collaborate with NASA on the experiment. What do astronauts do for laundry aboard ISS? Water is an essential resource, especially on the space station where the supply is limited. Due to this, there are no provisions for laundry aboard the station and astronauts simply jettison their used clothes. In the absence of laundry mechanisms, NASA sends 72 kilograms (160 pounds) of clothing per crew member to the station every year. With private players eyeing farther off planets like Mars, astronauts need a long-term sustainable solution to washing clothes. The pilot tests of “NASA Tide” will assess the effects of micro-gravity and radiation and are set to take place on a cargo flight to the ISS next year. Eventually, the testing will happen at the space station itself. Most of the equipment to carry out the tests is already available on the ISS, but P&G will send some paraphernalia for image analysis to the station. That’s not it! At the same time, identical experiments will take place on Earth. Scientists will use the same material to study the differences and similarities. Also read: Here's how you can watch the luminous 'Strawberry Supermoon' this Thursday Also read: In a first, new 3D map reveals details about the edge of our solar system Also read: We finally know what causes mesmerising auroras in polar night skies!

How NASA's plans to send detergent to ISS could change space exploration

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is going to space next month. The rocket will blast off from Texas on July 20. Thousands are now signing petitions demanding Bezos should not be allowed to return to Earth. Palki Sharma brings you a report.

Gravitas: Jeff Bezos is going to Space

The universe holds secrets we’re not completely programmed to understand. But humanity is always at the cusp of a breakthrough when it comes to knowledge accumulation and the new 3D map of our solar system proves just that!

Ever thought about what lies at the edge of our very own solar system? Turns out, it’s a blob!&nbsp;

What's the edge of our solar system?

The edge of our system is where cosmic forces collide. On one edge lies solar wind comprising charged particles that emanate from the Sun. On the other side lie winds of space, laden with radiation absorbed from billions of stars situated nearby.

Solar winds or flares cause blackouts on Earth every once in a while but otherwise do an excellent job of protecting the planet from space radiation.

According to LiveScience, the solar winds wrap our solar system in a protective layer, preventing 70 per cent of space radiation from entering our system. Earth’s own magnetic shield does the job of protecting us from the leftover radiation.

This protective layer is called the heliosphere and its edge is called heliopause. At this junction lies a physical border where our solar system ends and the outside space begins.&nbsp;

What does the 3D map reveal?

On June 10, a new study in the Astrophysical Journal revealed the first 3D map of the heliosphere ever.

To achieve this, scientists used data collected by NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer satellite over 10 years. Using this, they tracked particles in solar winds that travel from the Sun to the edge of solar system and back.

Based on this, they calculated how far the solar wind was able to go before being blown back by interstellar radiation. This allowed the researchers to map the edges of our solar system.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/we-finally-know-what-causes-mesmerising-auroras-in-polar-night-skies-393085" hreflang="en">We finally know what causes mesmerising auroras in polar night skies!</a>

The map shows how the heliosphere isn’t really a sphere, but a squishy looking blob-like entity with inconsistent borders. In one end the border is thick while it is extremely thin on the other side.

This is because the Sun is also locked in orbit at the centre of the Milky Way, akin to Earth’s orbit around Sun. In one direction, the Sun has more scope of pushing out solar winds that counter interstellar radiation, explaining the inconsistency of the border.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/indian-scientists-discover-four-near-earth-asteroids-in-nasa-backed-research-programme-393060" hreflang="en">Indian scientists discover four near-Earth asteroids in NASA-backed research programme</a>

The universe holds secrets we’re not completely programmed to understand. But humanity is always at the cusp of a breakthrough when it comes to knowledge accumulation and the new 3D map of our solar system proves just that!

The universe holds secrets we’re not completely programmed to understand. But humanity is always at the cusp of a breakthrough when it comes to knowledge accumulation and the new 3D map of our solar system proves just that! Ever thought about what lies at the edge of our very own solar system? Turns out, it’s a blob! What's the edge of our solar system? The edge of our system is where cosmic forces collide. On one edge lies solar wind comprising charged particles that emanate from the Sun. On the other side lie winds of space, laden with radiation absorbed from billions of stars situated nearby. Solar winds or flares cause blackouts on Earth every once in a while but otherwise do an excellent job of protecting the planet from space radiation. According to LiveScience, the solar winds wrap our solar system in a protective layer, preventing 70 per cent of space radiation from entering our system. Earth’s own magnetic shield does the job of protecting us from the leftover radiation. This protective layer is called the heliosphere and its edge is called heliopause. At this junction lies a physical border where our solar system ends and the outside space begins. What does the 3D map reveal? On June 10, a new study in the Astrophysical Journal revealed the first 3D map of the heliosphere ever. To achieve this, scientists used data collected by NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer satellite over 10 years. Using this, they tracked particles in solar winds that travel from the Sun to the edge of solar system and back. Based on this, they calculated how far the solar wind was able to go before being blown back by interstellar radiation. This allowed the researchers to map the edges of our solar system. Also read: We finally know what causes mesmerising auroras in polar night skies! The map shows how the heliosphere isn’t really a sphere, but a squishy looking blob-like entity with inconsistent borders. In one end the border is thick while it is extremely thin on the other side. This is because the Sun is also locked in orbit at the centre of the Milky Way, akin to Earth’s orbit around Sun. In one direction, the Sun has more scope of pushing out solar winds that counter interstellar radiation, explaining the inconsistency of the border. Also read: Indian scientists discover four near-Earth asteroids in NASA-backed research programme

In a first, new 3D map reveals details about the edge of our solar system

China has launched three astronauts to build its own space station. This is just the first step in Beijing's space domination plans. China has plans to mine the moon and build colonies on Mars. Palki Sharma tells you about China's plans to colonise space.

Gravitas: China's plans to conquer the Moon, Mars and beyond

A Chinese spacecraft will blast off from the Gobi Desert on a Long March rocket in the coming days, ferrying three men to an orbiting space module for a three-month stay, the first time China has sent humans into space for nearly five years. 
 
Shenzhou-12, meaning 'Divine Vessel', will be the third of 11 missions needed to complete China's space station by 2022. Among them, four will be missions with people on board, potentially propelling up to 12 Chinese astronauts into space - more than the 11 men and women that China has sent since 2003. 
 
The craft will also carry into space the hopes of some in Earth's most populous nation. 
 
"The motherland is powerful," one person wrote on Chinese social media, which has lit up with well-wishes for the Shenzhou-12 crew. "The launch is a gift to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party." 
 
Chinese astronauts have had a relatively low international profile. A US&nbsp;law banning NASA from any connection with China means its astronauts have not been to the more than two-decade-old International Space Station, visited by more than 240 men and women of various nationalities. 
 
China, which aims to become a major spacefaring power by 2030, in May became the second country to put a rover on Mars, two years after landing the first spacecraft on the far side of the moon. 
 
It also plans to put astronauts on the moon - the farthest celestial body that humans have travelled to. 
 
The Shenzhou-12 crew is to live on the Tianhe, 'Harmony of the Heavens', a cylinder 16.6 metres (55 feet) long and 4.2 metres (14 feet) in diameter. 
 
The planned three-month stay would break the country's record of 30 days, set by the 2016 mission - China's last crewed flight - of Chen Dong and Jing Haipeng to a prototype station. 
 
Three men from China's first and second batches of astronauts will be on this mission, Yang Liwei, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and China's first astronaut, told state tabloid Global Times last month. 
 
China's space bloggers speculate they will be Nie Haisheng - who at 56 would be China's oldest astronaut sent into space - Deng Qingming, 55, and Ye Guangfu, 40. 
 
The authorities typically do not announce a mission's crew until near or after the launch. China Manned Space did not respond to a fax request for comment. 
 
The oldest human in space was John Glenn, who flew on the space shuttle at age 77 in 1998 - after having been the first American to orbit the earth in 1962, a US&nbsp;senator and a presidential candidate. 
 
While no women are scheduled for the Shenzhou-12 mission, they are expected to participate in every following mission, Yang told Global Times. 
 
Two women, Liu Yang and Wang Yaping, were selected in 2011 among China's second cohort, after the first batch of 14 men in the mid-1990s. Liu was China's first woman in space in 2012, while Wang was the youngest, at 33, in 2013. 
 
China began building its space station in April with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of its three modules. This year, it aims to send a robotic cargo resupply spacecraft and three more astronauts, this time for a six-month stay. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

A Chinese spacecraft will blast off from the Gobi Desert on a Long March rocket in the coming days, ferrying three men to an orbiting space module for a three-month stay, the first time China has sent humans into space for nearly five years.

A Chinese spacecraft will blast off from the Gobi Desert on a Long March rocket in the coming days, ferrying three men to an orbiting space module for a three-month stay, the first time China has sent humans into space for nearly five years. Shenzhou-12, meaning 'Divine Vessel', will be the third of 11 missions needed to complete China's space station by 2022. Among them, four will be missions with people on board, potentially propelling up to 12 Chinese astronauts into space - more than the 11 men and women that China has sent since 2003. The craft will also carry into space the hopes of some in Earth's most populous nation. "The motherland is powerful," one person wrote on Chinese social media, which has lit up with well-wishes for the Shenzhou-12 crew. "The launch is a gift to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party." Chinese astronauts have had a relatively low international profile. A US law banning NASA from any connection with China means its astronauts have not been to the more than two-decade-old International Space Station, visited by more than 240 men and women of various nationalities. China, which aims to become a major spacefaring power by 2030, in May became the second country to put a rover on Mars, two years after landing the first spacecraft on the far side of the moon. It also plans to put astronauts on the moon - the farthest celestial body that humans have travelled to. The Shenzhou-12 crew is to live on the Tianhe, 'Harmony of the Heavens', a cylinder 16.6 metres (55 feet) long and 4.2 metres (14 feet) in diameter. The planned three-month stay would break the country's record of 30 days, set by the 2016 mission - China's last crewed flight - of Chen Dong and Jing Haipeng to a prototype station. Three men from China's first and second batches of astronauts will be on this mission, Yang Liwei, director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and China's first astronaut, told state tabloid Global Times last month. China's space bloggers speculate they will be Nie Haisheng - who at 56 would be China's oldest astronaut sent into space - Deng Qingming, 55, and Ye Guangfu, 40. The authorities typically do not announce a mission's crew until near or after the launch. China Manned Space did not respond to a fax request for comment. The oldest human in space was John Glenn, who flew on the space shuttle at age 77 in 1998 - after having been the first American to orbit the earth in 1962, a US senator and a presidential candidate. While no women are scheduled for the Shenzhou-12 mission, they are expected to participate in every following mission, Yang told Global Times. Two women, Liu Yang and Wang Yaping, were selected in 2011 among China's second cohort, after the first batch of 14 men in the mid-1990s. Liu was China's first woman in space in 2012, while Wang was the youngest, at 33, in 2013. China began building its space station in April with the launch of Tianhe, the first and largest of its three modules. This year, it aims to send a robotic cargo resupply spacecraft and three more astronauts, this time for a six-month stay. (With inputs from agencies)

'Divine Vessel' to mark China's first human spaceflight since 2016

A seat on a spaceship ride with billionaire Jeff Bezos went for $28 million during a live auction on Saturday, May 12. Bezos revealed this week that both he and his brother Mark would take seats onboard the company's New Shepard launch vehicle on July 20, to fly to the edge of space and back.

The brothers will be joined by the winner of Saturday's charity auction. His identity remains unknown as of now.&nbsp;

Bidding for the seat next to Bezos had reached $4.8 million by Thursday. However, it drastically shot up in the final live auction.

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The auction for the very first seat on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NewShepard?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NewShepard</a> has concluded with a winning bid of $28 million. The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, <a href="https://twitter.com/clubforfuture?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ClubforFuture</a>. Full replay of the auction webcast: <a href="https://t.co/5Vc8IvWxJR">https://t.co/5Vc8IvWxJR</a> <a href="https://t.co/IlGbgOFmhx">pic.twitter.com/IlGbgOFmhx</a>
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) <a href="https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1403768272277880834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The New Shepard trip will last 10 minutes and will begin from a desert in western Texas. After lift-off, the capsule will separate from its booster and then spends four minutes at an altitude exceeding 60 miles. During this time those the people onboard will experience weightlessness and will be able to observe the curvature of Earth.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-unveils-pictures-by-martian-rover-on-red-planet-391000">Also Read |&nbsp;China unveils pictures by Martian rover on Red Planet</a>

The booster will then land autonomously on a pad two miles from the launch site. Meanwhile, the capsule will float back to the surface with three large parachutes that will help to slow it down to about a mile per hour when it lands.

"We're ready to fly some astronauts," said Blue Origin's director of astronaut and orbital sales, Ariane Cornell, on Saturday, June 12.

The automated capsules with no pilot have six seats with horizontal backrests. They have been placed next to large portholes, in a futuristic cabin with also includes swish lighting. Multiple cameras have been installed to help in immortalizing the few minutes the space tourists experience weightlessness.

The reusable suborbital rocket system has been named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space 60 years ago.

Earlier this month, Jeff Bezos announced that he will be boarding the New Shepard. In an Instagram post, Bezos said that it was his dream to travel to space ever since he was five years old.&nbsp;

A seat on a spaceship ride with billionaire Jeff Bezos went for $28 million during a live auction on Saturday, May 12. Bezos revealed this week that both he and his brother Mark would take seats onboard the company's New Shepard launch vehicle on July 20, to fly to the edge of space and back.

