Astronomers in Canada have detected a mysterious volley of radio waves from far outside our galaxy, according to two studies published Wednesday in Nature.&nbsp;

What corner of the universe these powerful waves come from and the forces that produced them remain unknown.&nbsp;

The so-called repeating fast radio bursts were identified during the trial run last summer of a built-for-purpose telescope running at only a fraction of its capacity.

Known by its acronym CHIME, the world's most powerful radio telescope - spread across an area as big as a football pitch - is poised to detect many more of the enigmatic pulses now that it is fully operational.

"At the end of the year, we may have found 1,000 bursts," said Deborah Good, a PhD student at the University of British Columbia and one of 50 scientists from five institutions involved in the research. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) flash only for a micro-instant, but can emit as much energy as the Sun does in 10,000 years. &nbsp;

Exactly what causes these high-energy surges of long waves at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum remains the subject of intense debate.

More than 60 bursts have been catalogued since 2007, but only one other - observed in 2012 at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico - was a repeater.

"FRBs, it seems, are likely generated in dense, turbulent regions of host galaxies," Shriharsh Tendulkar, a corresponding author for both studies and an astronomer at McGill University, told AFP.

Cosmic convulsions created by the turbulent gas clouds that give rise to stars, or stellar explosions such a supernovae, are both possible incubators.

But consecutive radio bursts are a special case.&nbsp;

"The fact that the bursts are repeated rules out any cataclysmic models in which the source is destroyed while generating the burst," Tendulkar added.

"An FRB emitted from a merger of two neutron stars, or a neutron star and a black hole, for example, cannot repeat."

It is not yet clear whether the breeding grounds of repeating bursts are different from those that produce only a single radio pulse.

Significantly, the 2012 and 2018 "repeaters" have strikingly similar properties.

CHIME -- Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment -- also spotted a dozen single burst radio waves, but with an unusual profile.

Most FRBs spotted so far have wavelengths of a few centimetres, but these had intervals of nearly a metre, opening up a whole new line of inquiry for astronomers.

Could these enigmatic radio pulses point to intelligence elsewhere in the Universe? Might they be messages in a bottle?

"It is extremely, extremely unlikely," said Tendulkar.&nbsp;

"As a scientist I can't rule it out 100 per cent. But intelligent life is not on the minds of any astronomer as a source of these FRBs."

Constructed in British Columbia, CHIME is composed of four, 100-metre long half-pipe cylinders of metal mesh which reconstruct images of the sky by processing the radio signals recorded by more than a thousand antennas.

"This signal processing system is the largest of any telescope on Earth," the researchers said in a communique.

The other institutions with leading roles are the University of Toronto, the National Research Council of Canada, and the Perimeter Institute.

Astronomers in Canada have detected a mysterious volley of radio waves from far outside our galaxy, according to two studies published Wednesday in Nature. What corner of the universe these powerful waves come from and the forces that produced them remain unknown.

Astronomers in Canada have detected a mysterious volley of radio waves from far outside our galaxy, according to two studies published Wednesday in Nature. What corner of the universe these powerful waves come from and the forces that produced them remain unknown. The so-called repeating fast radio bursts were identified during the trial run last summer of a built-for-purpose telescope running at only a fraction of its capacity. Known by its acronym CHIME, the world's most powerful radio telescope - spread across an area as big as a football pitch - is poised to detect many more of the enigmatic pulses now that it is fully operational. "At the end of the year, we may have found 1,000 bursts," said Deborah Good, a PhD student at the University of British Columbia and one of 50 scientists from five institutions involved in the research. Fast radio bursts (FRBs) flash only for a micro-instant, but can emit as much energy as the Sun does in 10,000 years. Exactly what causes these high-energy surges of long waves at the far end of the electromagnetic spectrum remains the subject of intense debate. More than 60 bursts have been catalogued since 2007, but only one other - observed in 2012 at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico - was a repeater. "FRBs, it seems, are likely generated in dense, turbulent regions of host galaxies," Shriharsh Tendulkar, a corresponding author for both studies and an astronomer at McGill University, told AFP. Cosmic convulsions created by the turbulent gas clouds that give rise to stars, or stellar explosions such a supernovae, are both possible incubators. But consecutive radio bursts are a special case. "The fact that the bursts are repeated rules out any cataclysmic models in which the source is destroyed while generating the burst," Tendulkar added. "An FRB emitted from a merger of two neutron stars, or a neutron star and a black hole, for example, cannot repeat." It is not yet clear whether the breeding grounds of repeating bursts are different from those that produce only a single radio pulse. Significantly, the 2012 and 2018 "repeaters" have strikingly similar properties. CHIME -- Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment -- also spotted a dozen single burst radio waves, but with an unusual profile. Most FRBs spotted so far have wavelengths of a few centimetres, but these had intervals of nearly a metre, opening up a whole new line of inquiry for astronomers. Could these enigmatic radio pulses point to intelligence elsewhere in the Universe? Might they be messages in a bottle? "It is extremely, extremely unlikely," said Tendulkar. "As a scientist I can't rule it out 100 per cent. But intelligent life is not on the minds of any astronomer as a source of these FRBs." Constructed in British Columbia, CHIME is composed of four, 100-metre long half-pipe cylinders of metal mesh which reconstruct images of the sky by processing the radio signals recorded by more than a thousand antennas. "This signal processing system is the largest of any telescope on Earth," the researchers said in a communique. The other institutions with leading roles are the University of Toronto, the National Research Council of Canada, and the Perimeter Institute.

Intelligent life? Canadian astronomers detect 'mysterious radio waves' from space

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/virgin-galactics-saceshiptwo-takes-off-is-now-heading-for-space-183841">Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo</a>, VSS Unity, flew higher than it ever has before on Thursday, surpassing what the US Air Force considers the boundary of space, and marking the first manned flight to space from US soil since 2011.

''Today really has been out of this world. It's a thumbs up for our astronauts,'' Richard Branson said.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Today really has been out of this world. It's a thumbs up for our astronauts from <a href="https://twitter.com/richardbranson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@richardbranson</a>! Read more about today's historic space flight here <a href="https://t.co/UfG2FhOaSh">https://t.co/UfG2FhOaSh</a> <a href="https://t.co/GYZXEUIHh9">pic.twitter.com/GYZXEUIHh9</a>
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) <a href="https://twitter.com/virgingalactic/status/1073394476771463168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 14, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

<img alt="Virgin Galactic" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="9ef9a120-d577-45d3-a2e1-aeeb81c1086e" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%284%29_0.jpg" />

The brief, suborbital flight -- with two pilots on board -- was a key milestone for the company headed by British tycoon Richard Branson, who is striving to send tourists to space at a cost of $250,000 per seat.

No spacecraft with people on board has taken off from US soil since the American space shuttle program ended, as scheduled, seven years ago.

"Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship, built to carry private passengers, reached space," Branson said in a statement afterward.

"This is a momentous day and I could not be more proud of our teams who together have opened a new chapter of space exploration."

Virgin Galactic's spaceship did not launch on a rocket but took off attached to an airplane from Mojave, California.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, flew higher than it ever has before on Thursday, surpassing what the US Air Force considers the boundary of space, and marking the first manned flight to space from US soil since 2011.

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo, VSS Unity, flew higher than it ever has before on Thursday, surpassing what the US Air Force considers the boundary of space, and marking the first manned flight to space from US soil since 2011. ''Today really has been out of this world. It's a thumbs up for our astronauts,'' Richard Branson said. Today really has been out of this world. It's a thumbs up for our astronauts from @richardbranson! Read more about today's historic space flight here https://t.co/UfG2FhOaSh pic.twitter.com/GYZXEUIHh9 — Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) December 14, 2018 × The brief, suborbital flight -- with two pilots on board -- was a key milestone for the company headed by British tycoon Richard Branson, who is striving to send tourists to space at a cost of $250,000 per seat. No spacecraft with people on board has taken off from US soil since the American space shuttle program ended, as scheduled, seven years ago. "Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship, built to carry private passengers, reached space," Branson said in a statement afterward. "This is a momentous day and I could not be more proud of our teams who together have opened a new chapter of space exploration." Virgin Galactic's spaceship did not launch on a rocket but took off attached to an airplane from Mojave, California.

Thumbs up for astronauts: Branson on Virgin Galactic's voyage into space

The Bahrain government is likely to sign an agreement with India early next year for cooperation in space technology, a Bahraini minister has said.

In February next year, the Gulf nation, hopefully, will sign a pact with Indian space agency ISRO for training and research purposes, Kamal Bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister for Transportation and Telecommunications, Bahrain, said.

“The national science and space agency (Bahrain) and ISRO will sign a MoU. It has been approved by the Bahrain government and is in its final stage. And hopefully, I will be in India shortly, maybe in the next air show in February to sign the MoU,” the minister, who also holds the space portfolio, said.

The agreement will be mainly for training purposes and both countries will cooperate on research and technology, he added.

“It is just a starting point. The government will send some Bahrainis to be trained in India from January for eight weeks…to study how they can design and build satellites,” Mohammed said.

Bahrain is also looking to forge closer economic ties with India to attract investment and tech companies.

“We are in continuous discussion with the private sector, CII and Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) which is the government agency to promote Bahrain and attract foreign direct investment, and India is one of the important markets for EDB. It has an office there. There will be a delegation there in December,” the minister said.

He further said India is an important market and it will become one of the superpowers in terms of economy.

On investment from India, he said: “I believe Indian companies are becoming bigger, they are expanding outside of India and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries offer them the best opportunity.”

“We are more focused on technology and knowledge-based industry and services.”

India is an important business partner for Bahrain, and the kingdom is keen to further strengthen the relations with the private sector in India.

The trade relationship between the two countries also prompted many Indians to set up their businesses there.

“Located at the heart of the Middle East, Bahrain is the natural gateway to the Gulf region, with strong, efficient and cost-effective pan-GCC transport links and direct access to Saudi Arabia – the region’s largest market,” Bahraini officials said.

The Bahrain government is likely to sign an agreement with India early next year for cooperation in space technology, a Bahraini minister has said. In February next year, the Gulf nation, hopefully, will sign a pact with Indian space agency ISRO for training and research purposes, Kamal Bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister for Transportation and Telecommunications, Bahrain, said.