A seat on a spaceship ride with billionaire Jeff Bezos went for $28 million during a live auction on Saturday, May 12. Bezos revealed this week that both he and his brother Mark would take seats onboard the company's New Shepard launch vehicle on July 20, to fly to the edge of space and back. The brothers will be joined by the winner of Saturday's charity auction. His identity remains unknown as of now. Bidding for the seat next to Bezos had reached $4.8 million by Thursday. However, it drastically shot up in the final live auction. The auction for the very first seat on #NewShepard has concluded with a winning bid of $28 million. The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, @ClubforFuture. Full replay of the auction webcast: https://t.co/5Vc8IvWxJR pic.twitter.com/IlGbgOFmhx — Blue Origin (@blueorigin) June 12, 2021 × The New Shepard trip will last 10 minutes and will begin from a desert in western Texas. After lift-off, the capsule will separate from its booster and then spends four minutes at an altitude exceeding 60 miles. During this time those the people onboard will experience weightlessness and will be able to observe the curvature of Earth. Also Read | China unveils pictures by Martian rover on Red Planet The booster will then land autonomously on a pad two miles from the launch site. Meanwhile, the capsule will float back to the surface with three large parachutes that will help to slow it down to about a mile per hour when it lands. "We're ready to fly some astronauts," said Blue Origin's director of astronaut and orbital sales, Ariane Cornell, on Saturday, June 12. The automated capsules with no pilot have six seats with horizontal backrests. They have been placed next to large portholes, in a futuristic cabin with also includes swish lighting. Multiple cameras have been installed to help in immortalizing the few minutes the space tourists experience weightlessness. The reusable suborbital rocket system has been named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space 60 years ago. Earlier this month, Jeff Bezos announced that he will be boarding the New Shepard. In an Instagram post, Bezos said that it was his dream to travel to space ever since he was five years old.

Trip to space with Jeff Bezos sells at auction for $28 million

The remnants of China's biggest rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives on Sunday with no reports of damage, but Beijing was criticised by NASA for its failure to 'meet responsible standards' regarding its space debris.

The bulk of the out-of-control rocket, which had put into orbit the core module of China's planned space station on April 29, was mostly destroyed as it re-entered the atmosphere, China's state media reported.

The Long March-5B vehicle re-entered the atmosphere at 10:24 Beijing time on Sunday, the Chinese Manned Space Engineering office said.

It said debris from the 18-tonne rocket, one of the largest items in decades to have an undirected dive into the atmosphere, landed in the Indian Ocean at a point 72.47 degrees&nbsp;east and 2.65 degrees&nbsp;North. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

There have been intense speculation over where the rocket debris might land, and US officials and other experts warned its return risked potential casualties.

The hurtling debris of the rocket evoked sharp criticism from the US, NASA and international astrophysicists that Beijing has won a reckless gamble the uncontrolled fall of the rocket stroked fears that it may fall into inhabited areas.

The global anxiety over the debris was sparked by remnants of a similar Chinese rocket fell in Ivory Coast last year damaging several homes in villages.

It was the largest craft to crash to Earth since the US space laboratory, Skylab scattered debris over the southern Australian town of Esperance in 1979.

In a statement NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson criticised China, saying that it failed to meet responsible standards. "Spacefaring nations must minimise the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximise transparency regarding those operations."

US Space Command, meanwhile, simply said the rocket had 're-entered over the Arabian Peninsula'. 
It did not confirm the landing point reported by Chinese media, saying instead that it was 'unknown if the debris [had] impacted land or water'.

State-run Chinese media dismissed the criticism of debris falling in an 'uncontrolled' manner as 'purely false allegation'.

Despite clarification by China's space industry insiders and Foreign Ministry that the probability of the rocket remnants causing harm was extremely low, the Western media outlets and Pentagon, incessantly hyped that the debris was heading back to Earth in an 'uncontrolled'&nbsp;manner, state-run Global Times reported.

It is a 'purely false allegation', it quoted as Chinese analysts as saying.

The so-called "uncontrolled re-entry" of China's rocket debris is a groundless, false accusation, Song Zhongping, an aerospace expert told the Global Times on Sunday.

"It only refers to the loss of propulsion, but in no way means that China has lost track of its flying trajectory and real-time location," Song said.

It is 'completely normal' for rocket debris to return to Earth, and has been a common practice carried out by global participants in the aerospace field, including China, the Global Times report said.

(With inputs from agencies)

The remnants of China's biggest rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives on Sunday with no reports of damage, but Beijing was criticised by NASA for its failure to 'meet responsible standards' regarding its space debris.

The remnants of China's biggest rocket crashed into the Indian Ocean near the Maldives on Sunday with no reports of damage, but Beijing was criticised by NASA for its failure to 'meet responsible standards' regarding its space debris. The bulk of the out-of-control rocket, which had put into orbit the core module of China's planned space station on April 29, was mostly destroyed as it re-entered the atmosphere, China's state media reported. The Long March-5B vehicle re-entered the atmosphere at 10:24 Beijing time on Sunday, the Chinese Manned Space Engineering office said. It said debris from the 18-tonne rocket, one of the largest items in decades to have an undirected dive into the atmosphere, landed in the Indian Ocean at a point 72.47 degrees east and 2.65 degrees North. There were no reports of injuries or damage. There have been intense speculation over where the rocket debris might land, and US officials and other experts warned its return risked potential casualties. The hurtling debris of the rocket evoked sharp criticism from the US, NASA and international astrophysicists that Beijing has won a reckless gamble the uncontrolled fall of the rocket stroked fears that it may fall into inhabited areas. The global anxiety over the debris was sparked by remnants of a similar Chinese rocket fell in Ivory Coast last year damaging several homes in villages. It was the largest craft to crash to Earth since the US space laboratory, Skylab scattered debris over the southern Australian town of Esperance in 1979. In a statement NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson criticised China, saying that it failed to meet responsible standards. "Spacefaring nations must minimise the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximise transparency regarding those operations." US Space Command, meanwhile, simply said the rocket had 're-entered over the Arabian Peninsula'. It did not confirm the landing point reported by Chinese media, saying instead that it was 'unknown if the debris [had] impacted land or water'. State-run Chinese media dismissed the criticism of debris falling in an 'uncontrolled' manner as 'purely false allegation'. Despite clarification by China's space industry insiders and Foreign Ministry that the probability of the rocket remnants causing harm was extremely low, the Western media outlets and Pentagon, incessantly hyped that the debris was heading back to Earth in an 'uncontrolled' manner, state-run Global Times reported. It is a 'purely false allegation', it quoted as Chinese analysts as saying. The so-called "uncontrolled re-entry" of China's rocket debris is a groundless, false accusation, Song Zhongping, an aerospace expert told the Global Times on Sunday. "It only refers to the loss of propulsion, but in no way means that China has lost track of its flying trajectory and real-time location," Song said. It is 'completely normal' for rocket debris to return to Earth, and has been a common practice carried out by global participants in the aerospace field, including China, the Global Times report said. (With inputs from agencies)

Debris from China's biggest rocket crashes into Indian Ocean; NASA criticises Beijing's handling 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration&nbsp;(NASA)&nbsp;attempted&nbsp;another uncanny space experiment by&nbsp;sending creatures from Earth into space. With&nbsp;5,000 tardigrades and 128 glow-in-the-dark baby squids now in&nbsp;space, the agency hopes to better understand the cosmic secrets of life in space.

The creatures were dispatched to the International Space Station (ISS) as&nbsp;part of SpaceX’s 22nd cargo mission to the station. The tardigrades and baby squids were&nbsp;onboard a Falcon 9 rocket, taking off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

What's so special about tardigrades?

Scientists hope to find answers to life in space through this experiment. Tardigrades are small creatures - only a millimetre long! Besides being tiny, the creatures are masters of survival in extremely tough conditions.&nbsp;

Even in the face of extreme radiation and pressure - the kind that would crush most living beings, the creatures can survive! Owing to this&nbsp;survival superpower, the creatures could help scientists pursue&nbsp;highly useful research&nbsp;aboard the space station. Scientists will attempt to decipher specific genes that allow the creature to survive in extreme natural surroundings.&nbsp;

Why squids that glow in the dark?

Scientists also&nbsp;sent&nbsp;a species of baby squid known as bobtail (Euprymna scolopes) to the International Space Station. These have a special characteristic - the ability to glow in the dark!

Measuring just 3 millimetres long, the squids glow in the dark owing to an organ which produces light from within, receiving assistance from bioluminescent bacteria to glow when the lights go out. The most astonishing thing about this phenomena is that it’s not inbuilt - the bacteria that light the squids up are accumulated from the ocean over time.

Researchers inserted the bacteria into baby squids before they took off for space travels. By sending these two creatures in space, scientists hope to understand how microbes in space interact with animal tissue from Earth.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/bacteria-can-survive-cosmic-trip-international-space-station-study-323505" hreflang="en">Bacteria can survive cosmic trip: International Space Station study</a>

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) attempted another uncanny space experiment by sending creatures from Earth into space. With 5,000 tardigrades and 128 glow-in-the-dark baby squids now in space, the agency hopes to better understand the cosmic secrets of life in space.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) attempted another uncanny space experiment by sending creatures from Earth into space. With 5,000 tardigrades and 128 glow-in-the-dark baby squids now in space, the agency hopes to better understand the cosmic secrets of life in space. The creatures were dispatched to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of SpaceX’s 22nd cargo mission to the station. The tardigrades and baby squids were onboard a Falcon 9 rocket, taking off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. What's so special about tardigrades? Scientists hope to find answers to life in space through this experiment. Tardigrades are small creatures - only a millimetre long! Besides being tiny, the creatures are masters of survival in extremely tough conditions. Even in the face of extreme radiation and pressure - the kind that would crush most living beings, the creatures can survive! Owing to this survival superpower, the creatures could help scientists pursue highly useful research aboard the space station. Scientists will attempt to decipher specific genes that allow the creature to survive in extreme natural surroundings. Why squids that glow in the dark? Scientists also sent a species of baby squid known as bobtail (Euprymna scolopes) to the International Space Station. These have a special characteristic - the ability to glow in the dark! Measuring just 3 millimetres long, the squids glow in the dark owing to an organ which produces light from within, receiving assistance from bioluminescent bacteria to glow when the lights go out. The most astonishing thing about this phenomena is that it’s not inbuilt - the bacteria that light the squids up are accumulated from the ocean over time. Researchers inserted the bacteria into baby squids before they took off for space travels. By sending these two creatures in space, scientists hope to understand how microbes in space interact with animal tissue from Earth. Also read: Bacteria can survive cosmic trip: International Space Station study

Why NASA recently sent bioluminescent baby squids, tardigrades into space

The universe is made up of fascinating structures. Stars, planets galaxies and so on. These mesmerising structures have captivated our imagination for millennia. But nebulas, the places where stars are actually born have their own fanbase among the Astro-fanatics.

One of the latest images posted by NASA has again drawn everyone's attention to these stellar factories.&nbsp;

NASA has posted image of Serpens (the serpent) on its Instagram page and it's sight to behold. NASA's Chandra X-Ray observatory has captured an image that shows thousands of spots of light, each representing an illuminated celestial body. In the middle of it all is 'the Serpent'.

The structure gets the name because its middle resembles coils of a snake and on closer observation, we can even see 'head' and 'tail' of the snake.

What's more, we can also see stars that are actually forming inside the Serpens!.

"#Today Chandra is gazing at a galaxy in Serpens, the Serpent. Nearby in the sky the Serpens Cloud Core sparkles with the light of a multitude of stellar hatchlings in the early stages of star development. Located just 750 light years from Earth, this is one of the youngest collections of stars seen in our #galaxy," says NASA in the post

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Trust NASA to post pics that go viral. At the time of publishing this story, the photo had been liked by more than 16,000 users.

The universe is made up of fascinating structures. Stars, planets galaxies and so on. These mesmerising structures have captivated our imagination for millennia.

The universe is made up of fascinating structures. Stars, planets galaxies and so on. These mesmerising structures have captivated our imagination for millennia. But nebulas, the places where stars are actually born have their own fanbase among the Astro-fanatics. One of the latest images posted by NASA has again drawn everyone's attention to these stellar factories. NASA has posted image of Serpens (the serpent) on its Instagram page and it's sight to behold. NASA's Chandra X-Ray observatory has captured an image that shows thousands of spots of light, each representing an illuminated celestial body. In the middle of it all is 'the Serpent'. The structure gets the name because its middle resembles coils of a snake and on closer observation, we can even see 'head' and 'tail' of the snake. What's more, we can also see stars that are actually forming inside the Serpens!. "#Today Chandra is gazing at a galaxy in Serpens, the Serpent. Nearby in the sky the Serpens Cloud Core sparkles with the light of a multitude of stellar hatchlings in the early stages of star development. Located just 750 light years from Earth, this is one of the youngest collections of stars seen in our #galaxy," says NASA in the post View this post on Instagram A post shared by NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory (@nasachandraxray) × Trust NASA to post pics that go viral. At the time of publishing this story, the photo had been liked by more than 16,000 users.

NASA posts photo of serpent-shaped cloud that forms stars

The big news about the sun is that there is no big news. We are blessed, astronomers like to say, to be living next to a “boring star.”

But the inhabitants (if there are any) of the planets orbiting the neighbouring star Proxima Centauri, only 4.2 light-years away, are less fortunate. In April astronomers announced that a massive flare had erupted from its surface in 2019. For seven seconds, as a battery of telescopes on Earth and in space watched, the little star had increased its output of ultraviolet radiation 14,000-fold, in one of the most violent such flares ever seen in our galaxy.

This was more than serious sunburn territory. “A human being on this planet would have a bad time,” said Meredith MacGregor, an astronomy professor at the University of Colorado who led the worldwide observing effort.

Space weather on this scale could sterilise potentially habitable planets, and could augur bad news for the search for life beyond this solar system. Even mild space weather can be disruptive to creatures already evolved and settled; sunspots and solar storms, which wax and wane in an 11-year cycle, spray energy that can endanger spacecraft, astronauts and communication systems.

A new cycle of storms will begin any day now, and astrophysicists are divided on how active or threatening it will be. The sun may be about to set records for sunspot numbers and violent storms, or it may be sliding into a decline like the Maunder Minimum, from 1645 to 1715, when hardly any sunspots appeared — a period that became known in Europe as the Little Ice Age.

Cosmic mortgage payments

“We live in the atmosphere of a star,” as Scott McIntosh, a solar physicist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, often says. “As a civilisation we take our star for granted.”

Here, 93 million miles from the nearest star — the one we call our sun — we exist and mostly thrive on the edge of almost incomprehensible violence and complexity.

The sun is a medium-size star, a ball of blazing-hot ionised gas one million miles in diameter. Its large inside rotates faster than its outside, and the outer layers rotate faster at the equator than at the poles. The result is a snarled nest of magnetic fields, which manifest as sunspots and worse when they break the surface.

Every second, thermonuclear reactions in the centre&nbsp;of the sun burn 600 million tons of hydrogen into 596 million tons of helium. The missing 4 million tons, turned into pure energy, constitute the mortgage payment for all the life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere in the solar system. As the energy emerges from the sun, it rises through successively cooler and less dense layers of gas and finally, 100,000 years later, from the photosphere, or surface, where the temperature is a mere 5,700 kelvins, or 9,800 degrees Fahrenheit.

The sun is amazingly consistent in making these mortgage payments. A few years ago an experiment in Italy confirmed that our star does not seem to have changed its energy output in at least the last 100,000 years, the time it takes that energy to migrate from the sun’s core. The researchers were able to calculate how much energy the sun produces in real time, by measuring subatomic particles called neutrinos that are produced by nuclear reactions inside the sun, escape in seconds and reach Earth in just eight minutes. This energy, they found, matched the output that was generated 100,000 years ago and is only now detectable.

The action doesn’t stop at the sun’s surface. That friendly yellow photosphere boils like oatmeal and is pocked with dark magnetic storms (the infamous sunspots) that crackle, whirl and lash space with showers of electrical particles and radiation. The corona, composed of thin, superhot streamers of electrified gas, and visible only during solar eclipses, extends millions of miles from the glowing surface.

Things sometimes go wrong, although so far on a scale far below the outbursts seen on Proxima Centauri. As the magnetic fields generated by all that swirling, electrified gas emerge on the sun’s surface, they become twisted and tangled. Eventually they snap and reconnect in loops, releasing enormous amounts of radiation and charged particles — an explosive solar flare that can be more powerful than millions of hydrogen bombs.

Cloudy with a chance of sunspots

Such storms are more likely to occur during the high points of the sun’s mysterious 11-year cycle of sunspot activity.

Lately, the sunspot cycles have been getting weaker. During the last cycle, 101 spots were observed on the sun in 2014, the year of peak activity; that was well below the historical average of 160 to 240.

Last year, a committee of scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast that the coming cycle would be similarly anemic, with a peak in 2025 of about 115 sunspots.

But McIntosh and his colleagues have produced a radically different forecast, of more than 200 sunspots at its peak. The 11-year sunspot cycle, they say, based on an analysis of 140 years of solar measurements, belies a more fundamental 22-year Hale cycle, named after its discoverer, George Ellery Hale. During that period the sun’s magnetic field reverses its polarity, then switches back.

Each cycle ends or begins when two bands of magnetism, migrating from opposite, high latitudes of the sun, meet at the equator and annihilate each other. On average each phase of the cycle takes 11 years, but it can vary.

McIntosh and his team found that the longer a cycle went on, the weaker the next cycle would be, and vice versa. The current cycle, the 24th since record-keeping started, shows every sign of ending after a little more than 10 years — shorter than average, which means the next cycle should be strong.

“Sunspot Cycle 25 could have a magnitude that rivals the top few since records began,” McIntosh said in late April. On Thursday, he and his team were still waiting for “ignition” to begin. “It is very, very close,” he wrote in an email. “We are watching very closely.”

The elephant and the stars

At stake, besides the health of our planetary infrastructure, is the pride that astronomers take in feeling that they understand the complicated and violent processes going on behind the sun’s relatively calm face.

“I think the problem with the sun is that we’re too close to it, and so there’s too much data about the sun,” Dr. McIntosh said. He called it a breaker of models: “Your models are going to fail eventually. It’s part of the reason why it’s so hard to forecast the weather, right? Because our observations are so detailed, but you know it’s hard to get it absolutely right.”

Tony Phillips, an astronomer who runs the website Spaceweather.com, agreed in an email. “In my experience, when people really understand something, they can explain it simply,” he said. “It is striking to me that almost no one in the solar-cycle prediction business can explain their favourite dynamo model in a way that lay people can ‘get it.’”

The situation reminded him of the proverbial blind men who try to produce a Theory of Elephants, with one of them focused solely on feeling the animal’s trunk.

“Scott and Bob are standing off to the side shouting, ‘Hey, you guys are ignoring most of the elephant,’” he said. “In other words, there’s more to the solar cycle than is commonly assumed by conventional models. And so, according to Scott, they are doomed to get the big picture wrong.”

Jay Pasachoff, an astronomer at Williams College who has spent his life observing the corona during solar eclipses, said he did not put much store in such forecasts. In an email, he recounted a meeting during the last cycle that had “an amusing set of talks.”

The conversation, as he recalled it, went: “The next cycle will be stronger than average, the next cycle will be weaker than average, the next cycle will be either stronger than average or weaker than average, the next cycle will be neither stronger than average nor weaker than average.”

He added, “So my plan is to wait and see.”

The big news about the sun is that there is no big news. We are blessed, astronomers like to say, to be living next to a “boring star.” But the inhabitants (if there are any) of the planets orbiting the neighbouring star Proxima Centauri, only 4.

The big news about the sun is that there is no big news. We are blessed, astronomers like to say, to be living next to a “boring star.” But the inhabitants (if there are any) of the planets orbiting the neighbouring star Proxima Centauri, only 4.2 light-years away, are less fortunate. In April astronomers announced that a massive flare had erupted from its surface in 2019. For seven seconds, as a battery of telescopes on Earth and in space watched, the little star had increased its output of ultraviolet radiation 14,000-fold, in one of the most violent such flares ever seen in our galaxy. This was more than serious sunburn territory. “A human being on this planet would have a bad time,” said Meredith MacGregor, an astronomy professor at the University of Colorado who led the worldwide observing effort. Space weather on this scale could sterilise potentially habitable planets, and could augur bad news for the search for life beyond this solar system. Even mild space weather can be disruptive to creatures already evolved and settled; sunspots and solar storms, which wax and wane in an 11-year cycle, spray energy that can endanger spacecraft, astronauts and communication systems. A new cycle of storms will begin any day now, and astrophysicists are divided on how active or threatening it will be. The sun may be about to set records for sunspot numbers and violent storms, or it may be sliding into a decline like the Maunder Minimum, from 1645 to 1715, when hardly any sunspots appeared — a period that became known in Europe as the Little Ice Age. Cosmic mortgage payments “We live in the atmosphere of a star,” as Scott McIntosh, a solar physicist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, often says. “As a civilisation we take our star for granted.” Here, 93 million miles from the nearest star — the one we call our sun — we exist and mostly thrive on the edge of almost incomprehensible violence and complexity. The sun is a medium-size star, a ball of blazing-hot ionised gas one million miles in diameter. Its large inside rotates faster than its outside, and the outer layers rotate faster at the equator than at the poles. The result is a snarled nest of magnetic fields, which manifest as sunspots and worse when they break the surface. Every second, thermonuclear reactions in the centre of the sun burn 600 million tons of hydrogen into 596 million tons of helium. The missing 4 million tons, turned into pure energy, constitute the mortgage payment for all the life on Earth and perhaps elsewhere in the solar system. As the energy emerges from the sun, it rises through successively cooler and less dense layers of gas and finally, 100,000 years later, from the photosphere, or surface, where the temperature is a mere 5,700 kelvins, or 9,800 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun is amazingly consistent in making these mortgage payments. A few years ago an experiment in Italy confirmed that our star does not seem to have changed its energy output in at least the last 100,000 years, the time it takes that energy to migrate from the sun’s core. The researchers were able to calculate how much energy the sun produces in real time, by measuring subatomic particles called neutrinos that are produced by nuclear reactions inside the sun, escape in seconds and reach Earth in just eight minutes. This energy, they found, matched the output that was generated 100,000 years ago and is only now detectable. The action doesn’t stop at the sun’s surface. That friendly yellow photosphere boils like oatmeal and is pocked with dark magnetic storms (the infamous sunspots) that crackle, whirl and lash space with showers of electrical particles and radiation. The corona, composed of thin, superhot streamers of electrified gas, and visible only during solar eclipses, extends millions of miles from the glowing surface. Things sometimes go wrong, although so far on a scale far below the outbursts seen on Proxima Centauri. As the magnetic fields generated by all that swirling, electrified gas emerge on the sun’s surface, they become twisted and tangled. Eventually they snap and reconnect in loops, releasing enormous amounts of radiation and charged particles — an explosive solar flare that can be more powerful than millions of hydrogen bombs. Cloudy with a chance of sunspots Such storms are more likely to occur during the high points of the sun’s mysterious 11-year cycle of sunspot activity. Lately, the sunspot cycles have been getting weaker. During the last cycle, 101 spots were observed on the sun in 2014, the year of peak activity; that was well below the historical average of 160 to 240. Last year, a committee of scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast that the coming cycle would be similarly anemic, with a peak in 2025 of about 115 sunspots. But McIntosh and his colleagues have produced a radically different forecast, of more than 200 sunspots at its peak. The 11-year sunspot cycle, they say, based on an analysis of 140 years of solar measurements, belies a more fundamental 22-year Hale cycle, named after its discoverer, George Ellery Hale. During that period the sun’s magnetic field reverses its polarity, then switches back. Each cycle ends or begins when two bands of magnetism, migrating from opposite, high latitudes of the sun, meet at the equator and annihilate each other. On average each phase of the cycle takes 11 years, but it can vary. McIntosh and his team found that the longer a cycle went on, the weaker the next cycle would be, and vice versa. The current cycle, the 24th since record-keeping started, shows every sign of ending after a little more than 10 years — shorter than average, which means the next cycle should be strong. “Sunspot Cycle 25 could have a magnitude that rivals the top few since records began,” McIntosh said in late April. On Thursday, he and his team were still waiting for “ignition” to begin. “It is very, very close,” he wrote in an email. “We are watching very closely.” The elephant and the stars At stake, besides the health of our planetary infrastructure, is the pride that astronomers take in feeling that they understand the complicated and violent processes going on behind the sun’s relatively calm face. “I think the problem with the sun is that we’re too close to it, and so there’s too much data about the sun,” Dr. McIntosh said. He called it a breaker of models: “Your models are going to fail eventually. It’s part of the reason why it’s so hard to forecast the weather, right? Because our observations are so detailed, but you know it’s hard to get it absolutely right.” Tony Phillips, an astronomer who runs the website Spaceweather.com, agreed in an email. “In my experience, when people really understand something, they can explain it simply,” he said. “It is striking to me that almost no one in the solar-cycle prediction business can explain their favourite dynamo model in a way that lay people can ‘get it.’” The situation reminded him of the proverbial blind men who try to produce a Theory of Elephants, with one of them focused solely on feeling the animal’s trunk. “Scott and Bob are standing off to the side shouting, ‘Hey, you guys are ignoring most of the elephant,’” he said. “In other words, there’s more to the solar cycle than is commonly assumed by conventional models. And so, according to Scott, they are doomed to get the big picture wrong.” Jay Pasachoff, an astronomer at Williams College who has spent his life observing the corona during solar eclipses, said he did not put much store in such forecasts. In an email, he recounted a meeting during the last cycle that had “an amusing set of talks.” The conversation, as he recalled it, went: “The next cycle will be stronger than average, the next cycle will be weaker than average, the next cycle will be either stronger than average or weaker than average, the next cycle will be neither stronger than average nor weaker than average.” He added, “So my plan is to wait and see.”

Will the next space-weather season be stormy or fair?

A three-man crew of astronauts will blast off in June for a three-month mission on China's new space station, according to a space official, who was the country's first astronaut in orbit.

The plans for the station's first crew were confirmed to state television by Yang Liwei, the manned space programme's deputy chief designer, as an automated spacecraft was launched with fuel and supplies for the Tianhe station.

The Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, is the third and largest space station launched by China's increasingly ambitious space programme. Its core module was launched into orbit on April 29.

The Shenzhou 12 capsule carrying the crew will be launched from the Jiuquan base in China's northwest next month, Yang said in comments broadcast on Saturday by China Central Television.

They will practice spacewalks and conduct repairs and maintenance as well as scientific operations.

Yang, who orbited Earth in 2003, gave no details of the astronauts' identities or a flight date and said the crew will come from the programme's two earliest groups of astronauts.

Asked whether women would be in the crew, Yang said, "On Shenzhou 12, we don't have them, but missions after that all will have them."

The Tianzhou-2 spacecraft that docked with Tianhe on Sunday carried 6.8 tonnes of cargo including space suits, food and equipment for the astronauts and fuel for the station, according to the space programme.

The space agency plans a total of 11 launches through the end of next year to deliver two more modules for the 70-tonne station, supplies and the crew.

Beijing doesn't participate in the International Space Station, largely due to US&nbsp;Objections. Washington is wary of the Chinese programme's secrecy and its military connections.

China has sent 11 astronauts, including two women, into space beginning with Yang's flight in October 2003. The first female astronaut was Liu Yang in 2012.

All of China's astronauts to date have been pilots from the ruling Communist Party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army.

Astronauts on the Tianhe will practice making spacewalks with two people outside the hull at one time, according to Yang. China's first spacewalk was made in 2008 by Zhai Zhigang outside the Shenzhou 7 capsule.

Also this month, the Chinese space programme landed a probe, the Tianwen-1, on Mars carrying a rover, the Zhurong.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

A three-man crew of astronauts will blast off in June for a three-month mission on China's new space station, according to a space official, who was the country's first astronaut in orbit.