The Bahrain government is likely to sign an agreement with India early next year for cooperation in space technology, a Bahraini minister has said. In February next year, the Gulf nation, hopefully, will sign a pact with Indian space agency ISRO for training and research purposes, Kamal Bin Ahmed Mohammed, Minister for Transportation and Telecommunications, Bahrain, said. “The national science and space agency (Bahrain) and ISRO will sign a MoU. It has been approved by the Bahrain government and is in its final stage. And hopefully, I will be in India shortly, maybe in the next air show in February to sign the MoU,” the minister, who also holds the space portfolio, said. The agreement will be mainly for training purposes and both countries will cooperate on research and technology, he added. “It is just a starting point. The government will send some Bahrainis to be trained in India from January for eight weeks…to study how they can design and build satellites,” Mohammed said. Bahrain is also looking to forge closer economic ties with India to attract investment and tech companies. “We are in continuous discussion with the private sector, CII and Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) which is the government agency to promote Bahrain and attract foreign direct investment, and India is one of the important markets for EDB. It has an office there. There will be a delegation there in December,” the minister said. He further said India is an important market and it will become one of the superpowers in terms of economy. On investment from India, he said: “I believe Indian companies are becoming bigger, they are expanding outside of India and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries offer them the best opportunity.” “We are more focused on technology and knowledge-based industry and services.” India is an important business partner for Bahrain, and the kingdom is keen to further strengthen the relations with the private sector in India. The trade relationship between the two countries also prompted many Indians to set up their businesses there. “Located at the heart of the Middle East, Bahrain is the natural gateway to the Gulf region, with strong, efficient and cost-effective pan-GCC transport links and direct access to Saudi Arabia – the region’s largest market,” Bahraini officials said.

India, Bahrain likely to ink pact for cooperation in space technology

Pakistan will send a human to space for the first time in 2022 with China's help, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced Thursday, the same year <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/isro-to-send-human-in-space-by-2022-chandrayan-2-to-be-completed-in-2019-space-agency-chief-173487">India plans to launch</a> its manned space mission.

Pakistan's first space mission has been planned for 2022 and the federal Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the plan on Thursday, ahead of his maiden visit to Beijing from November 3.

An agreement between Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and a Chinese company has already been signed, Chaudhry said.&nbsp;

In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ambitious mission of sending an Indian astronaut to space by 2022, which would make India the fourth nation in the world to do so.

"We have resolved that by 2022, when India celebrates 75 years of Independence or maybe even before that, certainly some of our young boys and girls will unfurl the Tricolour in space," Modi said from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 72nd Independence Day.&nbsp;

Pakistan and China already have robust defence ties and Islamabad is one of the top buyers of Chinese military hardware.

Earlier this year, Pakistan launched two indigenously built satellites into orbit, using a Chinese launch vehicle.

The satellites were launched onboard a Chinese Long March (LM-2C) rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre located at the Gobi desert, China.

One of the satellites launched was a remote sensing satellite (PRSS1) ? a dual-purpose Earth observational and optical satellite.&nbsp;

The second test satellite launched was a PAK-TES-1A, developed by Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (Suparco) to enhance satellite manufacture capabilities in the country which would help end Pakistan's dependency on commercial satellites for information related to weather, environment and agriculture.

The satellites were transported to China as Pakistan lacks the infrastructure to launch objects, the Express Tribune quoted an official as saying.&nbsp; 
China launched its first manned space mission in 2003, becoming the third country in the world to independently develop manned spaceflight, after Russia and the United States.

Prime Minister Khan is embarking on his first visit to China on November 3 and will hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, Geo News quoted the Foreign Office as saying.&nbsp;

During the visit the two sides will review the entire range of bilateral relations which have enjoyed a long history of mutual trust and mutual support. The two sides will also sign several agreements in diverse fields, the Foreign Office statement added.

This will be the premier's first official visit to China after assuming office in August.

The visit signifies the closeness and traditional warmth which characterises Pakistan-China all weather strategic cooperative partnership, the statement added.

After his visit to Beijing, Khan will visit Shanghai to participate in the irst China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The premier will be a keynote speaker at the inauguration of the expo.

He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

&nbsp;

Pakistan will send a human to space for the first time in 2022 with China's help, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced Thursday, the same year India plans to launch its manned space mission.

Pakistan will send a human to space for the first time in 2022 with China's help, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced Thursday, the same year India plans to launch its manned space mission. Pakistan's first space mission has been planned for 2022 and the federal Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan approved the plan on Thursday, ahead of his maiden visit to Beijing from November 3. An agreement between Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and a Chinese company has already been signed, Chaudhry said. In his Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ambitious mission of sending an Indian astronaut to space by 2022, which would make India the fourth nation in the world to do so. "We have resolved that by 2022, when India celebrates 75 years of Independence or maybe even before that, certainly some of our young boys and girls will unfurl the Tricolour in space," Modi said from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 72nd Independence Day. Pakistan and China already have robust defence ties and Islamabad is one of the top buyers of Chinese military hardware. Earlier this year, Pakistan launched two indigenously built satellites into orbit, using a Chinese launch vehicle. The satellites were launched onboard a Chinese Long March (LM-2C) rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre located at the Gobi desert, China. One of the satellites launched was a remote sensing satellite (PRSS1) ? a dual-purpose Earth observational and optical satellite. The second test satellite launched was a PAK-TES-1A, developed by Space and Upper Atmospheric Research Commission (Suparco) to enhance satellite manufacture capabilities in the country which would help end Pakistan's dependency on commercial satellites for information related to weather, environment and agriculture. The satellites were transported to China as Pakistan lacks the infrastructure to launch objects, the Express Tribune quoted an official as saying. China launched its first manned space mission in 2003, becoming the third country in the world to independently develop manned spaceflight, after Russia and the United States. Prime Minister Khan is embarking on his first visit to China on November 3 and will hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, Geo News quoted the Foreign Office as saying. During the visit the two sides will review the entire range of bilateral relations which have enjoyed a long history of mutual trust and mutual support. The two sides will also sign several agreements in diverse fields, the Foreign Office statement added. This will be the premier's first official visit to China after assuming office in August. The visit signifies the closeness and traditional warmth which characterises Pakistan-China all weather strategic cooperative partnership, the statement added. After his visit to Beijing, Khan will visit Shanghai to participate in the irst China International Import Expo in Shanghai. The premier will be a keynote speaker at the inauguration of the expo. He will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

First Pakistani astronauts to be in space in 2022

The ISRO will send human for the first time to space by 2022 while its ambitious project Chandrayaan 2 will be completed in 2019 with landing of an indigenous spacecraft, the space agency's chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan said here Thursday.

Sivan, who is here to attend the convocation ceremony of DDU Gorakhpur University Friday, told reporters, "We have set a deadline of sending human to space by the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022".

The Chandrayaan 2 will be sent on the moon by January or February next year. Chandrayaan 2 is designed to make soft landing on the moon and carry out extensive experiments on its surface.

Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will undertake three to six missions in the next six months, he said.

The ISRO is serving the nation in various fields including communication, navigation, space science etc and every single person of India is somehow linked with its services, he said.

"Under Digital India Mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ISRO is all set to provide high data connectivity of 100 GBPS in rural and remote areas by placing four communication satellites in to space, of which one is already placed this year, while the rest three will be placed in November,

December and early next year," he said.

He said more than 75 per cent of the population of country lives in remote areas and it is advisable to space technology to provide services in various speeds.&nbsp;

The ISRO chairman said although it was not possible for India's premier space agency to recruit all potential engineers passing out from Indian universities yet it was working on capacity building programmes to tab their potential through incubation and research centers.

"The ISRO is all set to give young engineers opportunity to serve the nation by opening six incubation centers, research centers and research chair in north, south, east, central and west India," he said.

While one incubation center is already opened in Agartala, rest will operationalise in Jalandhar, Bhubneshwar, Indore, Nagpur and Kochi. Similarly, research centers would come up in Guwahati, Jaipur, Krukshetra, Kanyakumari, Patna and Varansi, he said.&nbsp;

The ISRO will send human for the first time to space by 2022 while its ambitious project Chandrayaan 2 will be completed in 2019 with landing of an indigenous spacecraft, the space agency's chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan said here Thursday.

The ISRO will send human for the first time to space by 2022 while its ambitious project Chandrayaan 2 will be completed in 2019 with landing of an indigenous spacecraft, the space agency's chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan said here Thursday. Sivan, who is here to attend the convocation ceremony of DDU Gorakhpur University Friday, told reporters, "We have set a deadline of sending human to space by the end of 2021 or beginning of 2022". The Chandrayaan 2 will be sent on the moon by January or February next year. Chandrayaan 2 is designed to make soft landing on the moon and carry out extensive experiments on its surface. Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will undertake three to six missions in the next six months, he said. The ISRO is serving the nation in various fields including communication, navigation, space science etc and every single person of India is somehow linked with its services, he said. "Under Digital India Mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the ISRO is all set to provide high data connectivity of 100 GBPS in rural and remote areas by placing four communication satellites in to space, of which one is already placed this year, while the rest three will be placed in November, December and early next year," he said. He said more than 75 per cent of the population of country lives in remote areas and it is advisable to space technology to provide services in various speeds. The ISRO chairman said although it was not possible for India's premier space agency to recruit all potential engineers passing out from Indian universities yet it was working on capacity building programmes to tab their potential through incubation and research centers. "The ISRO is all set to give young engineers opportunity to serve the nation by opening six incubation centers, research centers and research chair in north, south, east, central and west India," he said. While one incubation center is already opened in Agartala, rest will operationalise in Jalandhar, Bhubneshwar, Indore, Nagpur and Kochi. Similarly, research centers would come up in Guwahati, Jaipur, Krukshetra, Kanyakumari, Patna and Varansi, he said.

ISRO to send human to space by 2022: Space agency chief

Jeff Bezos takes everything related to Blue Origin and Amazon quite seriously. The wealthiest man in the world recently took to Twitter and shared American television host, comedian and producer Conan O' Brien's joke that stated that Bezos will spend "the majority of his fortune getting himself into space".

The Amazon CEO shared an image from O'Brien's joke on Tuesday night’s episode of “Conan” and shared it on his social accounts.

Bezos' post sported a smiley and had Team Coco and Blue Origin tagged in it. Once again Bezos reinstated his seriousness about space exploration and his ability to bounce-off trolls and jokes with much ease.&nbsp;&nbsp;

"I have seen what you people buy, and I don't want to near you," Conan quoted Bezos in his joke.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
? <a href="https://twitter.com/ConanOBrien?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ConanOBrien</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/blueorigin?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BlueOrigin</a> <a href="https://t.co/x3BiCpaLQA">pic.twitter.com/x3BiCpaLQA</a>
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) <a href="https://twitter.com/JeffBezos/status/991799694664679425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Bezos-led Blue Origin is an aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Kent, Washington that closely chases Bezos dream of space exploration and finding an alternative planet habitable for humans.&nbsp;

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's intention to colonise the Red Planet is not unknown to the world.&nbsp;

Last year in September, Musk unveiled ambitious plans to send cargo ships to Mars in five years and use rockets to carry people between Earth's major cities in under half-an-hour.

The founder of SpaceX said a planned interplanetary transport system, codenamed BFR (Big Fucking Rocket), would be downsized so it could carry out a range of tasks that would then pay for future Mars missions.

Musk said his firm had started building the system, with the construction of the first ship to start in six to nine months.

"I feel fairly confident that we can complete the ship and launch in about five years," Musk added.