A three-man crew of astronauts will blast off in June for a three-month mission on China's new space station, according to a space official, who was the country's first astronaut in orbit. The plans for the station's first crew were confirmed to state television by Yang Liwei, the manned space programme's deputy chief designer, as an automated spacecraft was launched with fuel and supplies for the Tianhe station. The Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, is the third and largest space station launched by China's increasingly ambitious space programme. Its core module was launched into orbit on April 29. The Shenzhou 12 capsule carrying the crew will be launched from the Jiuquan base in China's northwest next month, Yang said in comments broadcast on Saturday by China Central Television. They will practice spacewalks and conduct repairs and maintenance as well as scientific operations. Yang, who orbited Earth in 2003, gave no details of the astronauts' identities or a flight date and said the crew will come from the programme's two earliest groups of astronauts. Asked whether women would be in the crew, Yang said, "On Shenzhou 12, we don't have them, but missions after that all will have them." The Tianzhou-2 spacecraft that docked with Tianhe on Sunday carried 6.8 tonnes of cargo including space suits, food and equipment for the astronauts and fuel for the station, according to the space programme. The space agency plans a total of 11 launches through the end of next year to deliver two more modules for the 70-tonne station, supplies and the crew. Beijing doesn't participate in the International Space Station, largely due to US Objections. Washington is wary of the Chinese programme's secrecy and its military connections. China has sent 11 astronauts, including two women, into space beginning with Yang's flight in October 2003. The first female astronaut was Liu Yang in 2012. All of China's astronauts to date have been pilots from the ruling Communist Party's military wing, the People's Liberation Army. Astronauts on the Tianhe will practice making spacewalks with two people outside the hull at one time, according to Yang. China's first spacewalk was made in 2008 by Zhai Zhigang outside the Shenzhou 7 capsule. Also this month, the Chinese space programme landed a probe, the Tianwen-1, on Mars carrying a rover, the Zhurong. (With inputs from agencies)

China to send 3 male astronauts to its space station in June

Space debris is becoming a pervasive problem for all scientific paraphernalia in space. Over decades, debris from satellites, rockets, and other space machinery has been locked in Earth’s orbit. Some of this junk remains benign and incapable of causing harm&nbsp;but many objects are large enough to cause significant damage to functioning satellites and even the International Space Station.

Repairs in space can be extremely challenging, which is why scientists track pieces of debris to steer clear of any collisions that may cause damage. After years of contemplating the true danger posed by space junk, the inevitable happened when a piece hit the International Space Station.

The damaged part of the ISS is called the “Canadarm2” - a robotic arm which has suffered a puncture in its thermal blanket and damage to its boom. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t significant enough to cause long-term issues and the arm still remains operational.

The dangers of space junk

Scientists are wary of space junk. In fact, space agencies from around the world are tracking 23,000 pieces of space junk in Earth’s low orbit to avoid any potential collisions. Most of these pieces are smaller than a ball, but still pose damage owing to the speed an object attains in orbit.

There are objects smaller than ball-sized junk orbiting the Earth as well&nbsp;but these are difficult to track.&nbsp; Canadarm2, officially called the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) was designed by the Canadian Space Agency. It has been on the ISS for two decades.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/science/what-if-space-junk-and-climate-change-become-the-same-problem-386124" hreflang="en">What if space junk and climate change become the same problem?</a>

The primary goal of this titanium robotic arm is to move objects outside the station and to assist in maintenance of the station. The damage was first noticed on May 12 during an inspection. NASA and CSA worked together to assess the damage. In a blog post, the CSA ruled that the arm’s performance remains unaffected.

But the danger posed by space junk still persists. Just last year, the ISS had to perform three emergency manoeuvres to avoid collision with space debris.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/technology/european-space-agency-has-the-perfect-fix-for-space-junk-a-claw-346460" hreflang="en">European Space Agency has the perfect fix for space junk - a claw!</a>

Space debris is becoming a pervasive problem for all scientific paraphernalia in space. Over decades, debris from satellites, rockets, and other space machinery has been locked in Earth’s orbit.

Space debris is becoming a pervasive problem for all scientific paraphernalia in space. Over decades, debris from satellites, rockets, and other space machinery has been locked in Earth’s orbit. Some of this junk remains benign and incapable of causing harm but many objects are large enough to cause significant damage to functioning satellites and even the International Space Station. Repairs in space can be extremely challenging, which is why scientists track pieces of debris to steer clear of any collisions that may cause damage. After years of contemplating the true danger posed by space junk, the inevitable happened when a piece hit the International Space Station. The damaged part of the ISS is called the “Canadarm2” - a robotic arm which has suffered a puncture in its thermal blanket and damage to its boom. Fortunately, the damage wasn’t significant enough to cause long-term issues and the arm still remains operational. The dangers of space junk Scientists are wary of space junk. In fact, space agencies from around the world are tracking 23,000 pieces of space junk in Earth’s low orbit to avoid any potential collisions. Most of these pieces are smaller than a ball, but still pose damage owing to the speed an object attains in orbit. There are objects smaller than ball-sized junk orbiting the Earth as well but these are difficult to track. Canadarm2, officially called the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) was designed by the Canadian Space Agency. It has been on the ISS for two decades. Also read: What if space junk and climate change become the same problem? The primary goal of this titanium robotic arm is to move objects outside the station and to assist in maintenance of the station. The damage was first noticed on May 12 during an inspection. NASA and CSA worked together to assess the damage. In a blog post, the CSA ruled that the arm’s performance remains unaffected. But the danger posed by space junk still persists. Just last year, the ISS had to perform three emergency manoeuvres to avoid collision with space debris. Also read: European Space Agency has the perfect fix for space junk - a claw!

A piece of space debris recently damaged the International Space Station

A Chinese cargo spacecraft carrying equipment and supplies successfully docked with the core module of the country's future space station on Sunday, state media said.&nbsp;

A Long March 7 rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft, loaded with essentials such as food, equipment and fuel, blasted off late on Saturday from the Wenchang launch site on the tropical southern island of Hainan, the Xinhua news agency reported.&nbsp;

The docking with the space station's Tianhe core module was completed at 5:01 am Beijing time (2101 GMT Saturday), the agency said, citing the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).&nbsp;

China will need to carry out around 10 missions in total to complete assembly of the space station, named Tiangong, meaning 'heavenly palace', in orbit. &nbsp;

The station is expected to become fully operational in 2022. Once completed, it is expected to remain in low Earth orbit for up to 15 years.&nbsp;

With the possible retirement of the International Space Station after 2028, Tiangong could become the only human outpost in Earth's orbit.&nbsp;

Now, that the cargo craft has docked, China plans to begin preparations to send three astronauts up to unpack the goods, which include meals, such as shredded pork with garlic sauce and Kung Pao chicken, the agency said.&nbsp;

"We will transport support materials, necessary spare parts and equipment first, and then our crew," Xinhua quoted CMSA director Hao Chun as saying.&nbsp;

Beijing has pumped billions into its space programme in a bid to make up ground on pioneers Russia and the United States, with ambitious projects in Earth orbit and the landing of uncrewed craft on the Moon and Mars.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

A Chinese cargo spacecraft carrying equipment and supplies successfully docked with the core module of the country's future space station on Sunday, state media said.

A Chinese cargo spacecraft carrying equipment and supplies successfully docked with the core module of the country's future space station on Sunday, state media said. A Long March 7 rocket carrying the Tianzhou-2 cargo craft, loaded with essentials such as food, equipment and fuel, blasted off late on Saturday from the Wenchang launch site on the tropical southern island of Hainan, the Xinhua news agency reported. The docking with the space station's Tianhe core module was completed at 5:01 am Beijing time (2101 GMT Saturday), the agency said, citing the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). China will need to carry out around 10 missions in total to complete assembly of the space station, named Tiangong, meaning 'heavenly palace', in orbit. The station is expected to become fully operational in 2022. Once completed, it is expected to remain in low Earth orbit for up to 15 years. With the possible retirement of the International Space Station after 2028, Tiangong could become the only human outpost in Earth's orbit. Now, that the cargo craft has docked, China plans to begin preparations to send three astronauts up to unpack the goods, which include meals, such as shredded pork with garlic sauce and Kung Pao chicken, the agency said. "We will transport support materials, necessary spare parts and equipment first, and then our crew," Xinhua quoted CMSA director Hao Chun as saying. Beijing has pumped billions into its space programme in a bid to make up ground on pioneers Russia and the United States, with ambitious projects in Earth orbit and the landing of uncrewed craft on the Moon and Mars. (With inputs from agencies)

China cargo craft docks with space station module 

Shape of galaxies has more significance than we think. At the very start of its formation, dark matter brings hot gas together. This forms stars and it further leads to formation of a mis-shapen galaxy. As the galaxy 'matures' and starts rotating about itself, it may give rise to a spiral galaxy. The spiral shape of a galaxy gives rise to more stars and some stars may even form planets that have life. Our Milky Way galaxy is one such spiral galaxy.

In other words, the spiral shape of our galaxy is directly connected with human experience.

Scientists have now clicked a picture of oldest spiral galaxy in the universe. This galaxy was formed 12.4 billion years ago. This means that it was formed just 1.4 billion years after the big bang.

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The galaxy has been officially named BRI 1335-0417. It's image was clicked as a part of study that has now been published in journal&nbsp;Science. It was clicked by &nbsp;Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile.

The ALMA telescope also has the distinction of clicking the image of another galaxy that was formerly considered the oldest spiral galaxy in universe.

Though the newly clicked BRI 1335-0417 is the oldest spiral galaxy in the universe, it is not the oldest galaxy observed by us. That place is held by galaxy named GNz11. It was observed last December.

Shape of galaxies has more significance than we think. At the very start of its formation, dark matter brings hot gas together. This forms stars and it further leads to formation of a mis-shapen galaxy.

Shape of galaxies has more significance than we think. At the very start of its formation, dark matter brings hot gas together. This forms stars and it further leads to formation of a mis-shapen galaxy. As the galaxy 'matures' and starts rotating about itself, it may give rise to a spiral galaxy. The spiral shape of a galaxy gives rise to more stars and some stars may even form planets that have life. Our Milky Way galaxy is one such spiral galaxy. In other words, the spiral shape of our galaxy is directly connected with human experience. Scientists have now clicked a picture of oldest spiral galaxy in the universe. This galaxy was formed 12.4 billion years ago. This means that it was formed just 1.4 billion years after the big bang. By #ESOcast @ESO 'Light: ALMA Sees MostDistant Milky Way Look-alike'✨ pic.twitter.com/dgHhufEKcs — ALMA Observatory at Home📡 (@almaobs) May 16, 2021 × The galaxy has been officially named BRI 1335-0417. It's image was clicked as a part of study that has now been published in journal Science. It was clicked by Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile. The ALMA telescope also has the distinction of clicking the image of another galaxy that was formerly considered the oldest spiral galaxy in universe. Though the newly clicked BRI 1335-0417 is the oldest spiral galaxy in the universe, it is not the oldest galaxy observed by us. That place is held by galaxy named GNz11. It was observed last December.

Scientists click photo of oldest spiral galaxy in universe

French astronaut captures stunning images of Earth's marvels from International Space Station

Training of the crew for the first entirely private trip to the International&nbsp;Space&nbsp;Station (ISS) is to begin soon,&nbsp;Axiom&nbsp;Space, the company behind the flight, said on Monday at a joint press conference with&nbsp;NASA.

Four astronauts are to be launched to the ISS in late January aboard a rocket built by another&nbsp;space&nbsp;company, Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="All aboard! These companies are building spacecraft to send people to space">All aboard! These companies are building spacecraft to send people to space</a>

Only one of the four, NASA&nbsp;veteran Michael Lopez-Alegria, has been in&nbsp;space&nbsp;before.

The other three are businessmen, Larry Conner, an American, Mark Pathy, a Canadian, and Eytan Stibbe, an Israeli.

The mission dubbed Ax-1 is to last around 10 days, said&nbsp;Axiom&nbsp;Space&nbsp;president and CEO Michael Suffredini.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="SpaceX capsule departs International Space Station with 4 astronauts, heads home">SpaceX capsule departs International Space Station with 4 astronauts, heads home</a>

The astronauts will work and live in the American section of the&nbsp;space&nbsp;station and plan to conduct a number of scientific experiments while in orbit.

"We'll be starting what I would call serious training next week,"&nbsp;said Lopez-Alegria, the Ax-1 commander.

"From there the pace will pick up, and we'll all be immersed essentially full time in ISS systems and Crew Dragon training starting in the fall."

He said the four men had only been together a 'handful of times'&nbsp;because of the Covid-19 pandemic but would take a 'bonding'&nbsp;camping trip in Alaska in July.

Lopez-Alegria said he will start full-time training in August and Connor, the mission pilot, will begin in September.

Starting in October, all four will begin Houston-based training on the ISS systems and SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule.

Axiom&nbsp;Space&nbsp;considers the mission a first step in its plan to build the first commercial&nbsp;space&nbsp;station.

Asked about the cost of Ax-1, Suffredini said we 'generally don't talk about specific pricing.'

'It's been widely reported -- numbers in the tens of millions -- which I wouldn't argue with,'&nbsp;he said.

Phil McAlister, director of&nbsp;NASA's commercial spaceflight development, said the mission is a "renaissance in US human spaceflight."

'This is a real inflection point,'&nbsp;he said.

The US&nbsp;space&nbsp;agency is aiming for two such private missions a year.

'We are seeing a lot of interest in private astronaut missions,'&nbsp;said Angela Hart,&nbsp;NASA's manager of commercial low-Earth orbit development.

'At this point the demand exceeds what we actually believe the opportunities on station will be,'&nbsp;Hart said.

Seven 'space&nbsp;tourists'&nbsp;flew to the ISS between 2001 and 2009 aboard Russian Soyuz rockets.

Training of the crew for the first entirely private trip to the International Space Station (ISS) is to begin soon, Axiom Space, the company behind the flight, said on Monday at a joint press conference with NASA.