On the other hand, last year Bezos made an announcement of Blue Origin's plan to launch paying passengers on 11-minute space rides this year. Reports suggest Bezos sells $1 billion of Amazon stock every year to fund his rocket venture.&nbsp;

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's intention to colonise the Red Planet is not unknown to the world

Jeff Bezos takes everything related to Blue Origin and Amazon quite seriously. The wealthiest man in the world recently took to Twitter and shared American television host, comedian and producer Conan O' Brien's joke that stated that Bezos will spend "the majority of his fortune getting himself into space". The Amazon CEO shared an image from O'Brien's joke on Tuesday night’s episode of “Conan” and shared it on his social accounts. Bezos' post sported a smiley and had Team Coco and Blue Origin tagged in it. Once again Bezos reinstated his seriousness about space exploration and his ability to bounce-off trolls and jokes with much ease. "I have seen what you people buy, and I don't want to near you," Conan quoted Bezos in his joke. ? @ConanOBrien @BlueOrigin pic.twitter.com/x3BiCpaLQA — Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) May 2, 2018 × Bezos-led Blue Origin is an aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Kent, Washington that closely chases Bezos dream of space exploration and finding an alternative planet habitable for humans. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's intention to colonise the Red Planet is not unknown to the world. Last year in September, Musk unveiled ambitious plans to send cargo ships to Mars in five years and use rockets to carry people between Earth's major cities in under half-an-hour. The founder of SpaceX said a planned interplanetary transport system, codenamed BFR (Big Fucking Rocket), would be downsized so it could carry out a range of tasks that would then pay for future Mars missions. Musk said his firm had started building the system, with the construction of the first ship to start in six to nine months. "I feel fairly confident that we can complete the ship and launch in about five years," Musk added. On the other hand, last year Bezos made an announcement of Blue Origin's plan to launch paying passengers on 11-minute space rides this year. Reports suggest Bezos sells $1 billion of Amazon stock every year to fund his rocket venture.

Jeff Bezos to spend 'majority of his fortune' getting into space  

Pakistan is set to launch an ambitious space programme during the next fiscal year with an aim to keep an eye on the Indian side and reduce its dependence on foreign satellites for civil and military purposes, according to a media report.

Several projects will be initiated to develop self-reliance capacity and reduce dependence on foreign satellites, mainly the US and French satellites for civil and military communications.

The budget of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Organisation (Suparco) for the upcoming fiscal year 2018-19 is Rs 4.70 billion which includes Rs 2.55 billion for three new projects, Dawn News reported.

Suparco has been regularly conducting activities each year to increase awareness of space technology and to promote its peaceful usage amongst students and the masses in Pakistan since 2005.

The funding includes allocation of Rs 1.35 billion for Pakistan Multi-Mission Satellite (PakSat- MM1) and the country is also planning to establish Pakistan Space Centre in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad with the allocation of Rs 1 billion.&nbsp

The third project is an establishment of Space Application Research Centre in Karachi with the budget of Rs 200 million in 2018-19, the report said.

The total cost of PakSat-MM1 is Rs 27.57 billion and that of the space centres is Rs 26.91 billion, it added.&nbsp

Advanced space programme is the need of time not only due to growing demand from the civil communications, including the GPS, mobile telephony and the internet but due to changing scenario in the region also, analysts have said.

"There are two unusual developments in the region affecting the strategic situation - first of all, Pakistan has to keep an eye on the Indian side and previously their programme had limited quality advancements but now the US has active cooperation with the Indian satellite programme," Maria Sultan, a defence analyst said.&nbsp

The programme aims to reduce the country's dependence on foreign satellites for civil & military purposes.

Pakistan is set to launch an ambitious space programme during the next fiscal year with an aim to keep an eye on the Indian side and reduce its dependence on foreign satellites for civil and military purposes, according to a media report. Several projects will be initiated to develop self-reliance capacity and reduce dependence on foreign satellites, mainly the US and French satellites for civil and military communications. The budget of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Organisation (Suparco) for the upcoming fiscal year 2018-19 is Rs 4.70 billion which includes Rs 2.55 billion for three new projects, Dawn News reported. Suparco has been regularly conducting activities each year to increase awareness of space technology and to promote its peaceful usage amongst students and the masses in Pakistan since 2005. The funding includes allocation of Rs 1.35 billion for Pakistan Multi-Mission Satellite (PakSat- MM1) and the country is also planning to establish Pakistan Space Centre in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad with the allocation of Rs 1 billion. The third project is an establishment of Space Application Research Centre in Karachi with the budget of Rs 200 million in 2018-19, the report said. The total cost of PakSat-MM1 is Rs 27.57 billion and that of the space centres is Rs 26.91 billion, it added. Advanced space programme is the need of time not only due to growing demand from the civil communications, including the GPS, mobile telephony and the internet but due to changing scenario in the region also, analysts have said. "There are two unusual developments in the region affecting the strategic situation - first of all, Pakistan has to keep an eye on the Indian side and previously their programme had limited quality advancements but now the US has active cooperation with the Indian satellite programme," Maria Sultan, a defence analyst said.

Pakistan set to launch space programme to keep an eye on Indian side: Report

People will soon be able to witness 16 sunrises a day and be able to float in space, all in a span of four years. How? Orion Span announced on Thursday that they are building the first ever luxury "space hotel" to cost a space tourist a whopping $9.5 million.&nbsp

Orion Span made the announcement at the Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California on Thursday (April 05), unveiling their plans for “Aurora Station.” Orion Span says it plans to launch the initial Aurora Station module into a low-Earth orbit, at an altitude of 200 miles (322 km), in 2021.

Scheduled to welcome its first guests in 2022, Aurora is a planned modular space station, capable of hosting six people at a time.The hotel will orbit Earth every 90 minutes, which means guests will see around 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours.

While a $10 million trip is outside the budget of most people's two-week vacations, Orion Span claims to offer an authentic "astronaut experience".

The Aurora Station is planned as a 35-by-14-foot module, or roughly the interior volume of a Gulfstream G550 private jet, reports say. It will hold up to six guests at a time plus two crew members. &nbsp

They have already started reservations with an $80,000 deposit - which is fully refundable - where the guests are told to undergo a three-month long training court, half online and half at the company's space in Houston, Texas.&nbsp

According to Orion Span, guests will be able to take part in “research experiments such as growing food while in orbit” and keep touch with people on Earth via high-speed Internet.

The hotel will also be equipped with a virtual reality “holodeck”.

“Arriving at Aurora Station on a partner spaceflight, you’ll be warmly greeted with an experience that blows your mind,” reads a statement on the Orion Span website.

“Every 90 minutes we complete an orbit, meaning you’ll see day and night over Earth hundreds of times during your 12-day stay, with ample opportunity to photograph your hometown from space.”

Gusts will take part in research experiments like growing food in the orbit which they can then take home. They will also be able to do live video chats with people back on Earth through high-speed wireless internet access.&nbsp

Reports say that the longer-term plan for the company is to expand Aurora Station from just one module to many, with a variety of potential uses.

Orion Span made the announcement at the Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California on Thursday (April 05), unveiling their plans for 'Aurora Station'

People will soon be able to witness 16 sunrises a day and be able to float in space, all in a span of four years. How? Orion Span announced on Thursday that they are building the first ever luxury "space hotel" to cost a space tourist a whopping $9.5 million. Orion Span made the announcement at the Space 2.0 Summit in San Jose, California on Thursday (April 05), unveiling their plans for “Aurora Station.” Orion Span says it plans to launch the initial Aurora Station module into a low-Earth orbit, at an altitude of 200 miles (322 km), in 2021. Scheduled to welcome its first guests in 2022, Aurora is a planned modular space station, capable of hosting six people at a time.The hotel will orbit Earth every 90 minutes, which means guests will see around 16 sunrises and sunsets every 24 hours. While a $10 million trip is outside the budget of most people's two-week vacations, Orion Span claims to offer an authentic "astronaut experience". The Aurora Station is planned as a 35-by-14-foot module, or roughly the interior volume of a Gulfstream G550 private jet, reports say. It will hold up to six guests at a time plus two crew members. They have already started reservations with an $80,000 deposit - which is fully refundable - where the guests are told to undergo a three-month long training court, half online and half at the company's space in Houston, Texas. According to Orion Span, guests will be able to take part in “research experiments such as growing food while in orbit” and keep touch with people on Earth via high-speed Internet. The hotel will also be equipped with a virtual reality “holodeck”. “Arriving at Aurora Station on a partner spaceflight, you’ll be warmly greeted with an experience that blows your mind,” reads a statement on the Orion Span website. “Every 90 minutes we complete an orbit, meaning you’ll see day and night over Earth hundreds of times during your 12-day stay, with ample opportunity to photograph your hometown from space.” Gusts will take part in research experiments like growing food in the orbit which they can then take home. They will also be able to do live video chats with people back on Earth through high-speed wireless internet access. Reports say that the longer-term plan for the company is to expand Aurora Station from just one module to many, with a variety of potential uses.

Now, book your luxury 'space hotel' for $9.5 million

A recent study done&nbsp;by NASA has revealed that spending a year in space could change a person&#39;s&nbsp;DNA.

According to the research, 7% of astronaut&#39;s DNA does not return to normal after they land on earth.

The case study is based on an astronaut Scott Kelly&#39;s genes which involve information data gathered from before, during and after he spent one year in the International space station(ISS).

The data was later compared to his identical twins living on earth.

The research revelaed&nbsp;that after Kelly&#39;s return to earth he no longer shared the same genetics.

The official statement by NASA said&nbsp;&#39;&#39;researchers now know that 93% of Scott&rsquo;s genes returned to normal after landing. However, the remaining 7% point to possible long-term changes in genes related to his immune system, DNA repair, bone formation networks, hypoxia, and hypercapnia.&#39;&#39;

&quot;Increasing mission duration from the typical six-month ISS mission to one year resulted in no significant decreases in Scott&rsquo;s cognitive performance while inflight and relative to his twin brother Mark on the ground. However, a more pronounced decrease in speed and accuracy was reported post-flight, possibly due to re-exposure and adjustment to Earth&rsquo;s gravity, and the busy schedule that enveloped Scott after his mission.&quot;

The twin study research was done by ten research teams from around the country to discover what happens to the human body after spending a year in space.

According to the research, 7% of astronaut's DNA does not return to normal after they land on earth

A recent study done by NASA has revealed that spending a year in space could change a person's DNA. According to the research, 7% of astronaut's DNA does not return to normal after they land on earth. The case study is based on an astronaut Scott Kelly's genes which involve information data gathered from before, during and after he spent one year in the International space station(ISS). The data was later compared to his identical twins living on earth. The research revelaed that after Kelly's return to earth he no longer shared the same genetics. The official statement by NASA said ''researchers now know that 93% of Scott’s genes returned to normal after landing. However, the remaining 7% point to possible long-term changes in genes related to his immune system, DNA repair, bone formation networks, hypoxia, and hypercapnia.'' "Increasing mission duration from the typical six-month ISS mission to one year resulted in no significant decreases in Scott’s cognitive performance while inflight and relative to his twin brother Mark on the ground. However, a more pronounced decrease in speed and accuracy was reported post-flight, possibly due to re-exposure and adjustment to Earth’s gravity, and the busy schedule that enveloped Scott after his mission." The twin study research was done by ten research teams from around the country to discover what happens to the human body after spending a year in space.

Spending a year in space could change your DNA: NASA

Japanese astronaut, Norishige Kanai, stated that he grew in height by 9 centimetres after his return to the International Space Station on December 19.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qu3j69M0qa0" width="560"></iframe></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&quot;Good morning, good morning. Today there is a serious report. Actually, I had physical measurements since I got to space and I have grown by 9 centimetres (3 inches). This is the most I&#39;ve grown in three weeks since I was a junior high student,&quot; he tweeted on Monday.&nbsp;

Kanai also seemed worried about how would he manage to fit into his space suit on his return to space in the Soyuz spacecraft.

&quot;I am a bit worried whether my body will fit in the return Soyuz seat,&quot; read his tweet.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
みなさま、おはようございます。今日は重大なご報告があります。 
 
実は、宇宙に着いてからの身体計測があったのですが、な、な、なんと、身長が9センチも伸びていたんです！ 
たった3週間でニョキニョキと。こんなの中高生のとき以来です。 
 
帰りのソユーズの座席に体が収まるか、ちょっと心配です。
&mdash; 金井 宣茂 (@Astro_Kanai) <a href="https://twitter.com/Astro_Kanai/status/950479226330865670?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

However, in another tweet, Kanai clarified that the increase was only of a couple of centimetres.&nbsp;

&quot;As Russian captain was suspicious of the 9cms elongation, it was about 182 cms when I measured it easily by myself. It was +2 cms from the ground,&quot; Kanai clarified in a tweet.

NASA experts describe an increase in height as a normal phenomenon in space. In the absence of gravity, the spinal vertebrae loosen up and expand.&nbsp;

However, a person gets back to his/her normal height after returning from space.&nbsp;

&quot;It is said that when you are living in a zero-gravity environment for a while, the gaps of the bone of the spine are opened and the height grows. Depending on the person, there seems to be pain in the back and neck,&quot; Kanai tweeted.

 
&nbsp;

NASA experts describe an increase in height as a normal phenomenon in space.

Japanese astronaut, Norishige Kanai, stated that he grew in height by 9 centimetres after his return to the International Space Station on December 19. × "Good morning, good morning. Today there is a serious report. Actually, I had physical measurements since I got to space and I have grown by 9 centimetres (3 inches). This is the most I've grown in three weeks since I was a junior high student," he tweeted on Monday. Kanai also seemed worried about how would he manage to fit into his space suit on his return to space in the Soyuz spacecraft. "I am a bit worried whether my body will fit in the return Soyuz seat," read his tweet. みなさま、おはようございます。今日は重大なご報告があります。 実は、宇宙に着いてからの身体計測があったのですが、な、な、なんと、身長が9センチも伸びていたんです！ たった3週間でニョキニョキと。こんなの中高生のとき以来です。 帰りのソユーズの座席に体が収まるか、ちょっと心配です。 — 金井 宣茂 (@Astro_Kanai) January 8, 2018 × However, in another tweet, Kanai clarified that the increase was only of a couple of centimetres. "As Russian captain was suspicious of the 9cms elongation, it was about 182 cms when I measured it easily by myself. It was +2 cms from the ground," Kanai clarified in a tweet. NASA experts describe an increase in height as a normal phenomenon in space. In the absence of gravity, the spinal vertebrae loosen up and expand. However, a person gets back to his/her normal height after returning from space. "It is said that when you are living in a zero-gravity environment for a while, the gaps of the bone of the spine are opened and the height grows. Depending on the person, there seems to be pain in the back and neck," Kanai tweeted.

Japanese astronaut claims he 'grew' by 9 cms in space, now apologises

EIon Musk-led SpaceX broke new ground in space&nbsp;with the launch of rocket Falcon 9 which successfully deployed 10 satellites into&nbsp;earth&#39;s orbit.

SpaceX said it had successfully installed 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into&nbsp;low-earth orbit.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Here&rsquo;s the video. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/spacex?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#spacex</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IridiumNEXT?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IridiumNEXT</a> <a href="https://t.co/mnVKrPjCcB">pic.twitter.com/mnVKrPjCcB</a>
&mdash; Amanda (@alias_amanda) <a href="https://twitter.com/alias_amanda/status/944385482749706240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Successful deployment of 10 <a href="https://twitter.com/IridiumComm?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IridiumComm</a> NEXT satellites to low-Earth orbit confirmed. <a href="https://t.co/CTtvPYNgMA">pic.twitter.com/CTtvPYNgMA</a>
&mdash; SpaceX (@SpaceX) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/944397579369955328?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

The company added that Iridium had received &quot;healthy signals&quot; from all 10 satellites.

The Falcon 9 rocket which took off from Vandenberg Air Base in California on Friday will be pulling off the largest &quot;tech upgrades&quot; in history.

&quot;The process of replacing the satellites one-by-one in a constellation of this size and scale has never been completed before,&quot; SpaceX said in a statement.

An excited Musk followed the launch on Twitter, declaring &quot;launch underway&quot; as his company set a new record in space.

&nbsp;

SpaceX said Iridium had received "healthy signals" from all 10 satellites

EIon Musk-led SpaceX broke new ground in space with the launch of rocket Falcon 9 which successfully deployed 10 satellites into earth's orbit. SpaceX said it had successfully installed 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into low-earth orbit. Here’s the video. #spacex #IridiumNEXT pic.twitter.com/mnVKrPjCcB — Amanda (@alias_amanda) December 23, 2017 × Successful deployment of 10 @IridiumComm NEXT satellites to low-Earth orbit confirmed. pic.twitter.com/CTtvPYNgMA — SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 23, 2017 × The company added that Iridium had received "healthy signals" from all 10 satellites. The Falcon 9 rocket which took off from Vandenberg Air Base in California on Friday will be pulling off the largest "tech upgrades" in history. "The process of replacing the satellites one-by-one in a constellation of this size and scale has never been completed before," SpaceX said in a statement. An excited Musk followed the launch on Twitter, declaring "launch underway" as his company set a new record in space.

Watch: SpaceX successfully deploys 10 satellites into low-earth orbit

Undeniably, the world will face paralysis if we were to do away with GPS. The Global Positioning System is an intricate web of signals that are beamed off satellites positioned in space.

While most of us would not like to fancy a scenario devoid of internet and GPS, United States seem to have started putting the mind in the reverse direction -- what to do if GPS fails?

Reportedly, America&nbsp;has begun bracing-up for a situation where its space-based technology is disrupted or damaged.

While it is extremely cumbersome and expensive for countries to innovate and develop orbital platforms, jamming or destroying military satellites of an enemy country would be way too simpler and easier. Low-cost jammers, strategically stationed, can wreak havoc with incoming GPS signals.

&quot;When you start taking away those combat multipliers, we need to go back then to the days of the industrial-age army where you have to have three times as many people as the adversary does,&quot; said Colonel Richard Zellmann, commander of the 1st Space Brigade based in Colorado.

According to a latest AFP report, about 70 per cent of US Army&#39;s &#39;major combat systems&#39; depends on GPS signals.

While countries like Russia and China are busy bolstering their satellites competence, America has also developed satellites capable of inspecting or monitoring other space objects.

America plans ahead

The US now thinks of going the old-school way, training their soldiers to read paper maps, and teaching their sailors how to navigate by the stars.

The older, analogue technologies are being technologically overhauled by new science, &quot;designed to replicate satellites, only from Earth,&quot; noted the report.&nbsp;

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, US (DARPA) is now all set to develop next-gen navigation and timing tools for the Pentagon that are better-off GPS. 
&nbsp; 
But space, once an uncontested territory, is also becoming congested and crowded by the day, all thanks to technological advancements. Keeping the same in mind, United States has started investing in a new generation of satellites equipped with better accuracy and anti-jamming capabilities.

President Donald Trump on Monday communicated his first National Security Strategy and talked about America&#39;s space infrastructure and US military&#39;s dependence on it.

(With inputs from AFP)

According to a latest AFP report, about 70 per cent of US Army's 'major combat systems' depend on GPS signals

Undeniably, the world will face paralysis if we were to do away with GPS. The Global Positioning System is an intricate web of signals that are beamed off satellites positioned in space. While most of us would not like to fancy a scenario devoid of internet and GPS, United States seem to have started putting the mind in the reverse direction -- what to do if GPS fails? Reportedly, America has begun bracing-up for a situation where its space-based technology is disrupted or damaged. While it is extremely cumbersome and expensive for countries to innovate and develop orbital platforms, jamming or destroying military satellites of an enemy country would be way too simpler and easier. Low-cost jammers, strategically stationed, can wreak havoc with incoming GPS signals. "When you start taking away those combat multipliers, we need to go back then to the days of the industrial-age army where you have to have three times as many people as the adversary does," said Colonel Richard Zellmann, commander of the 1st Space Brigade based in Colorado. According to a latest AFP report, about 70 per cent of US Army's 'major combat systems' depends on GPS signals. While countries like Russia and China are busy bolstering their satellites competence, America has also developed satellites capable of inspecting or monitoring other space objects. America plans ahead The US now thinks of going the old-school way, training their soldiers to read paper maps, and teaching their sailors how to navigate by the stars. The older, analogue technologies are being technologically overhauled by new science, "designed to replicate satellites, only from Earth," noted the report. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, US (DARPA) is now all set to develop next-gen navigation and timing tools for the Pentagon that are better-off GPS. But space, once an uncontested territory, is also becoming congested and crowded by the day, all thanks to technological advancements. Keeping the same in mind, United States has started investing in a new generation of satellites equipped with better accuracy and anti-jamming capabilities. President Donald Trump on Monday communicated his first National Security Strategy and talked about America's space infrastructure and US military's dependence on it. (With inputs from AFP)

GPS failure will paralyse the world, US plans ahead

A dark, reddish and cigar-shaped object that zipped through our solar system from outer space last month is nothing like any cosmic body seen before, say scientists who have classified it as the first interstellar asteroid.

Last month the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai&#39;i picked up a faint point of light moving across the sky.

It initially looked like a typical fast-moving small asteroid, but additional observations over the next couple of days allowed its orbit to be computed fairly accurately.

The orbit calculations revealed beyond any doubt that this body did not originate from inside the solar system, like all other asteroids or comets ever observed, but instead had come from interstellar space.

Although originally classified as a comet, observations from revealed no signs of cometary activity after it passed closest to the Sun in September. The object was reclassified as an interstellar asteroid and named &#39;Oumuamua.