Training of the crew for the first entirely private trip to the International Space Station (ISS) is to begin soon, Axiom Space, the company behind the flight, said on Monday at a joint press conference with NASA. Four astronauts are to be launched to the ISS in late January aboard a rocket built by another space company, Elon Musk's SpaceX. Also read | All aboard! These companies are building spacecraft to send people to space Only one of the four, NASA veteran Michael Lopez-Alegria, has been in space before. The other three are businessmen, Larry Conner, an American, Mark Pathy, a Canadian, and Eytan Stibbe, an Israeli. The mission dubbed Ax-1 is to last around 10 days, said Axiom Space president and CEO Michael Suffredini. Also read | SpaceX capsule departs International Space Station with 4 astronauts, heads home The astronauts will work and live in the American section of the space station and plan to conduct a number of scientific experiments while in orbit. "We'll be starting what I would call serious training next week," said Lopez-Alegria, the Ax-1 commander. "From there the pace will pick up, and we'll all be immersed essentially full time in ISS systems and Crew Dragon training starting in the fall." He said the four men had only been together a 'handful of times' because of the Covid-19 pandemic but would take a 'bonding' camping trip in Alaska in July. Lopez-Alegria said he will start full-time training in August and Connor, the mission pilot, will begin in September. Starting in October, all four will begin Houston-based training on the ISS systems and SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule. Axiom Space considers the mission a first step in its plan to build the first commercial space station. Asked about the cost of Ax-1, Suffredini said we 'generally don't talk about specific pricing.' 'It's been widely reported -- numbers in the tens of millions -- which I wouldn't argue with,' he said. Phil McAlister, director of NASA's commercial spaceflight development, said the mission is a "renaissance in US human spaceflight." 'This is a real inflection point,' he said. The US space agency is aiming for two such private missions a year. 'We are seeing a lot of interest in private astronaut missions,' said Angela Hart, NASA's manager of commercial low-Earth orbit development. 'At this point the demand exceeds what we actually believe the opportunities on station will be,' Hart said. Seven 'space tourists' flew to the ISS between 2001 and 2009 aboard Russian Soyuz rockets.

Crew training to start soon for first private trip to International Space Station

The US space probe&nbsp;Osiris-Rex&nbsp;on Monday left the orbit of the asteroid Bennu, from which it collected dust samples last year, to begin its long journey back to Earth.

The probe still has a vast distance to cover before it lands in the Utah desert on September 24, 2023.&nbsp;

Osiris-Rex&nbsp;is 'now moving away over 600 miles an hour from Bennu, on its way home,'&nbsp;Dante Lauretta, head of the mission, said on NASA's video broadcast of the event.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="US tracking out-of-control wreckage of Chinese rocket falling back to Earth">US tracking out-of-control wreckage of Chinese rocket falling back to Earth</a>

The spacecraft's thrusters were engaged without incident for seven minutes to put the probe on the correct trajectory home, a journey of 1.4 billion miles (2.3 billion kilometers).

It is carrying more than 60 grams of dust and fragments from the asteroid, the largest sample collected by NASA since the Moon rocks brought back by the Apollo missions.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="'I felt really heavy': Astronauts describe returning to Earth on SpaceX capsule">'I felt really heavy': Astronauts describe returning to Earth on SpaceX capsule</a>

To achieve this goal, the US space agency launched a high-risk operation in October 2020: the probe came into contact with the asteroid for a few seconds, and a blast of compressed nitrogen was emitted to raise the dust sample which was then captured.&nbsp;

The surprise for NASA was the probe's arm sank several centimeters into the surface of the asteroid, showing the scientists that 'the surfaces of these rubble pile asteroids are very loosely consolidated,'&nbsp;said Lauretta.&nbsp;

The whole mission almost came to nought when NASA realised a few days later that the valve of the collection compartment was failing to close, letting fragments escape into space.

But the precious cargo was finally secured after being transferred to a capsule fixed in the spacecraft's center.&nbsp;

In two and a half years, that capsule will be released a few hours before entry into the Earth's atmosphere, and will be slowed down by a parachute system for its landing.

The samples will then be transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, but 75 percent will be kept intact to be studied by future generations, who will have advanced technologies that have not yet been created, the agency said.

The analysis should help scientists better understand the formation of the solar system and the development of Earth as a habitable planet.

The US space probe Osiris-Rex on Monday left the orbit of the asteroid Bennu, from which it collected dust samples last year, to begin its long journey back to Earth.

The US space probe Osiris-Rex on Monday left the orbit of the asteroid Bennu, from which it collected dust samples last year, to begin its long journey back to Earth. The probe still has a vast distance to cover before it lands in the Utah desert on September 24, 2023. Osiris-Rex is 'now moving away over 600 miles an hour from Bennu, on its way home,' Dante Lauretta, head of the mission, said on NASA's video broadcast of the event. Also read | US tracking out-of-control wreckage of Chinese rocket falling back to Earth The spacecraft's thrusters were engaged without incident for seven minutes to put the probe on the correct trajectory home, a journey of 1.4 billion miles (2.3 billion kilometers). It is carrying more than 60 grams of dust and fragments from the asteroid, the largest sample collected by NASA since the Moon rocks brought back by the Apollo missions. Also read | 'I felt really heavy': Astronauts describe returning to Earth on SpaceX capsule To achieve this goal, the US space agency launched a high-risk operation in October 2020: the probe came into contact with the asteroid for a few seconds, and a blast of compressed nitrogen was emitted to raise the dust sample which was then captured. The surprise for NASA was the probe's arm sank several centimeters into the surface of the asteroid, showing the scientists that 'the surfaces of these rubble pile asteroids are very loosely consolidated,' said Lauretta. The whole mission almost came to nought when NASA realised a few days later that the valve of the collection compartment was failing to close, letting fragments escape into space. But the precious cargo was finally secured after being transferred to a capsule fixed in the spacecraft's center. In two and a half years, that capsule will be released a few hours before entry into the Earth's atmosphere, and will be slowed down by a parachute system for its landing. The samples will then be transported to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, but 75 percent will be kept intact to be studied by future generations, who will have advanced technologies that have not yet been created, the agency said. The analysis should help scientists better understand the formation of the solar system and the development of Earth as a habitable planet.

US space probe Osiris-Rex heads home with dust from asteroid Bennu

A large segment of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-tonne object would come down.

Officials in Beijing had said there was little risk from the freefalling segment of the Long March-5B rocket, which had launched the first module of China's new space station into Earth orbit on April 29.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="Chinese rocket to tumble back to Earth in uncontrolled re-entry">Chinese rocket to tumble back to Earth in uncontrolled re-entry</a>

"After monitoring and analysis, at 10:24 (0224 GMT) on May 9, 2021, the last-stage wreckage of the Long March 5B Yao-2 launch vehicle has reentered the atmosphere," the China Manned Space Engineering Office said in a statement, providing coordinates for a point in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives.

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UPDATE Our latest prediction for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LongMarch5B?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LongMarch5B</a> CZ-5B rocket body reentry is 🚀 09 MAY 2021 03:02 UTC ± 2 hours along the ground track shown here. 1/ <a href="https://t.co/JeIKVUd1fk">pic.twitter.com/JeIKVUd1fk</a>
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It added that most of the segment disintegrated and was destroyed during re-entry.

Monitoring service Space-Track, which uses US military data, also confirmed the re-entry.&nbsp;"Everyone else following the #LongMarch5B re-entry can relax. The rocket is down," it tweeted.

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Everyone else following the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LongMarch5B?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LongMarch5B</a> re-entry can relax. The rocket is down. You can see all relevant information and updates here on Twitter/Facebook, so there is no need to keep visiting the space-track dot org website.
— Space-Track (@SpaceTrackOrg) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceTrackOrg/status/1391230551181316100?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The segment's descent matched predictions by some experts that any debris would have splashed down into the ocean, given that 70 percent of the planet is covered by water.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="US tracking out-of-control wreckage of Chinese rocket falling back to Earth">US tracking out-of-control wreckage of Chinese rocket falling back to Earth</a>

But the uncontrolled re-entry of such a large object had sparked concerns about possible damage and casualties, despite there being a low statistical chance.

American and European space authorities were among those tracking its orbits and trying to determine when and where it may come down.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had said the US military had no plans to shoot it down, but suggested that China had been negligent in letting it fall out of orbit.

Last year, debris from another Long March rocket fell on villages in the Ivory Coast, causing structural damage but no injuries or deaths.

"An ocean reentry was always statistically the most likely," Harvard-based astronomer Jonathan McDowell tweeted.

"It appears China won its gamble (unless we get news of debris in the Maldives). But it was still reckless."

McDowell had said earlier that China should redesign the Long March-5B to avoid such scenarios.

A large segment of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-tonne object would come down.

A large segment of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-tonne object would come down. Officials in Beijing had said there was little risk from the freefalling segment of the Long March-5B rocket, which had launched the first module of China's new space station into Earth orbit on April 29. Also read | Chinese rocket to tumble back to Earth in uncontrolled re-entry "After monitoring and analysis, at 10:24 (0224 GMT) on May 9, 2021, the last-stage wreckage of the Long March 5B Yao-2 launch vehicle has reentered the atmosphere," the China Manned Space Engineering Office said in a statement, providing coordinates for a point in the Indian Ocean near the Maldives. UPDATE Our latest prediction for #LongMarch5B CZ-5B rocket body reentry is 🚀 09 MAY 2021 03:02 UTC ± 2 hours along the ground track shown here. 1/ pic.twitter.com/JeIKVUd1fk — The Aerospace Corporation (@AerospaceCorp) May 8, 2021 × It added that most of the segment disintegrated and was destroyed during re-entry. Monitoring service Space-Track, which uses US military data, also confirmed the re-entry. "Everyone else following the #LongMarch5B re-entry can relax. The rocket is down," it tweeted. Everyone else following the #LongMarch5B re-entry can relax. The rocket is down. You can see all relevant information and updates here on Twitter/Facebook, so there is no need to keep visiting the space-track dot org website. — Space-Track (@SpaceTrackOrg) May 9, 2021 × The segment's descent matched predictions by some experts that any debris would have splashed down into the ocean, given that 70 percent of the planet is covered by water. Also read | US tracking out-of-control wreckage of Chinese rocket falling back to Earth But the uncontrolled re-entry of such a large object had sparked concerns about possible damage and casualties, despite there being a low statistical chance. American and European space authorities were among those tracking its orbits and trying to determine when and where it may come down. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had said the US military had no plans to shoot it down, but suggested that China had been negligent in letting it fall out of orbit. Last year, debris from another Long March rocket fell on villages in the Ivory Coast, causing structural damage but no injuries or deaths. "An ocean reentry was always statistically the most likely," Harvard-based astronomer Jonathan McDowell tweeted. "It appears China won its gamble (unless we get news of debris in the Maldives). But it was still reckless." McDowell had said earlier that China should redesign the Long March-5B to avoid such scenarios.

Chinese rocket segment disintegrates over Indian Ocean

A large segment of a&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;rocket&nbsp;is expected to make an&nbsp;uncontrolled&nbsp;re-entry&nbsp;into the&nbsp;Earth's atmosphere on the weekend, but Beijing has downplayed fears and said there is a very low risk of any damage.

A Long March-5B&nbsp;rocket&nbsp;launched the first module of China's new space station into Eart orbit on April 29. Its 18-tonne main segment is now in freefall and experts have said it is difficult to say precisely where and when it will re-enter the atmosphere.

Re-entry&nbsp;is expected to be around 2300 GMT on Saturday, according to the Pentagon, with a window of plus or minus nine hours either side.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="China says 'extremely low' risk of damage from rocket debris">China says 'extremely low' risk of damage from rocket debris</a>

Chinese&nbsp;authorities have said most of the&nbsp;rocket&nbsp;components would likely be destroyed on&nbsp;re-entry.

"The probability of causing harm... on the ground is extremely low,"&nbsp;Chinese&nbsp;foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Friday.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-closely-tracking-uncontrolled-chinese-rocket-re-entering-atmosphere-pentagon-383094">US closely tracking uncontrolled Chinese rocket re-entering atmosphere: Pentagon</a>

Although there has been fevered speculation over exactly where the&nbsp;rocket&nbsp;-- or parts of it -- will land, there is a good chance any debris that does not burn up will just splash down into the ocean on a planet made up of 70 percent water.

"We're hopeful that it will land in a place where it won't harm anyone," said Pentagon spokesman Mike Howard.

Howard said the United States was tracking the&nbsp;rocket&nbsp;segment but "its exact entry point into the&nbsp;Earth's atmosphere cannot be pinpointed until within hours of its&nbsp;re-entry".

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier said that the US military had no plans to shoot it down, and suggested that China had been negligent in letting it fall out of orbit.

"Given the size of the object, there will necessarily be big pieces left over," said Florent Delefie, an astronomer at the Paris-PSL Observatory.

"The chances of debris landing on an inhabited zone are tiny, probably one in a million."

In 2020, debris from another Long March&nbsp;rocket&nbsp;fell on villages in the Ivory Coast, causing structural damage but no injuries or deaths.

A large segment of a Chinese rocket is expected to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on the weekend, but Beijing has downplayed fears and said there is a very low risk of any damage.

A large segment of a Chinese rocket is expected to make an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on the weekend, but Beijing has downplayed fears and said there is a very low risk of any damage. A Long March-5B rocket launched the first module of China's new space station into Eart orbit on April 29. Its 18-tonne main segment is now in freefall and experts have said it is difficult to say precisely where and when it will re-enter the atmosphere. Re-entry is expected to be around 2300 GMT on Saturday, according to the Pentagon, with a window of plus or minus nine hours either side. Also read | China says 'extremely low' risk of damage from rocket debris Chinese authorities have said most of the rocket components would likely be destroyed on re-entry. "The probability of causing harm... on the ground is extremely low," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters on Friday. Also read | US closely tracking uncontrolled Chinese rocket re-entering atmosphere: Pentagon Although there has been fevered speculation over exactly where the rocket -- or parts of it -- will land, there is a good chance any debris that does not burn up will just splash down into the ocean on a planet made up of 70 percent water. "We're hopeful that it will land in a place where it won't harm anyone," said Pentagon spokesman Mike Howard. Howard said the United States was tracking the rocket segment but "its exact entry point into the Earth's atmosphere cannot be pinpointed until within hours of its re-entry". Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin earlier said that the US military had no plans to shoot it down, and suggested that China had been negligent in letting it fall out of orbit. "Given the size of the object, there will necessarily be big pieces left over," said Florent Delefie, an astronomer at the Paris-PSL Observatory. "The chances of debris landing on an inhabited zone are tiny, probably one in a million." In 2020, debris from another Long March rocket fell on villages in the Ivory Coast, causing structural damage but no injuries or deaths.

Chinese rocket to tumble back to Earth in uncontrolled re-entry

NASA's&nbsp;Perseverance&nbsp;rover&nbsp;has for the first time captured the low-pitched whirring of the&nbsp;Ingenuity&nbsp;helicopter's blades as it flies through the rarefied Martian atmosphere.

The space agency&nbsp;on&nbsp;Friday released new footage shot by the six-wheeled robot of its rotorcraft companion making its fourth flight&nbsp;on&nbsp;April 30 -- this time accompanied by an audio track.

Also read |<a href="NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter flies faster, farther on third flight">&nbsp;NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter flies faster, farther on third flight</a>

The nearly three-minute-long video begins with the low rumble of wind blowing across the Jezero Crater, where&nbsp;Perseverance&nbsp;landed in February&nbsp;on&nbsp;a mission to search for signs of ancient microbes.

Ingenuity&nbsp;takes off, and its blades can be heard humming softly as they spin at nearly 2,400 rpm&nbsp;on&nbsp;the 872-foot (262-meter) roundtrip.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="NASA's Mars helicopter makes second flight">NASA's Mars helicopter makes second flight</a>

The mission's engineers weren't sure they would pick up the flight&nbsp;sound&nbsp;at all, given that&nbsp;Perseverance&nbsp;was parked 262 feet (80 meters) away from the takeoff and landing spot.&nbsp;

The Martian atmosphere is about one percent the density of our planet's, making everything much quieter than&nbsp;on&nbsp;Earth.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="In a first, Perseverance Mars rover makes oxygen on another planet">In a first, Perseverance Mars rover makes oxygen on another planet</a>

"This is a very good surprise," said David Mimoun, a professor of planetary science at Institut Superieur de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO) in Toulouse, France, and science lead for the SuperCam&nbsp;Mars&nbsp;microphone.&nbsp;

"We had carried out tests and simulations that told us the microphone would barely pick up the sounds of the helicopter, as the&nbsp;Mars&nbsp;atmosphere damps the&nbsp;sound&nbsp;propagation strongly," he added.

The SuperCam is an instrument&nbsp;on&nbsp;board&nbsp;Perseverance&nbsp;that laser-zaps rocks from a distance, in order to study their vapor with a device called a spectrometer that reveals their chemical composition.&nbsp;

It also comes with a microphone to record the sounds, which yields additional insights into the physical properties of the targets, like how hard they are.

Similarly, explained Mimoun, the new recording of&nbsp;Ingenuity's flight "will be a gold mine for our understanding of the Martian atmosphere."

Apart from having a lower volume, sounds emitted&nbsp;on&nbsp;Mars&nbsp;travel slower than they do&nbsp;on&nbsp;Earth, because of cold temperatures, which average -81 degrees Fahrenheit (-63 degrees Celsius)&nbsp;on&nbsp;the surface.

The speed of&nbsp;sound&nbsp;on&nbsp;the planet is therefore around 540 mph (roughly 240 meters per second), compared to about 760 mph (roughly 340 meters per second) here.

The atmosphere of&nbsp;Mars, made up of 96 percent carbon dioxide, tends to absorb higher-pitched sounds, so only lower-pitched sounds can travel long distances.

NASA enhanced the audio, which was recorded in mono, by isolating the pitch of the helicopter blades at 84 hertz, and reducing audio at frequencies below 80 and above 90 hertz. They then increased the volume of the remaining signal.

Soren Madsen,&nbsp;Perseverance&nbsp;payload development manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the recording was an example of how the mission's instruments are able to work in tandem to enhance our understanding of the Red Planet.

As&nbsp;Ingenuity&nbsp;moves away from&nbsp;Perseverance&nbsp;and out of shot, the pitch decreases and as it returns the pitch increases.&nbsp;

This is known as the Doppler effect, and it provides an additional layer of confirmation of the helicopter's flight path when it is out of visual range.

Ingenuity&nbsp;made the first powered, controlled flight&nbsp;on&nbsp;another planet&nbsp;on&nbsp;April 19, and flew a fifth time&nbsp;on&nbsp;Friday at 3:26 pm Eastern Time (1926 GMT).&nbsp;

After receiving telemetry data several hours later, NASA confirmed the flight's success&nbsp;on&nbsp;Twitter, posting a new picture of the chopper taken from&nbsp;Perseverance.

Friday's sortie was&nbsp;Ingenuity's first one-way trip, setting the stage for it to begin a new job as&nbsp;Perseverance's scout.

The next phase extends the rotocraft's mission beyond the original month-long technology demonstration. Now, the goal is to assess how well flyers can help future exploration of&nbsp;Mars&nbsp;and other worlds.

The four pound (1.8 kilogram) mini-chopper was given this assignment after proving itself more robust than its engineers had anticipated.

Perseverance's science team also decided they wanted to stay in the immediate surroundings longer than they first thought, making it possible for the two robots to work together.

The type of reconnaissance&nbsp;Ingenuity&nbsp;performs could one day also prove useful to human missions, by scoping out the best paths for explorers to traverse, and reaching locations that aren't otherwise possible.

NASA's Perseverance rover has for the first time captured the low-pitched whirring of the Ingenuity helicopter's blades as it flies through the rarefied Martian atmosphere.

NASA's Perseverance rover has for the first time captured the low-pitched whirring of the Ingenuity helicopter's blades as it flies through the rarefied Martian atmosphere. The space agency on Friday released new footage shot by the six-wheeled robot of its rotorcraft companion making its fourth flight on April 30 -- this time accompanied by an audio track. Also read | NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter flies faster, farther on third flight The nearly three-minute-long video begins with the low rumble of wind blowing across the Jezero Crater, where Perseverance landed in February on a mission to search for signs of ancient microbes. Ingenuity takes off, and its blades can be heard humming softly as they spin at nearly 2,400 rpm on the 872-foot (262-meter) roundtrip. Also read | NASA's Mars helicopter makes second flight The mission's engineers weren't sure they would pick up the flight sound at all, given that Perseverance was parked 262 feet (80 meters) away from the takeoff and landing spot. The Martian atmosphere is about one percent the density of our planet's, making everything much quieter than on Earth. Also read | In a first, Perseverance Mars rover makes oxygen on another planet "This is a very good surprise," said David Mimoun, a professor of planetary science at Institut Superieur de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace (ISAE-SUPAERO) in Toulouse, France, and science lead for the SuperCam Mars microphone. "We had carried out tests and simulations that told us the microphone would barely pick up the sounds of the helicopter, as the Mars atmosphere damps the sound propagation strongly," he added. The SuperCam is an instrument on board Perseverance that laser-zaps rocks from a distance, in order to study their vapor with a device called a spectrometer that reveals their chemical composition. It also comes with a microphone to record the sounds, which yields additional insights into the physical properties of the targets, like how hard they are. Similarly, explained Mimoun, the new recording of Ingenuity's flight "will be a gold mine for our understanding of the Martian atmosphere." Apart from having a lower volume, sounds emitted on Mars travel slower than they do on Earth, because of cold temperatures, which average -81 degrees Fahrenheit (-63 degrees Celsius) on the surface. The speed of sound on the planet is therefore around 540 mph (roughly 240 meters per second), compared to about 760 mph (roughly 340 meters per second) here. The atmosphere of Mars, made up of 96 percent carbon dioxide, tends to absorb higher-pitched sounds, so only lower-pitched sounds can travel long distances. NASA enhanced the audio, which was recorded in mono, by isolating the pitch of the helicopter blades at 84 hertz, and reducing audio at frequencies below 80 and above 90 hertz. They then increased the volume of the remaining signal. Soren Madsen, Perseverance payload development manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said the recording was an example of how the mission's instruments are able to work in tandem to enhance our understanding of the Red Planet. As Ingenuity moves away from Perseverance and out of shot, the pitch decreases and as it returns the pitch increases. This is known as the Doppler effect, and it provides an additional layer of confirmation of the helicopter's flight path when it is out of visual range. Ingenuity made the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, and flew a fifth time on Friday at 3:26 pm Eastern Time (1926 GMT). After receiving telemetry data several hours later, NASA confirmed the flight's success on Twitter, posting a new picture of the chopper taken from Perseverance. Friday's sortie was Ingenuity's first one-way trip, setting the stage for it to begin a new job as Perseverance's scout. The next phase extends the rotocraft's mission beyond the original month-long technology demonstration. Now, the goal is to assess how well flyers can help future exploration of Mars and other worlds. The four pound (1.8 kilogram) mini-chopper was given this assignment after proving itself more robust than its engineers had anticipated. Perseverance's science team also decided they wanted to stay in the immediate surroundings longer than they first thought, making it possible for the two robots to work together. The type of reconnaissance Ingenuity performs could one day also prove useful to human missions, by scoping out the best paths for explorers to traverse, and reaching locations that aren't otherwise possible.

Perseverance rover captures sound of Ingenuity flying on Mars

Four&nbsp;astronauts&nbsp;just returned from the International Space Station described&nbsp;on&nbsp;Thursday their reentry into&nbsp;Earth's atmosphere and ocean splashdown after more than 160 days in space.

A&nbsp;SpaceX&nbsp;Crew Dragon&nbsp;capsule&nbsp;carrying the crew back to&nbsp;Earth&nbsp;splashed down off Florida early Sunday in NASA's first nighttime ocean landing in more than 50 years.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="NASA-SpaceX set to launch next 4-member crew to International Space Station">NASA-SpaceX set to launch next 4-member crew to International Space Station</a>

"There was a point where I was just saying to myself, breathe. Inhale, because I&nbsp;felt&nbsp;really&nbsp;heavy&nbsp;-- I&nbsp;felt&nbsp;like those cartoons when they experience G and your face is just sagging down," said American Victor Glover, one of the&nbsp;astronauts&nbsp;in the group called Crew-1.&nbsp;

It was the first regular mission to be taken and then returned from the ISS aboard a spacecraft built by billionaire Elon Musk's company.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="Touchdown! SpaceX successfully lands Starship rocket">Touchdown! SpaceX successfully lands Starship rocket</a>

"I expected it to be so dynamic -- and so challenging -- that the actual event I think, was a little less than what I was expecting, and so it was enjoyable all around," Glover said.

The weight of acceleration was concentrated in the chest, making it difficult to breathe.

But then, "launch and entry are such unique experiences," he said.&nbsp; &nbsp;

NASA has contracted&nbsp;SpaceX&nbsp;to launch&nbsp;astronauts&nbsp;into space from US soil, something that has not been possible since 2011 with the end of space shuttle program.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="'Touchdown confirmed': NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars">'Touchdown confirmed': NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars</a>

Since that time until now NASA was forced to pay for rides to the ISS aboard Russian Soyuz vessels, which land&nbsp;on&nbsp;dry land.

"Landing in the water was interesting because none of us&nbsp;really&nbsp;knew what to expect, but I would say from my standpoint, it&nbsp;felt&nbsp;a little bit softer than landing&nbsp;on&nbsp;land," said US astronaut Shannon Walker.

"You spend less time under a parachute&nbsp;on&nbsp;the Dragon than you do under the Soyuz," he said.

Soon, space "tourists" -- civilians who are not professional&nbsp;astronauts&nbsp;-- will take their places&nbsp;on&nbsp;Dragon.

US astronaut Mike Hopkins believes that space tourists will be able to handle the rough reentry rides.

After the civilians go through some centrifuge training "it's not going to be completely unique to them," he said.

Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi said the landing was pretty smooth.

"Impact was very, very minimal, and right after splashdown. We feel the waves, we come back to the water planet.

"That's a great feeling."

Four astronauts just returned from the International Space Station described on Thursday their reentry into Earth's atmosphere and ocean splashdown after more than 160 days in space.

Four astronauts just returned from the International Space Station described on Thursday their reentry into Earth's atmosphere and ocean splashdown after more than 160 days in space. A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the crew back to Earth splashed down off Florida early Sunday in NASA's first nighttime ocean landing in more than 50 years. Also read | NASA-SpaceX set to launch next 4-member crew to International Space Station "There was a point where I was just saying to myself, breathe. Inhale, because I felt really heavy -- I felt like those cartoons when they experience G and your face is just sagging down," said American Victor Glover, one of the astronauts in the group called Crew-1. It was the first regular mission to be taken and then returned from the ISS aboard a spacecraft built by billionaire Elon Musk's company. Also read | Touchdown! SpaceX successfully lands Starship rocket "I expected it to be so dynamic -- and so challenging -- that the actual event I think, was a little less than what I was expecting, and so it was enjoyable all around," Glover said. The weight of acceleration was concentrated in the chest, making it difficult to breathe. But then, "launch and entry are such unique experiences," he said. NASA has contracted SpaceX to launch astronauts into space from US soil, something that has not been possible since 2011 with the end of space shuttle program. Also read | 'Touchdown confirmed': NASA's Perseverance rover lands on Mars Since that time until now NASA was forced to pay for rides to the ISS aboard Russian Soyuz vessels, which land on dry land. "Landing in the water was interesting because none of us really knew what to expect, but I would say from my standpoint, it felt a little bit softer than landing on land," said US astronaut Shannon Walker. "You spend less time under a parachute on the Dragon than you do under the Soyuz," he said. Soon, space "tourists" -- civilians who are not professional astronauts -- will take their places on Dragon. US astronaut Mike Hopkins believes that space tourists will be able to handle the rough reentry rides. After the civilians go through some centrifuge training "it's not going to be completely unique to them," he said. Japanese astronaut Soichi Noguchi said the landing was pretty smooth. "Impact was very, very minimal, and right after splashdown. We feel the waves, we come back to the water planet. "That's a great feeling."