The name, which was chosen by the Pan-STARRS team, is of Hawaiian origin and reflects the way this object is like a messenger sent from the distant past to reach out to us, researchers said.

The asteroid is up to 400 metres long and highly- elongated - perhaps 10 times as long as it is wide.

That aspect ratio is greater than that of any asteroid or comet observed in our solar system to date, scientists said.

While its elongated shape is quite surprising, and unlike asteroids seen in our solar system, it may provide new clues into how other solar systems formed.

When the &#39;Oumuamua was spotted, it had already passed its closest point to the Sun and was heading back into interstellar space, researchers said.

European Southern Observatory (ESO)&#39;s Very Large Telescope (VLT) was immediately called into action to measure the object&#39;s orbit, brightness and colour more accurately than smaller telescopes could achieve.

Combining the images from various telescopes, astronomers led by Karen Meech from Institute for Astronomy in the US found that &#39;Oumuamua varies dramatically in brightness by a factor of ten as it spins on its axis every 7.3 hours.

&quot;This unusually large variation in brightness means that the object is highly elongated: about ten times as long as it is wide, with a complex, convoluted shape,&quot; said Meech.

&quot;We also found that it has a dark red colour, similar to objects in the outer Solar System, and confirmed that it is completely inert, without the faintest hint of dust around it,&quot; she said.

These properties suggest that &#39;Oumuamua is dense, possibly rocky or with high metal content, lacks significant amounts of water or ice, and that its surface is now dark and reddened due to the effects of irradiation from cosmic rays over millions of years. It is estimated to be at least 400 metres long.

Preliminary orbital calculations suggested that the object had come from the approximate direction of the bright star Vega, in the northern constellation of Lyra.

However, even travelling at a breakneck speed of about 95,000 kilometres per hour, it took so long for the interstellar object to make the journey to our Solar System that Vega was not near that position when the asteroid was there about 300,000 years ago.

&#39;Oumuamua may well have been wandering through the Milky Way, unattached to any star system, for hundreds of millions of years before its chance encounter with the Solar System.

Astronomers estimate that an interstellar asteroid similar to &#39;Oumuamua passes through the inner Solar System about once per year, but they are faint and hard to spot so have been missed until now.

It is only recently that survey telescopes, such as Pan- STARRS, are powerful enough to have a chance to discover them.

Observations from revealed no signs of cometary activity after it passed closest to the Sun in September and was henceforth reclassified as an interstellar asteroid and named 'Oumuamua'

A dark, reddish and cigar-shaped object that zipped through our solar system from outer space last month is nothing like any cosmic body seen before, say scientists who have classified it as the first interstellar asteroid. Last month the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai'i picked up a faint point of light moving across the sky. It initially looked like a typical fast-moving small asteroid, but additional observations over the next couple of days allowed its orbit to be computed fairly accurately. The orbit calculations revealed beyond any doubt that this body did not originate from inside the solar system, like all other asteroids or comets ever observed, but instead had come from interstellar space. Although originally classified as a comet, observations from revealed no signs of cometary activity after it passed closest to the Sun in September. The object was reclassified as an interstellar asteroid and named 'Oumuamua. The name, which was chosen by the Pan-STARRS team, is of Hawaiian origin and reflects the way this object is like a messenger sent from the distant past to reach out to us, researchers said. The asteroid is up to 400 metres long and highly- elongated - perhaps 10 times as long as it is wide. That aspect ratio is greater than that of any asteroid or comet observed in our solar system to date, scientists said. While its elongated shape is quite surprising, and unlike asteroids seen in our solar system, it may provide new clues into how other solar systems formed. When the 'Oumuamua was spotted, it had already passed its closest point to the Sun and was heading back into interstellar space, researchers said. European Southern Observatory (ESO)'s Very Large Telescope (VLT) was immediately called into action to measure the object's orbit, brightness and colour more accurately than smaller telescopes could achieve. Combining the images from various telescopes, astronomers led by Karen Meech from Institute for Astronomy in the US found that 'Oumuamua varies dramatically in brightness by a factor of ten as it spins on its axis every 7.3 hours. "This unusually large variation in brightness means that the object is highly elongated: about ten times as long as it is wide, with a complex, convoluted shape," said Meech. "We also found that it has a dark red colour, similar to objects in the outer Solar System, and confirmed that it is completely inert, without the faintest hint of dust around it," she said. These properties suggest that 'Oumuamua is dense, possibly rocky or with high metal content, lacks significant amounts of water or ice, and that its surface is now dark and reddened due to the effects of irradiation from cosmic rays over millions of years. It is estimated to be at least 400 metres long. Preliminary orbital calculations suggested that the object had come from the approximate direction of the bright star Vega, in the northern constellation of Lyra. However, even travelling at a breakneck speed of about 95,000 kilometres per hour, it took so long for the interstellar object to make the journey to our Solar System that Vega was not near that position when the asteroid was there about 300,000 years ago. 'Oumuamua may well have been wandering through the Milky Way, unattached to any star system, for hundreds of millions of years before its chance encounter with the Solar System. Astronomers estimate that an interstellar asteroid similar to 'Oumuamua passes through the inner Solar System about once per year, but they are faint and hard to spot so have been missed until now. It is only recently that survey telescopes, such as Pan- STARRS, are powerful enough to have a chance to discover them.

Unique cigar-shaped object is first interstellar asteroid

Turkey&rsquo;s Turksat 5A and 5B satellites will be launched by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said on Thursday.

&ldquo;Our friends decided to launch our satellites with the Falcon 9 rockets of Airbus&rsquo; subcontractor, SpaceX,&rdquo; Arslan said at an event in Istanbul. The agreement to build and launch satellites will be worth around $500 million, Turksat Chairman said during his speech at the same event.

In October, Airbus submitted the best bid to build the satellites. The 5A satellite will be launched in 2020 and the 5B in 2021.

Elon Musk, chief executive of American electric car maker Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX, met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday and discussed cooperation between Tesla, SpaceX, and Turkish firms. Musk&rsquo;s SpaceX plans a manned mission to Mars by 2024 and a rocket capable of carrying passengers from one continent to another in less than an hour.

In October, Airbus submitted the best bid to build the satellites. The 5A satellite will be launched in 2020 and the 5B in 2021.

Turkey’s Turksat 5A and 5B satellites will be launched by Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said on Thursday. “Our friends decided to launch our satellites with the Falcon 9 rockets of Airbus’ subcontractor, SpaceX,” Arslan said at an event in Istanbul. The agreement to build and launch satellites will be worth around $500 million, Turksat Chairman said during his speech at the same event. In October, Airbus submitted the best bid to build the satellites. The 5A satellite will be launched in 2020 and the 5B in 2021. Elon Musk, chief executive of American electric car maker Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX, met Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Wednesday and discussed cooperation between Tesla, SpaceX, and Turkish firms. Musk’s SpaceX plans a manned mission to Mars by 2024 and a rocket capable of carrying passengers from one continent to another in less than an hour.

Now, SpaceX to launch Turkish satellites

The US space agency&#39;s Cassini spacecraft will end its 13-year mission to Saturn in mid-September by transmitting data until the final moment before it plunges into the ringed planet&#39;s atmosphere, officials said on Tuesday.

Cassini, the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, will make the last of 22 farewell dives between the planet&#39;s rings and surface on Sept. 15. The spacecraft will then burn up as it heads straight into the gas giant&#39;s crushing atmosphere.

Cassini&#39;s final dive will end a mission that provided groundbreaking discoveries that included seasonal changes on Saturn, the moon Titan&#39;s resemblance to a primordial Earth, and a global ocean on the moon Enceladus with ice plumes spouting from its surface.

&quot;The mission has been insanely, wildly, beautifully successful, and it&#39;s coming to an end in about two weeks,&quot; Curt Niebur, Cassini program scientist, said on a telephone conference call with reporters from NASA&#39;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

Cassini&#39;s final photo as it heads into Saturn&#39;s atmosphere will likely be of propellers, or gaps in the rings caused by moonlets, said project scientist Linda Spilker.

The spacecraft will provide near real-time data on the atmosphere until it loses contact with Earth at 4:54 am&nbsp;PDT (1154 GMT) on Sept. 15, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said.

Spilker said Cassini&#39;s latest data on the rings had shown they had a lighter mass than forecast. That suggests they are younger than expected, at about 120 million years, and thus were created after the birth of the solar system, she said.

During its final orbits between the atmosphere and the rings, Cassini also studied Saturn&#39;s atmosphere and took measurements to determine the size of the planet&#39;s rocky core.

Cassini has been probing Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, and its entourage of 62 known moons since July 2004. It has provided enough data for almost 4,000 scientific papers.

Since the craft is running low on fuel, NASA is crashing it into Saturn to avoid any chance Cassini could someday collide with Titan, Enceladus or any other moon that has the potential to support indigenous microbial life.

By destroying the spacecraft, NASA will ensure that any hitchhiking Earth microbes still alive on Cassini will not contaminate the moons for future study.

Cassini, the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, will make the last of 22 farewell dives between the planet's rings and surface on Sept. 15.

The US space agency's Cassini spacecraft will end its 13-year mission to Saturn in mid-September by transmitting data until the final moment before it plunges into the ringed planet's atmosphere, officials said on Tuesday. Cassini, the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn, will make the last of 22 farewell dives between the planet's rings and surface on Sept. 15. The spacecraft will then burn up as it heads straight into the gas giant's crushing atmosphere. Cassini's final dive will end a mission that provided groundbreaking discoveries that included seasonal changes on Saturn, the moon Titan's resemblance to a primordial Earth, and a global ocean on the moon Enceladus with ice plumes spouting from its surface. "The mission has been insanely, wildly, beautifully successful, and it's coming to an end in about two weeks," Curt Niebur, Cassini program scientist, said on a telephone conference call with reporters from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. Cassini's final photo as it heads into Saturn's atmosphere will likely be of propellers, or gaps in the rings caused by moonlets, said project scientist Linda Spilker. The spacecraft will provide near real-time data on the atmosphere until it loses contact with Earth at 4:54 am PDT (1154 GMT) on Sept. 15, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said. Spilker said Cassini's latest data on the rings had shown they had a lighter mass than forecast. That suggests they are younger than expected, at about 120 million years, and thus were created after the birth of the solar system, she said. During its final orbits between the atmosphere and the rings, Cassini also studied Saturn's atmosphere and took measurements to determine the size of the planet's rocky core. Cassini has been probing Saturn, the sixth planet from the sun, and its entourage of 62 known moons since July 2004. It has provided enough data for almost 4,000 scientific papers. Since the craft is running low on fuel, NASA is crashing it into Saturn to avoid any chance Cassini could someday collide with Titan, Enceladus or any other moon that has the potential to support indigenous microbial life. By destroying the spacecraft, NASA will ensure that any hitchhiking Earth microbes still alive on Cassini will not contaminate the moons for future study.