'I felt really heavy': Astronauts describe returning to Earth on SpaceX capsule

A space-aged bottle of fine French wine, part of a case of Bordeaux that was literally matured in Earth orbit for 14 months, is being put up for private sale by Christie's, and the auction house estimates it may fetch up to $1 million.&nbsp;

The unprecedented offering of the 2000 vintage Petrus, an exclusive, world-class red produced from Merlot grapes in the Pomerol wine-growing region of Bordeaux, was announced in London on Wednesday.&nbsp;

"This bottle of Petrus 2000 marks a momentous step in the pursuit of developing and gaining a greater understanding of the maturation of wine," Tim Triptree, international director of the auctioneer’s wine and spirits department, said in a statement.&nbsp;

Proceeds will go to the private European rocket company Space Cargo Unlimited, which launched 12 bottles of Petrus 2000 on a voyage to the International Space Station in November 2019, part of a series of experiments in viticulture and microgravity.&nbsp;

The company said its so-called Mission WISE marked the world's first private applied space research programme.&nbsp;

The dozen bottles of Petrus were shuttled back to Earth from the space station in January this year aboard a SpaceX cargo capsule after spending nearly 440 days, or about 186 million miles (300 million km), in orbit.&nbsp;

The wine returned to Bordeaux, where a bottle was opened for a blind taste test at the Institute for Wine and Vine Research by a dozen leading connoisseurs, who compared it with controlled samples of the same vintage Petrus that had stayed on Earth.&nbsp;

The experts, including Jane Anson, a writer for the wine magazine Decanter, reported a subtle but clear difference between the two.&nbsp;

"From previous experience of this wine, this particular bottle seems more evolved than I would expect from a 21-year-old bottle of Petrus 2000," Decanter quoted Anson as saying.&nbsp;

"It is beautiful and nuanced, with fine tannins and a sense energy."&nbsp;

She rated both samples 98 points.&nbsp;

Christie’s said it was making available an unopened bottle of the space-aged collection for immediate purchase through its private sales, along with a matching bottle of the original Earth-bound Petrus 2000, plus a decanter, a set of glasses and a corkscrew fashioned from a meteorite.&nbsp;

Decanter said Christie's confirmed the offering was expected to fetch a sale price about $1 million. That would be major markup, even by the high-flying standards of one of the world's most prestigious wines.&nbsp;

A single bottle of vintage 2000 Petrus, from a 28-acre estate that produces only about 30,000 bottles a year, would normally run $5,366, and one sold at auction for $51,660 in 2018, according to the wine investment platform Vinovest. &nbsp;&nbsp;

A space-aged bottle of fine French wine, part of a case of Bordeaux that was literally matured in Earth orbit for 14 months, is being put up for private sale by Christie's, and the auction house estimates it may fetch up to $1 million.

A space-aged bottle of fine French wine, part of a case of Bordeaux that was literally matured in Earth orbit for 14 months, is being put up for private sale by Christie's, and the auction house estimates it may fetch up to $1 million. The unprecedented offering of the 2000 vintage Petrus, an exclusive, world-class red produced from Merlot grapes in the Pomerol wine-growing region of Bordeaux, was announced in London on Wednesday. "This bottle of Petrus 2000 marks a momentous step in the pursuit of developing and gaining a greater understanding of the maturation of wine," Tim Triptree, international director of the auctioneer’s wine and spirits department, said in a statement. Proceeds will go to the private European rocket company Space Cargo Unlimited, which launched 12 bottles of Petrus 2000 on a voyage to the International Space Station in November 2019, part of a series of experiments in viticulture and microgravity. The company said its so-called Mission WISE marked the world's first private applied space research programme. The dozen bottles of Petrus were shuttled back to Earth from the space station in January this year aboard a SpaceX cargo capsule after spending nearly 440 days, or about 186 million miles (300 million km), in orbit. The wine returned to Bordeaux, where a bottle was opened for a blind taste test at the Institute for Wine and Vine Research by a dozen leading connoisseurs, who compared it with controlled samples of the same vintage Petrus that had stayed on Earth. The experts, including Jane Anson, a writer for the wine magazine Decanter, reported a subtle but clear difference between the two. "From previous experience of this wine, this particular bottle seems more evolved than I would expect from a 21-year-old bottle of Petrus 2000," Decanter quoted Anson as saying. "It is beautiful and nuanced, with fine tannins and a sense energy." She rated both samples 98 points. Christie’s said it was making available an unopened bottle of the space-aged collection for immediate purchase through its private sales, along with a matching bottle of the original Earth-bound Petrus 2000, plus a decanter, a set of glasses and a corkscrew fashioned from a meteorite. Decanter said Christie's confirmed the offering was expected to fetch a sale price about $1 million. That would be major markup, even by the high-flying standards of one of the world's most prestigious wines. A single bottle of vintage 2000 Petrus, from a 28-acre estate that produces only about 30,000 bottles a year, would normally run $5,366, and one sold at auction for $51,660 in 2018, according to the wine investment platform Vinovest.

Space-aged Bordeaux wine offered for private sale by Christie's 

Twitter Inc said on Monday it will introduce a new feature to let users charge admission to their live audio chat rooms in its "Spaces" feature, as the social media company seeks to court more content creators.

Until now, only some users who were part of Twitter's pilot testing were able to host their own Space. Starting on Monday, any user with at least 600 followers can be a host, the company added.

Twitter introduced Spaces last year to compete with viral app Clubhouse, which jump-started the audio chat trend and attracted celebrities and entrepreneurs, but remains limited as an invite-only app.

Over the coming months, Twitter said a limited group of users will be able to sell tickets to access their Spaces conversations, and will determine their own pricing and how many tickets to make available. Hosts will keep the majority of the revenue, while Twitter will earn a "small amount," the company added.

The move is part of Twitter's effort to be a bigger player in the "creator economy," as influencers and independent writers are increasingly earning money from their content on platforms like YouTube or Substack.

Facebook last month announced its own plans for audio chat features, and also said it would allow listeners to tip hosts.

(With inputs from agencies)

Twitter Inc said on Monday it will introduce a new feature to let users charge admission to their live audio chat rooms in its "Spaces" feature, as the social media company seeks to court more content creators.

Twitter Inc said on Monday it will introduce a new feature to let users charge admission to their live audio chat rooms in its "Spaces" feature, as the social media company seeks to court more content creators. Until now, only some users who were part of Twitter's pilot testing were able to host their own Space. Starting on Monday, any user with at least 600 followers can be a host, the company added. Twitter introduced Spaces last year to compete with viral app Clubhouse, which jump-started the audio chat trend and attracted celebrities and entrepreneurs, but remains limited as an invite-only app. Over the coming months, Twitter said a limited group of users will be able to sell tickets to access their Spaces conversations, and will determine their own pricing and how many tickets to make available. Hosts will keep the majority of the revenue, while Twitter will earn a "small amount," the company added. The move is part of Twitter's effort to be a bigger player in the "creator economy," as influencers and independent writers are increasingly earning money from their content on platforms like YouTube or Substack. Facebook last month announced its own plans for audio chat features, and also said it would allow listeners to tip hosts. (With inputs from agencies)

Twitter to let users charge admission to their live audio chat rooms

A few years back, the beautiful country of Botswana in Southern Africa was impacted by asteroid debris. After more than two years, scientists have finally concluded the questions surrounding the origin of that debris.

The analysis proved out to be tough for scientists because they had to rely largely on video and picture evidence to examine rock samples due as the observations had been picked up a little after the debris had come in contact with the Earth.

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This incident that took place in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana on June 02, 2018, was being studied by researchers at the Meteoritics and Planetary Science.

As per the researchers, the debris belongs to Vesta, which is one of the largest objects in our solar system and is believed to be the second-largest space rock in the asteroid belt.

The origin of the rock that shook the Botswana farm is believed to be nearly 22 million years ago. It is believed it was formed after Vesta collided with another space body roughly 22 million years ago which led to the formation of a larger family of debris — some of which landed on the Earth.

A few years back, the beautiful country of Botswana in Southern Africa was impacted by asteroid debris. After more than two years, scientists have finally concluded the questions surrounding the origin of that debris.

A few years back, the beautiful country of Botswana in Southern Africa was impacted by asteroid debris. After more than two years, scientists have finally concluded the questions surrounding the origin of that debris. The analysis proved out to be tough for scientists because they had to rely largely on video and picture evidence to examine rock samples due as the observations had been picked up a little after the debris had come in contact with the Earth. × This incident that took place in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana on June 02, 2018, was being studied by researchers at the Meteoritics and Planetary Science. As per the researchers, the debris belongs to Vesta, which is one of the largest objects in our solar system and is believed to be the second-largest space rock in the asteroid belt. The origin of the rock that shook the Botswana farm is believed to be nearly 22 million years ago. It is believed it was formed after Vesta collided with another space body roughly 22 million years ago which led to the formation of a larger family of debris — some of which landed on the Earth.

Asteroid that hit Botswana in 2018 was 22 million years old: Researchers

China will discuss building a defence system against near-earth asteroids, a senior space agency official said on Saturday, as the country steps up efforts towards realising its longer-term space ambitions.&nbsp;

Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, didn't provide any further details in his opening remarks at a ceremony for China's space day in the eastern city of Nanjing. &nbsp;

China has made space exploration a top priority in recent years, aiming to establish a programme operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers by 2045.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, Russia and China unveiled plans earlier for a joint lunar space station, as Moscow seeks to recapture the glory of its space pioneering days of Soviet times, and Beijing gears up its own extraterrestrial ambitions.&nbsp;

Though Moscow was once at the forefront of space travel as it sent the first man into space, its cosmic ambitions have dimmed thanks to poor financing and endemic corruption. &nbsp;

It has been eclipsed by China and the United States, which have both clocked major wins in space exploration and research in recent years. &nbsp;

The Russian space agency Roscomos said in a statement that it had signed an agreement with China's National Space Administration (CNSA) to develop a "complex of experimental research facilities created on the surface and/or in the orbit of the Moon".&nbsp;

The CNSA, for its part, said that the project was "open to all interested countries and international partners" in what experts said would be China's biggest international space cooperation project to date.&nbsp;

Moscow is seeking to re-take the lead in the space race.&nbsp;

This year, it celebrated the 60th anniversary of Russia's first-ever manned space flight, it sent Yuri Gagarin into space in April 1961, followed by the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, two years later. &nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

China will discuss building a defence system against near-earth asteroids, a senior space agency official said on Saturday, as the country steps up efforts towards realising its longer-term space ambitions.

China will discuss building a defence system against near-earth asteroids, a senior space agency official said on Saturday, as the country steps up efforts towards realising its longer-term space ambitions. Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, didn't provide any further details in his opening remarks at a ceremony for China's space day in the eastern city of Nanjing. China has made space exploration a top priority in recent years, aiming to establish a programme operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers by 2045. Meanwhile, Russia and China unveiled plans earlier for a joint lunar space station, as Moscow seeks to recapture the glory of its space pioneering days of Soviet times, and Beijing gears up its own extraterrestrial ambitions. Though Moscow was once at the forefront of space travel as it sent the first man into space, its cosmic ambitions have dimmed thanks to poor financing and endemic corruption. It has been eclipsed by China and the United States, which have both clocked major wins in space exploration and research in recent years. The Russian space agency Roscomos said in a statement that it had signed an agreement with China's National Space Administration (CNSA) to develop a "complex of experimental research facilities created on the surface and/or in the orbit of the Moon". The CNSA, for its part, said that the project was "open to all interested countries and international partners" in what experts said would be China's biggest international space cooperation project to date. Moscow is seeking to re-take the lead in the space race. This year, it celebrated the 60th anniversary of Russia's first-ever manned space flight, it sent Yuri Gagarin into space in April 1961, followed by the first woman, Valentina Tereshkova, two years later. (With inputs from agencies)

China to consider building an asteroids defence system 

A crewed SpaceX mission to International Space Station has been postponed due to bad weather. The liftoff was scheduled for Thursday (April 22), but now will take place on Friday (April 23) at 0949 GMT.

"For crewed missions we need to look downrange to make sure weather's good for a potential launch escape, and for recovery of the crew," acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk told reporters.

The Crew-2 mission will carry four astronauts in the second routine taxi ride by SpaceX to ISS since the United States resumed crewed space flight, and the first with a European.

It involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet, who is French.

The mission is notable because it is first to rely on a previously deployed booster and a capsule that had also been used before

"(It is) really helping us to see the full capability and really realizing the dreams that we had when we started this effort, about 10 years ago with SpaceX," NASA's certification manager for SpaceX Tom Simon told AFP.

NASA's immediate goal is to be able to reuse booster rockets at least five times for human space flights.

(With inputs from agencies)

A crewed SpaceX mission to International Space Station has been postponed due to bad weather. The liftoff was scheduled for Thursday (April 22), but now will take place on Friday (April 23) at 0949 GMT.

A crewed SpaceX mission to International Space Station has been postponed due to bad weather. The liftoff was scheduled for Thursday (April 22), but now will take place on Friday (April 23) at 0949 GMT. "For crewed missions we need to look downrange to make sure weather's good for a potential launch escape, and for recovery of the crew," acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk told reporters. The Crew-2 mission will carry four astronauts in the second routine taxi ride by SpaceX to ISS since the United States resumed crewed space flight, and the first with a European. It involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet, who is French. The mission is notable because it is first to rely on a previously deployed booster and a capsule that had also been used before "(It is) really helping us to see the full capability and really realizing the dreams that we had when we started this effort, about 10 years ago with SpaceX," NASA's certification manager for SpaceX Tom Simon told AFP. NASA's immediate goal is to be able to reuse booster rockets at least five times for human space flights. (With inputs from agencies)

SpaceX mission to ISS postponed due to bad weather

Russian space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday said that it hoped to launch its own space station in 2025. Moscow is considering withdrawing from the International Space Station programme. Dmitry Rogozin, chief of Roscosmos said work had already begun on the first module of the new space station.&nbsp;

"The first core module of the new Russian orbital station is in the works," Rogozin said in a statement on messaging app Telegram.&nbsp;

He said Russia's Energia space corporation was aiming to have the module "ready for launch" in 2025 and released a video of Energia staff at work.

The announcement came with tensions soaring over espionage claims, a Russian troop build-up along Ukraine's borders and the deteriorating health of President Vladimir Putin's imprisoned critic Alexei Navalny.

International Space Station (ISS) which is currently in orbit is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in human history.

The ISS was launched in 1998 with co-operation between Russia, the US, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency.

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said in recent days that Moscow was considering whether to leave the ISS programme from 2025 because of the station's age.

However, Roscosmos said on Monday that a decision on quitting the ISS had not yet been made.

"When we make a decision we will start negotiations with our partners on forms and conditions of cooperation beyond 2024," the space agency told AFP in a statement.

Russia lost its monopoly for manned flights to the ISS last year after the first successful mission of US company Space X.

Despite its much-lauded history -- Russia this month marked the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in orbit -- the country's space programme has struggled in recent years.

(With inputs from agencies)

Russian space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday said that it hoped to launch its own space station in 2025. Moscow is considering withdrawing from the International Space Station programme.

Russian space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday said that it hoped to launch its own space station in 2025. Moscow is considering withdrawing from the International Space Station programme. Dmitry Rogozin, chief of Roscosmos said work had already begun on the first module of the new space station. "The first core module of the new Russian orbital station is in the works," Rogozin said in a statement on messaging app Telegram. He said Russia's Energia space corporation was aiming to have the module "ready for launch" in 2025 and released a video of Energia staff at work. The announcement came with tensions soaring over espionage claims, a Russian troop build-up along Ukraine's borders and the deteriorating health of President Vladimir Putin's imprisoned critic Alexei Navalny. International Space Station (ISS) which is currently in orbit is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in human history. The ISS was launched in 1998 with co-operation between Russia, the US, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said in recent days that Moscow was considering whether to leave the ISS programme from 2025 because of the station's age. However, Roscosmos said on Monday that a decision on quitting the ISS had not yet been made. "When we make a decision we will start negotiations with our partners on forms and conditions of cooperation beyond 2024," the space agency told AFP in a statement. Russia lost its monopoly for manned flights to the ISS last year after the first successful mission of US company Space X. Despite its much-lauded history -- Russia this month marked the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in orbit -- the country's space programme has struggled in recent years. (With inputs from agencies)

Russia to launch its own space station in 2025

SpaceX is preparing to carry four astronauts to a crowded International Space Station on Thursday, in the second routine mission since the United States resumed a crewed space flight and the first with a European.

Liftoff is planned for 6:11 am Eastern Time (1011 GMT) on April 22, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission, called Crew-2, involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet.

All have flown to space previously.

ESA has dubbed the mission "Alpha" after the star Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has firmly established itself as NASA's favoured transportation provider as the agency waits on Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule to carry out key tests.

SpaceX's first crewed test flight in May 2020 ended nine years of American reliance on Russian rockets for rides to the ISS following the demise of the Space Shuttle program.

Thursday's flight will reuse the booster rocket used in the Crew-1 mission -- a first -- and the Crew Dragon capsule will be the same as that used in the test mission.

Speaking to reporters ahead of the mission, Pesquet said his participation underscored Europe's commitment to space flight.

"It means a lot for us as an agency because we've been part of the ISS program for 20 years now and we intend to be part of what's coming next," said the Frenchman, referring to future partnerships including the Artemis program to the Moon.

Crowded lodgings

Pesquet told AFP he was excited to ride in the futuristic and fully autonomous Crew Dragon, which was markedly different from the Russian Soyuz spaceship he had previously flown.

"The way it's laid out, it's just fantastic, you know all the time what's going on," he said.

"On Soyuz, it's unbelievably reliable, but you had to make sense of all that information that was... disseminated at every corner of the control panel, with digital gauges, analogue gauges, and you had to make sense of this and that's why the training was much longer."

The four astronauts will overlap for a few days with the crew of Crew-1 before that team returns from its six-month mission.

With three Russians on board, the station is set to become unusually crowded, accommodating no fewer than 11 people.

Pesquet and Hoshide planned to liven up the cuisine with national dishes from their home countries.

Pesquet for his part divulged one of the meals was crepe Suzette -- a quintessentially French dessert.

Mini brains

During their mission, the crew will be tasked with carrying out numerous scientific experiments, with Pesquet singling out one examining the effects of weightlessness on brain organoids -- mini-brains created using stem cell technology -- as a favourite.

Scientists hope this research can eventually help space agencies prepare for distance space missions which will expose crews to the rigours of space for long periods, and even help fight brain disease here on Earth.

"It sounds like science fiction to me," joked the aerospace engineer.

Another important element of the mission is upgrading the station's solar power system by installing new compact panels that roll open like a huge yoga mat.

Crew-2's launch day coincides with Earth Day, and by the time the crew returns they will have also contributed to environmental research by taking 1.5 million images of phenomena like artificial lighting at night, algal blooms, and the breakdown of Antarctic ice shelves.

SpaceX is preparing to carry four astronauts to a crowded International Space Station on Thursday, in the second routine mission since the United States resumed a crewed space flight and the first with a European.

SpaceX is preparing to carry four astronauts to a crowded International Space Station on Thursday, in the second routine mission since the United States resumed a crewed space flight and the first with a European. Liftoff is planned for 6:11 am Eastern Time (1011 GMT) on April 22, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission, called Crew-2, involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet. All have flown to space previously. ESA has dubbed the mission "Alpha" after the star Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own. Elon Musk's SpaceX has firmly established itself as NASA's favoured transportation provider as the agency waits on Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule to carry out key tests. SpaceX's first crewed test flight in May 2020 ended nine years of American reliance on Russian rockets for rides to the ISS following the demise of the Space Shuttle program. Thursday's flight will reuse the booster rocket used in the Crew-1 mission -- a first -- and the Crew Dragon capsule will be the same as that used in the test mission. Speaking to reporters ahead of the mission, Pesquet said his participation underscored Europe's commitment to space flight. "It means a lot for us as an agency because we've been part of the ISS program for 20 years now and we intend to be part of what's coming next," said the Frenchman, referring to future partnerships including the Artemis program to the Moon. Crowded lodgings Pesquet told AFP he was excited to ride in the futuristic and fully autonomous Crew Dragon, which was markedly different from the Russian Soyuz spaceship he had previously flown. "The way it's laid out, it's just fantastic, you know all the time what's going on," he said. "On Soyuz, it's unbelievably reliable, but you had to make sense of all that information that was... disseminated at every corner of the control panel, with digital gauges, analogue gauges, and you had to make sense of this and that's why the training was much longer." The four astronauts will overlap for a few days with the crew of Crew-1 before that team returns from its six-month mission. With three Russians on board, the station is set to become unusually crowded, accommodating no fewer than 11 people. Pesquet and Hoshide planned to liven up the cuisine with national dishes from their home countries. Pesquet for his part divulged one of the meals was crepe Suzette -- a quintessentially French dessert. Mini brains During their mission, the crew will be tasked with carrying out numerous scientific experiments, with Pesquet singling out one examining the effects of weightlessness on brain organoids -- mini-brains created using stem cell technology -- as a favourite. Scientists hope this research can eventually help space agencies prepare for distance space missions which will expose crews to the rigours of space for long periods, and even help fight brain disease here on Earth. "It sounds like science fiction to me," joked the aerospace engineer. Another important element of the mission is upgrading the station's solar power system by installing new compact panels that roll open like a huge yoga mat. Crew-2's launch day coincides with Earth Day, and by the time the crew returns they will have also contributed to environmental research by taking 1.5 million images of phenomena like artificial lighting at night, algal blooms, and the breakdown of Antarctic ice shelves.

SpaceX to take 4 astronauts to International Space Station on Thursday

Death is a thing that can't be defeated. It comes for us and also for astronomical bodies. An image of a galaxy captured by NASA's Hubble space telescope looks so solemn that it is sure to make anyone looking at it just a little contemplative.

The galaxy is dying!

One look at the image and it seems as if the life force is dissipating away from this celestial structure. The galaxy, named NGC 1947 is 45.7 million light-years away from us. The galaxy is slowly on the decline. The contrast between the dying galaxy and other specs of lively lights is very clear in the picture. While the universe around the galaxy is still rife with activity, the galaxy appears distant from it.

It is a rare type of galaxy called lenticular galaxy. Such galaxies are similar in structure to the Milky Way galaxy but they lack spiral arms.&nbsp;

The 'star-stuff' in this galaxy is spent and hence, no new stars are being formed. The present stellar material is fading.

As they travel through space, galaxies usually absorb new material. However, in the case of NGC 1947 such infusion of new material looks difficult at least for now.

And in the absence of new star-stuff, the galaxy is destined to slowly fade away in our universe teeming with stellar activity and life.

 
&nbsp;

Death is a thing that can't be defeated. It comes for us and also for astronomical bodies. An image of a galaxy captured by NASA's Hubble space telescope looks so solemn that it is sure to make anyone looking at it just a little contemplative.

Death is a thing that can't be defeated. It comes for us and also for astronomical bodies. An image of a galaxy captured by NASA's Hubble space telescope looks so solemn that it is sure to make anyone looking at it just a little contemplative. The galaxy is dying! One look at the image and it seems as if the life force is dissipating away from this celestial structure. The galaxy, named NGC 1947 is 45.7 million light-years away from us. The galaxy is slowly on the decline. The contrast between the dying galaxy and other specs of lively lights is very clear in the picture. While the universe around the galaxy is still rife with activity, the galaxy appears distant from it. It is a rare type of galaxy called lenticular galaxy. Such galaxies are similar in structure to the Milky Way galaxy but they lack spiral arms. The 'star-stuff' in this galaxy is spent and hence, no new stars are being formed. The present stellar material is fading. As they travel through space, galaxies usually absorb new material. However, in the case of NGC 1947 such infusion of new material looks difficult at least for now. And in the absence of new star-stuff, the galaxy is destined to slowly fade away in our universe teeming with stellar activity and life.

NASA's Hubble telescope clicks haunting image of a dying galaxy

In a first, the UAE leader has named its first female astronaut for a space programme.

Noura al-Matroushi has been named as the first-ever female astronaut of the country, who has been selected out of 4,000 other applicants in the UAE.

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Space was her passion since childhood... Nora AlMatrooshi, the new member of the UAE Astronaut Programme.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAEAstronauts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UAEAstronauts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAEAstronautProgramme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UAEAstronautProgramme</a><a href="https://twitter.com/Astronaut_Nora?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Astronaut_Nora</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TheUAETRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheUAETRA</a> <a href="https://t.co/TEW5uip0EK">pic.twitter.com/TEW5uip0EK</a>
— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) <a href="https://twitter.com/MBRSpaceCentre/status/1380820144675508224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The announcement was made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, through a Twitter post.

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We announce the first Arab female astronaut, among two new astronauts, selected from over 4,000 candidates to be trained with NASA for future space exploration missions. Congratulations Noura Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla. <a href="https://t.co/bfyquyzqAJ">pic.twitter.com/bfyquyzqAJ</a>
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) <a href="https://twitter.com/HHShkMohd/status/1380821550304223234?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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"We announce the first Arab female astronaut, among two new astronauts, selected from over 4,000 candidates to be trained with NASA for future space exploration missions. Congratulations Noura Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla,"&nbsp;he tweeted.

Noura al-Matroushi will be accompanied by Mohammed al-Mulla. Both of the chosen astronauts will undergo training at NASA’s&nbsp;Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

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Space was her passion since childhood... Nora AlMatrooshi, the new member of the UAE Astronaut Programme.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAEAstronauts?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UAEAstronauts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UAEAstronautProgramme?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UAEAstronautProgramme</a><a href="https://twitter.com/Astronaut_Nora?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Astronaut_Nora</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/TheUAETRA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheUAETRA</a> <a href="https://t.co/TEW5uip0EK">pic.twitter.com/TEW5uip0EK</a>
— MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) <a href="https://twitter.com/MBRSpaceCentre/status/1380820144675508224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Born in 1993,&nbsp;Noura al-Matroushi holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the United Arab Emirates University&nbsp;and worked as&nbsp;an engineer at the Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Co., according to a promotional video posted.

She has also headed several committees and has an excellent record of volunteer work, along with other achievements such as Mathematics Olympiad and more.

In a first, the UAE leader has named its first female astronaut for a space programme. Noura al-Matroushi has been named as the first-ever female astronaut of the country, who has been selected out of 4,000 other applicants in the UAE.

In a first, the UAE leader has named its first female astronaut for a space programme. Noura al-Matroushi has been named as the first-ever female astronaut of the country, who has been selected out of 4,000 other applicants in the UAE. Space was her passion since childhood... Nora AlMatrooshi, the new member of the UAE Astronaut Programme.#UAEAstronauts #UAEAstronautProgramme@Astronaut_Nora @TheUAETRA pic.twitter.com/TEW5uip0EK — MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) April 10, 2021 × The announcement was made by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, through a Twitter post. We announce the first Arab female astronaut, among two new astronauts, selected from over 4,000 candidates to be trained with NASA for future space exploration missions. Congratulations Noura Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla. pic.twitter.com/bfyquyzqAJ — HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) April 10, 2021 × "We announce the first Arab female astronaut, among two new astronauts, selected from over 4,000 candidates to be trained with NASA for future space exploration missions. Congratulations Noura Al Matrooshi and Mohammed Al Mulla," he tweeted. Noura al-Matroushi will be accompanied by Mohammed al-Mulla. Both of the chosen astronauts will undergo training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Space was her passion since childhood... Nora AlMatrooshi, the new member of the UAE Astronaut Programme.#UAEAstronauts #UAEAstronautProgramme@Astronaut_Nora @TheUAETRA pic.twitter.com/TEW5uip0EK — MBR Space Centre (@MBRSpaceCentre) April 10, 2021 × Born in 1993, Noura al-Matroushi holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the United Arab Emirates University and worked as an engineer at the Abu Dhabi-based National Petroleum Construction Co., according to a promotional video posted. She has also headed several committees and has an excellent record of volunteer work, along with other achievements such as Mathematics Olympiad and more.

UAE names Noura al-Matroushi as its first female astronaut

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