NASA to crash US spacecraft into Saturn, 13-year mission to complete soon

SpaceX is poised to launch an unmanned cargo ship toward the International Space Station Monday, including a super-computer that could direct astronauts on future deep-space missions.

The liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon cargo ship, is planned for 12:31 pm (1631 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The weather forecast is 70 per cent favorable for launch.

The mission is the 12th official trip for SpaceX, which has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to supply the astronauts living in orbit over 20 such back-and-forth journeys.

About 10 minutes after launch, the rocket will attempt to make a controlled landing back on solid ground at Cape Canaveral, as part of SpaceX&#39;s ongoing effort to reuse rocket components after each take-off.

If Monday&#39;s launch is delayed for any reason, the next attempt would have to wait until next week, due to a spacewalk planned for Thursday by Russian cosmonauts, who will deploy a series of satellites from the orbiting outpost.

The Dragon is packed with 2,900 kilograms of supplies, including a sophisticated super-computer made by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), called The Spaceborne Computer.

The goal is to test the computer for one year to see if it can operate in the harsh conditions of space, about the same amount of time as it would take for astronauts to arrive at Mars.

As astronauts travel millions of miles away, communications will become increasingly delayed. Messages from Mars to Earth would be delayed from between four minutes to 24 minutes one-way, depending on the distance between the planets, according to the European Space Agency.

&quot;Such a long communication lag would make any on-the-ground exploration challenging and potentially dangerous if astronauts are met with any mission critical scenarios that they&#39;re not able to solve themselves,&quot; said HPE senior vice president Alain Andreoli in a statement.

The new super-computer aims to provide &quot;sophisticated onboard computing resources that are capable of extended periods of uptime,&quot; he added, describing the year-long effort as &quot;the first step in that direction.&quot;

Another experiment on board is designed to help scientists study Parkinson&#39;s disease in greater detail in the hopes of finding better treatments for this degenerative disease.&nbsp;

Un-impeded by gravity, protein crystals can grow larger in space, and scientists hope to use this environment to help them understand an important protein in Parkinson&rsquo;s disease, known as Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2).

Until now, this protein has been difficult to study in Earth, according to researchers at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which developed the research project.

Other experiments on board include a stem cell investigation for growing new lung tissue, and equipment for growing vegetables in space.

The liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon cargo ship, is planned for 1631 GMT from Cape Canaveral, Florida

SpaceX is poised to launch an unmanned cargo ship toward the International Space Station Monday, including a super-computer that could direct astronauts on future deep-space missions. The liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Dragon cargo ship, is planned for 12:31 pm (1631 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The weather forecast is 70 per cent favorable for launch. The mission is the 12th official trip for SpaceX, which has a $1.6 billion contract with NASA to supply the astronauts living in orbit over 20 such back-and-forth journeys. About 10 minutes after launch, the rocket will attempt to make a controlled landing back on solid ground at Cape Canaveral, as part of SpaceX's ongoing effort to reuse rocket components after each take-off. If Monday's launch is delayed for any reason, the next attempt would have to wait until next week, due to a spacewalk planned for Thursday by Russian cosmonauts, who will deploy a series of satellites from the orbiting outpost. The Dragon is packed with 2,900 kilograms of supplies, including a sophisticated super-computer made by Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), called The Spaceborne Computer. The goal is to test the computer for one year to see if it can operate in the harsh conditions of space, about the same amount of time as it would take for astronauts to arrive at Mars. As astronauts travel millions of miles away, communications will become increasingly delayed. Messages from Mars to Earth would be delayed from between four minutes to 24 minutes one-way, depending on the distance between the planets, according to the European Space Agency. "Such a long communication lag would make any on-the-ground exploration challenging and potentially dangerous if astronauts are met with any mission critical scenarios that they're not able to solve themselves," said HPE senior vice president Alain Andreoli in a statement. The new super-computer aims to provide "sophisticated onboard computing resources that are capable of extended periods of uptime," he added, describing the year-long effort as "the first step in that direction." Another experiment on board is designed to help scientists study Parkinson's disease in greater detail in the hopes of finding better treatments for this degenerative disease. Un-impeded by gravity, protein crystals can grow larger in space, and scientists hope to use this environment to help them understand an important protein in Parkinson’s disease, known as Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2). Until now, this protein has been difficult to study in Earth, according to researchers at the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which developed the research project. Other experiments on board include a stem cell investigation for growing new lung tissue, and equipment for growing vegetables in space.

SpaceX to launch super-computer to space

India and Israel signed seven agreements on Wednesday after talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.&nbsp;

The agreements are on water conservation, agriculture, innovation, and space.&nbsp;

There were no agreements on defence.&nbsp;

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndiaIsraelFriendship?src=hash">#IndiaIsraelFriendship</a>: Exploring New Realms of Cooperation - the two leaders witnessed the exchange of 7 agreements across sectors <a href="https://t.co/CrJDXascUd">pic.twitter.com/CrJDXascUd</a>
&mdash; Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/882566014088642560">July 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&quot;Israel is among the leading nations in the field of innovation, water and agriculture,&quot; said PM Modi at the joint statement the two leaders made.&nbsp;

The two countries also agreed to work together on combating terror.&nbsp;

&quot;We are being challenged by forces of terror. We have agreed to cooperate in this area,&quot; said PM Netanyahu

&quot;India has suffered first-hand the violence and hatred spread by terror, so has Israel,&quot; said PM Modi

&quot;The bonhomie that has been a feature of this visit continued.&nbsp;

&quot;This is a marriage made in heaven but we are implementing it here on earth,&quot; said PM Netanyahu &nbsp;

&quot;This is a deeply moving moment for me. We are making history,&quot; he added.&nbsp;

Modi took on the tone of a global statesman.&nbsp;

&quot;Our talks focused on not just areas of bilateral opportunities but also how our cooperation can help cause of global peace and stability,&quot; Modi said.&nbsp;

At a ministry of external affairs media briefing after the joint statement, Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar said Israel -- with its expertise in water management, agriculture, and innovation -- was the perfect country for India to partner with.&nbsp;

The Israelis, he said, were not only very good at developing new products but also at taking them to market.&nbsp;

Explaining the lack of defence deals -- India is one of the largest buyers of defence equipment from Israel -- Jaishankar said many of those are signed between companies, rather than between countries.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

India and Israel signed seven agreements on Wednesday after talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. The agreements are on water conservation, agriculture, innovation, and space. There were no agreements on defence. #IndiaIsraelFriendship: Exploring New Realms of Cooperation - the two leaders witnessed the exchange of 7 agreements across sectors pic.twitter.com/CrJDXascUd — Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) July 5, 2017 × "Israel is among the leading nations in the field of innovation, water and agriculture," said PM Modi at the joint statement the two leaders made. The two countries also agreed to work together on combating terror. "We are being challenged by forces of terror. We have agreed to cooperate in this area," said PM Netanyahu "India has suffered first-hand the violence and hatred spread by terror, so has Israel," said PM Modi "The bonhomie that has been a feature of this visit continued. "This is a marriage made in heaven but we are implementing it here on earth," said PM Netanyahu "This is a deeply moving moment for me. We are making history," he added. Modi took on the tone of a global statesman. "Our talks focused on not just areas of bilateral opportunities but also how our cooperation can help cause of global peace and stability," Modi said. At a ministry of external affairs media briefing after the joint statement, Indian foreign secretary S Jaishankar said Israel -- with its expertise in water management, agriculture, and innovation -- was the perfect country for India to partner with. The Israelis, he said, were not only very good at developing new products but also at taking them to market. Explaining the lack of defence deals -- India is one of the largest buyers of defence equipment from Israel -- Jaishankar said many of those are signed between companies, rather than between countries.

India & Israel sign 7 agreements on water, agriculture & innovation, none on defence

A NASA science satellite orbiting Mars was forced to make a rare evasive manoeuvre to avoid a collision next week with one of the planet&#39;s two small moons, the US&nbsp;space agency said on Thursday.

Flight controllers at NASA&#39;s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, commanded the MAVEN spacecraft, which is studying Mars&#39; vanishing atmosphere, to fire up its engine on Tuesday to boost its speed by about 1.3 feet per second (0.4 metres per second).

The acceleration was necessary to slightly shift MAVEN&#39;s orbit and steer the satellite clear of the Martian moon Phobos, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement.

Without the tweak, MAVEN and the small, lumpy moon would have reached the same point in space within seven seconds of one another next Monday, March 6. In its new orbit, MAVEN will miss Phobos by about two and a hald minutes, NASA said.

MAVEN is in an egg-shaped orbit that regularly crosses the paths of other science satellites and of Phobos, which circles just 6,000 miles (9,656 kilometres) above the Martian surface, closer than any other known moon to a planet in the solar system. At that distance, Phobos whips around Mars three times a day.

Flight controllers regularly monitor MAVEN&#39;s path for potential collisions. Tuesday&#39;s evasive action was the first time MAVEN had to dodge the potato-shaped Phobos, which measures about 10 by 14 miles by 11 miles (16 by 22.5 by 18 kilometres).

MAVEN, short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, reached the red planet in September 2014.

(Reuters)

Boosting the satellite's speed by 1.3 metres a second was needed to slightly shift MAVEN's orbit, and steer clear of the Martian moon Phobos

A NASA science satellite orbiting Mars was forced to make a rare evasive manoeuvre to avoid a collision next week with one of the planet's two small moons, the US space agency said on Thursday. Flight controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, commanded the MAVEN spacecraft, which is studying Mars' vanishing atmosphere, to fire up its engine on Tuesday to boost its speed by about 1.3 feet per second (0.4 metres per second). The acceleration was necessary to slightly shift MAVEN's orbit and steer the satellite clear of the Martian moon Phobos, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said in a statement. Without the tweak, MAVEN and the small, lumpy moon would have reached the same point in space within seven seconds of one another next Monday, March 6. In its new orbit, MAVEN will miss Phobos by about two and a hald minutes, NASA said. MAVEN is in an egg-shaped orbit that regularly crosses the paths of other science satellites and of Phobos, which circles just 6,000 miles (9,656 kilometres) above the Martian surface, closer than any other known moon to a planet in the solar system. At that distance, Phobos whips around Mars three times a day. Flight controllers regularly monitor MAVEN's path for potential collisions. Tuesday's evasive action was the first time MAVEN had to dodge the potato-shaped Phobos, which measures about 10 by 14 miles by 11 miles (16 by 22.5 by 18 kilometres). MAVEN, short for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, reached the red planet in September 2014. (Reuters)

NASA satellite orbiting Mars dodges planet's moon with rare evasive manoeuvre

An international team of researchers announced on Monday the discovery of 104 new planets outside our solar system, including four that could have Earth-like, rocky surfaces. 
 
Scientists discovered the exoplanets using the Kepler space telescope as well as ground observations by Earth-based telescopes, including four on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. 
 
The $600 million Kepler mission has allowed scientists to discover more than 4,600 planets -- 2,326 of them confirmed -- since it launched in 2009. 
 
&quot;The diversity of planets is astounding,&quot; said Evan Sinukoff, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii who contributed to the research. 
 
&quot;We discovered many planets about twice the size of the Earth orbiting so close to their host stars that they are hotter than 1000 degrees.&quot; 
 
The latest trove includes 21 situated within their sun&#39;s habitable zone -- the distance from a star that could permit liquid water to exist and support life. 
 
The four potentially rocky planets -- ranging from 20 to 50 per cent larger than Earth -- orbit tightly around the same star in a planetary system about 400 light-years from Earth. 
 
Though the planets rotate around their star even closer than Mercury orbits the sun, two of the planets may have surface temperatures similar to Earth&#39;s, as their star is cooler than our sun, astronomers said. 
 
The unmanned Kepler mission has been scanning 150,000 stars in the Cygnus constellation for signs of orbiting bodies, particularly those that might be able to support life. 
 
It works by observing a dimming in the light of a star, known as a transit, each time an orbiting planet passes in front of it. 
 
In 2013, the space telescope suffered a problem with the reaction wheels that typically keep the spacecraft steady. 
 
NASA subsequently set the spacecraft on a new mission called K2, to study supernovas, star clusters and far-off galaxies. 
 
Scientists verified the latest exoplanets as part of the K2 mission. 
 
(AFP)

The $600 million Kepler mission has allowed scientists to discover more than 4,600 planets since it was launched in 2009

An international team of researchers announced on Monday the discovery of 104 new planets outside our solar system, including four that could have Earth-like, rocky surfaces. Scientists discovered the exoplanets using the Kepler space telescope as well as ground observations by Earth-based telescopes, including four on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The $600 million Kepler mission has allowed scientists to discover more than 4,600 planets -- 2,326 of them confirmed -- since it launched in 2009. "The diversity of planets is astounding," said Evan Sinukoff, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii who contributed to the research. "We discovered many planets about twice the size of the Earth orbiting so close to their host stars that they are hotter than 1000 degrees." The latest trove includes 21 situated within their sun's habitable zone -- the distance from a star that could permit liquid water to exist and support life. The four potentially rocky planets -- ranging from 20 to 50 per cent larger than Earth -- orbit tightly around the same star in a planetary system about 400 light-years from Earth. Though the planets rotate around their star even closer than Mercury orbits the sun, two of the planets may have surface temperatures similar to Earth's, as their star is cooler than our sun, astronomers said. The unmanned Kepler mission has been scanning 150,000 stars in the Cygnus constellation for signs of orbiting bodies, particularly those that might be able to support life. It works by observing a dimming in the light of a star, known as a transit, each time an orbiting planet passes in front of it. In 2013, the space telescope suffered a problem with the reaction wheels that typically keep the spacecraft steady. NASA subsequently set the spacecraft on a new mission called K2, to study supernovas, star clusters and far-off galaxies. Scientists verified the latest exoplanets as part of the K2 mission. (AFP)

NASA's Kepler discovers more than 104 exoplanets

The International Space Station (ISS) has a popular live feed that is available to the public, accessible via&nbsp;their Ustream page. The feed lets virtually anyone peek into the functioning of the space station, and also experience some spectacular views of our home planet. 
 
However this feed was mysteriously shut off a few days ago, following reports of an unidentified object entering its vicinity. The incident happened on July 9 and was proliferated by popular UFO hunter Streetcap1, who uploaded a video of the object travelling across the ISS camera&rsquo;s field of view. 
 
The clip appears to show a blue object descending toward the Earth&rsquo;s horizon, rotating all the while. 
 
He has however posted a caveat saying that this can&nbsp;well be anything,&nbsp;not necessarily an alien craft. He does however say that what makes this incident especially interesting is the fact that the live video feed appeared to have been terminated the instant the object stopped moving. 
 
Possible explanations of what this object could be range from a meteor, to it probably being the Chinese space cargo ship Tiangong-1.&nbsp;This incident has sparked discussions among conspiracy theorists and UFO hunters, accusing NASA of intentionally disabling their live video feed at times such as these. 
 
(DNA)

A UFO hunter has recorded footage of a live NASA ISS video that appears to have been cut short after the sighting

The International Space Station (ISS) has a popular live feed that is available to the public, accessible via their Ustream page. The feed lets virtually anyone peek into the functioning of the space station, and also experience some spectacular views of our home planet. However this feed was mysteriously shut off a few days ago, following reports of an unidentified object entering its vicinity. The incident happened on July 9 and was proliferated by popular UFO hunter Streetcap1, who uploaded a video of the object travelling across the ISS camera’s field of view. The clip appears to show a blue object descending toward the Earth’s horizon, rotating all the while. He has however posted a caveat saying that this can well be anything, not necessarily an alien craft. He does however say that what makes this incident especially interesting is the fact that the live video feed appeared to have been terminated the instant the object stopped moving. Possible explanations of what this object could be range from a meteor, to it probably being the Chinese space cargo ship Tiangong-1. This incident has sparked discussions among conspiracy theorists and UFO hunters, accusing NASA of intentionally disabling their live video feed at times such as these. (DNA)

International Space Station cuts live video feed after possible UFO encounter

China completed the construction of the world&#39;s largest radio telescope today in hopes of detecting signals from the universe, state media reported. 
 
State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of the last piece of the 4,450 triangular panels being moved and installed onto the 500-metre-diametre reflector. 
 
The construction of the project started in 2011 with an investment of 1.2-billion Yuan ($180 million), CCTV said. 
 
The 500 metre Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, is the size of 30 football fields and has been hewed out of a mountain in the southwestern province of Guizhou. 
 
The telescope, which has taken about five years to build, is expected to begin operations in September, state run Xinhua news agency said. 
 
Advancing China&#39;s space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power. 
 
China&#39;s ambitions include putting a man on the moon by 2036 and building a space station, work on which has already begun. 
 
China insists its programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US defense department has highlighted China&#39;s increasing space capabilities, saying it is pursuing activities aimed at preventing adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis. 
 
(Reuters)

China constructs world's largest radio telescope to detect signals from the universe as part of its strategy to become a space power

China completed the construction of the world's largest radio telescope today in hopes of detecting signals from the universe, state media reported. State broadcaster CCTV showed footage of the last piece of the 4,450 triangular panels being moved and installed onto the 500-metre-diametre reflector. The construction of the project started in 2011 with an investment of 1.2-billion Yuan ($180 million), CCTV said. The 500 metre Aperture Spherical Telescope, or FAST, is the size of 30 football fields and has been hewed out of a mountain in the southwestern province of Guizhou. The telescope, which has taken about five years to build, is expected to begin operations in September, state run Xinhua news agency said. Advancing China's space programme is a priority for Beijing, with President Xi Jinping calling for the country to establish itself as a space power. China's ambitions include putting a man on the moon by 2036 and building a space station, work on which has already begun. China insists its programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US defense department has highlighted China's increasing space capabilities, saying it is pursuing activities aimed at preventing adversaries from using space-based assets in a crisis. (Reuters)

ET phone home: China eyes hunt for alien life with giant telescope

NASA&#39;s Juno spacecraft hurtled closer toward Jupiter on Friday, headed for a July 4 leap into polar orbit around the solar system&#39;s largest planet to analyse how it formed and helped set the stage for life on Earth. 
 
During a 20-month study, Juno is expected to circle the gas giant in 37 egg-shaped orbits to measure microwaves radiating from inside the planet&#39;s thick atmosphere, map its massive magnetic field and conduct other experiments. 
 
Scientists are particularly keen to learn how much water Jupiter contains, a key to unlocking the origins of the largest celestial body in the solar system after the sun. 
 
Jupiter currently orbits the sun at a distance about five times farther away than Earth, but it may have formed in a different location and migrated, gravitationally elbowing aside other planets along the way. 
 
&quot;Something happens that allows a star to be born and then afterwards the planets ... That eventually leads to us,&quot; said the mission&#39;s lead scientist, Scott Bolton, a space physicist with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. 
 
More than half of the material left over from the formation of the sun 4.6 billion years ago ended up in Jupiter, which has a circumference nearly 11 times bigger than Earth&#39;s and is itself orbited by 67 known moons. 
 
Jupiter is made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, the two simplest and most abundant elements in the universe, but the planet&#39;s enormous mass generates such high pressure that the materials behave in unexpected and unknown ways. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re working in a new environment,&quot; said Frances Bagenal, a planetary scientist with the University of Colorado in Boulder. &quot;We don&#39;t know the physics of how things work at these high pressures.&rdquo; 
 
The Juno probe is named for the ancient Roman goddess, who was the wife and sister of Jupiter, the mythological king of gods, and had the power to see through clouds. 
 
From vantage points as close as 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometres) from the planet&#39;s cloud tops, the spacecraft is to not only search for water but assess whether Jupiter possesses a dense core beneath its atmosphere. 
 
&quot;We&#39;re about to embark on an incredible journey,&quot; Bolton said during a news conference from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. 
 
Juno, careening toward Jupiter at more than 160,000 miles per hour (25,750 kph), over 200 times the speed of sound, has been programmed to fire its braking rocket at 11:18 pm EDT on Monday (0318 GMT on Tuesday) in order to slow its course. 
 
The rocket must be precisely positioned and burn for 35 minutes to reduce its speed enough to allow it to be captured by Jupiter&#39;s gravity and swing into orbit. 
 
&quot;If that doesn&#39;t all go just right, we fly past Jupiter,&quot; Bolton said. 
 
Only one other spacecraft, NASA&#39;s Galileo space probe, has orbited Jupiter, circling the planet for eight years before colliding with the gas giant in 2003. The first spacecraft to fly past Jupiter was NASA&#39;s Pioneer 10 in 1973. 
 
Juno, which will arrive at Jupiter after a journey of five years and nearly two billion miles (3.2 billion kilometres), is expected to end its mission as the Galileo probe did, crashing itself into the planet to avoid possible contamination of Jupiter&#39;s ocean-bearing moon, Europa, with any microbes carried by the spacecraft. 
 
(Reuters)

Scientists want to know how much water the planet contains to learn about the origins of the solar system's second largest celestial body

NASA's Juno spacecraft hurtled closer toward Jupiter on Friday, headed for a July 4 leap into polar orbit around the solar system's largest planet to analyse how it formed and helped set the stage for life on Earth. During a 20-month study, Juno is expected to circle the gas giant in 37 egg-shaped orbits to measure microwaves radiating from inside the planet's thick atmosphere, map its massive magnetic field and conduct other experiments. Scientists are particularly keen to learn how much water Jupiter contains, a key to unlocking the origins of the largest celestial body in the solar system after the sun. Jupiter currently orbits the sun at a distance about five times farther away than Earth, but it may have formed in a different location and migrated, gravitationally elbowing aside other planets along the way. "Something happens that allows a star to be born and then afterwards the planets ... That eventually leads to us," said the mission's lead scientist, Scott Bolton, a space physicist with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. More than half of the material left over from the formation of the sun 4.6 billion years ago ended up in Jupiter, which has a circumference nearly 11 times bigger than Earth's and is itself orbited by 67 known moons. Jupiter is made almost entirely of hydrogen and helium, the two simplest and most abundant elements in the universe, but the planet's enormous mass generates such high pressure that the materials behave in unexpected and unknown ways. "We're working in a new environment," said Frances Bagenal, a planetary scientist with the University of Colorado in Boulder. "We don't know the physics of how things work at these high pressures.” The Juno probe is named for the ancient Roman goddess, who was the wife and sister of Jupiter, the mythological king of gods, and had the power to see through clouds. From vantage points as close as 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometres) from the planet's cloud tops, the spacecraft is to not only search for water but assess whether Jupiter possesses a dense core beneath its atmosphere. "We're about to embark on an incredible journey," Bolton said during a news conference from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. Juno, careening toward Jupiter at more than 160,000 miles per hour (25,750 kph), over 200 times the speed of sound, has been programmed to fire its braking rocket at 11:18 pm EDT on Monday (0318 GMT on Tuesday) in order to slow its course. The rocket must be precisely positioned and burn for 35 minutes to reduce its speed enough to allow it to be captured by Jupiter's gravity and swing into orbit. "If that doesn't all go just right, we fly past Jupiter," Bolton said. Only one other spacecraft, NASA's Galileo space probe, has orbited Jupiter, circling the planet for eight years before colliding with the gas giant in 2003. The first spacecraft to fly past Jupiter was NASA's Pioneer 10 in 1973. Juno, which will arrive at Jupiter after a journey of five years and nearly two billion miles (3.2 billion kilometres), is expected to end its mission as the Galileo probe did, crashing itself into the planet to avoid possible contamination of Jupiter's ocean-bearing moon, Europa, with any microbes carried by the spacecraft. (Reuters)

NASA space probe to lift the veil on Jupiter

Czechia has become the official English alternative name for the Czech Republic, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, allowing users to save space on name tags and product labels. 
 
A spokeswoman said the ministry had notified the United Nations that Czechia, as well as versions of the name in French, German, Russian, Arabic and Chinese, may be used instead of the full political name. 
 
This marks an end to more than two decades of hesitation on finding a single word name for the western part of the former Czechoslovakia, a federation of Czechia and Slovakia that broke up peacefully in 1993. 
 
But not all Czechs are happy. 
 
When the cabinet announced a decision to go ahead with the title earlier this year, an informal survey by news website idnes.cz found more than 22,000 people said they did not like it against 7,000 who did. 
 
The ministry said it would not push the new name but would let it take root naturally over time through voluntary use. 
 
&quot;This does not mean it will be used at all international gatherings from now on,&quot; spokeswoman Michaela Lagronova said. 
 
The country of 10.6 million people consists of the historical lands of Bohemia (Cechy in Czech), Moravia and part of Silesia. 
 
While some experts argue Bohemia was, in medieval times, used as a name for the entire country, people from those regions have protested against using it. 
 
Czechia is based on a Latin name for the country used in 17th and 18th century texts. 
 
(Reuters)

This allows space to be saved on name tags and product labels

Czechia has become the official English alternative name for the Czech Republic, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday, allowing users to save space on name tags and product labels. A spokeswoman said the ministry had notified the United Nations that Czechia, as well as versions of the name in French, German, Russian, Arabic and Chinese, may be used instead of the full political name. This marks an end to more than two decades of hesitation on finding a single word name for the western part of the former Czechoslovakia, a federation of Czechia and Slovakia that broke up peacefully in 1993. But not all Czechs are happy. When the cabinet announced a decision to go ahead with the title earlier this year, an informal survey by news website idnes.cz found more than 22,000 people said they did not like it against 7,000 who did. The ministry said it would not push the new name but would let it take root naturally over time through voluntary use. "This does not mean it will be used at all international gatherings from now on," spokeswoman Michaela Lagronova said. The country of 10.6 million people consists of the historical lands of Bohemia (Cechy in Czech), Moravia and part of Silesia. While some experts argue Bohemia was, in medieval times, used as a name for the entire country, people from those regions have protested against using it. Czechia is based on a Latin name for the country used in 17th and 18th century texts. (Reuters)

The Czech Republic is also officially called Czechia now

Present day Pluto may have a liquid ocean sloshing around under its icy crust, according to to a new analysis of data from NASA&rsquo;s New Horizons spacecraft. 
 
When New Horizons buzzed by Pluto last year, it unveiled clues that the dwarf planet might have &ndash; or had at one time &ndash; a sub-surface liquid ocean. 
 
Scientists from Brown University in the US, who used a thermal evolution model for Pluto updated with data from New Horizons, found that if its ocean had frozen, it would have caused the entire planet to shrink. 
 
However, there are no signs of a global contraction to be found on Pluto&rsquo;s surface, researchers said. On the contrary, New Horizons showed signs that Pluto has been expanding. 
 
The pictures New Horizons sent back from its close encounter with the Kuiper Belt&rsquo;s most famous denizen showed that Pluto was much more than a simple snowball in space. 
 
It has an exotic surface made from different types of ices &ndash; water, nitrogen and methane.&nbsp;It has mountains hundreds of meters high and a vast heart-shaped plain.&nbsp;It also has giant tectonic features &ndash; sinuous faults hundreds of kilometres long as deep as 4 kilometres.&nbsp;It was those tectonic features that got scientists thinking that a subsurface ocean was a real possibility for Pluto. 
 
&ldquo;What New Horizons showed was that there are extensional tectonic features, which indicate that Pluto underwent a period of global expansion,&rdquo; said Noah Hammond, a graduate student in Brown University. 
 
&ldquo;A subsurface ocean that was slowly freezing over would cause this kind of expansion,&rdquo; Hammond said. 
 
Scientists think that there may have been enough heat-producing radioactive elements within Pluto&rsquo;s rocky core to melt part of the planet&rsquo;s ice shell. 
 
Over time in the frigid Kuiper belt, that melted portion would eventually start to refreeze. Ice is less dense than water, so when it freezes, it expands. 
 
If Pluto had an ocean that was frozen or in the process of freezing, extensional tectonics on the surface would result, and that is what New Horizons saw. 
 
The thermal evolution model showed that because of the low temperatures and high pressure within Pluto, an ocean that had completely frozen over would quickly convert from the normal ice we all know to a different phase called ice II. 
 
Ice II has a more compact crystalline structure than standard ice, so an ocean frozen to ice II would occupy a smaller volume and lead to a global contraction on Pluto, rather than an expansion. 
 
&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t see the things on the surface we&rsquo;d expect if there had been a global contraction,&rdquo; Hammond said. 
 
&ldquo;So we conclude that ice II has not formed, and therefore that the ocean hasn&rsquo;t completely frozen,&rdquo; she said. 
 
The new model bolsters the case for an ocean environment in the furthest reaches of the solar system. 
 
The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. 
 
(PTI)

Scientists think that there may have been enough heat-producing elements within Pluto?s rocky core to melt part of the planet?s ice shell

Present day Pluto may have a liquid ocean sloshing around under its icy crust, according to to a new analysis of data from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft. When New Horizons buzzed by Pluto last year, it unveiled clues that the dwarf planet might have – or had at one time – a sub-surface liquid ocean. Scientists from Brown University in the US, who used a thermal evolution model for Pluto updated with data from New Horizons, found that if its ocean had frozen, it would have caused the entire planet to shrink. However, there are no signs of a global contraction to be found on Pluto’s surface, researchers said. On the contrary, New Horizons showed signs that Pluto has been expanding. The pictures New Horizons sent back from its close encounter with the Kuiper Belt’s most famous denizen showed that Pluto was much more than a simple snowball in space. It has an exotic surface made from different types of ices – water, nitrogen and methane. It has mountains hundreds of meters high and a vast heart-shaped plain. It also has giant tectonic features – sinuous faults hundreds of kilometres long as deep as 4 kilometres. It was those tectonic features that got scientists thinking that a subsurface ocean was a real possibility for Pluto. “What New Horizons showed was that there are extensional tectonic features, which indicate that Pluto underwent a period of global expansion,” said Noah Hammond, a graduate student in Brown University. “A subsurface ocean that was slowly freezing over would cause this kind of expansion,” Hammond said. Scientists think that there may have been enough heat-producing radioactive elements within Pluto’s rocky core to melt part of the planet’s ice shell. Over time in the frigid Kuiper belt, that melted portion would eventually start to refreeze. Ice is less dense than water, so when it freezes, it expands. If Pluto had an ocean that was frozen or in the process of freezing, extensional tectonics on the surface would result, and that is what New Horizons saw. The thermal evolution model showed that because of the low temperatures and high pressure within Pluto, an ocean that had completely frozen over would quickly convert from the normal ice we all know to a different phase called ice II. Ice II has a more compact crystalline structure than standard ice, so an ocean frozen to ice II would occupy a smaller volume and lead to a global contraction on Pluto, rather than an expansion. “We don’t see the things on the surface we’d expect if there had been a global contraction,” Hammond said. “So we conclude that ice II has not formed, and therefore that the ocean hasn’t completely frozen,” she said. The new model bolsters the case for an ocean environment in the furthest reaches of the solar system. The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. (PTI)

Pluto may have liquid ocean under ice shell

Europe&#39;s Ariane 5 rocket launcher successfully sent two telecoms satellites- Echo Star XVIII and BRIsat, one for a US-based communications service provider and one for an Indonesian bank, into space. 
 
They were launched from Kourou, in French Guiana, at 6:38 PM Friday, according to launch company Arianespace. 
 
It was the third launch of the year, placing into orbit the Echo Star XVIII for satellite service provider Dish Network, and BRIsat for Rakyat Indonesia bank. 
 
Twenty-nine minutes after launch, the satellite Echo Star XVIII entered orbit. 
 
The satellite is designed to provide direct broadcasting services for 15 years to the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii for Dish Network. 
 
Forty-two minutes after blast off, the satellite BRIsat reached its orbit. 
 
It is the first telecommunications satellite dedicated to a financial institution, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, which has 53 million customers across the Indonesian archipelago, according to Arianespace. 
(AFP)

The two satellites- Echo Star XVIII and BRIsat are launched for Dish Network and Rakyat Indonesia bank, respectively

Europe's Ariane 5 rocket launcher successfully sent two telecoms satellites- Echo Star XVIII and BRIsat, one for a US-based communications service provider and one for an Indonesian bank, into space. They were launched from Kourou, in French Guiana, at 6:38 PM Friday, according to launch company Arianespace. It was the third launch of the year, placing into orbit the Echo Star XVIII for satellite service provider Dish Network, and BRIsat for Rakyat Indonesia bank. Twenty-nine minutes after launch, the satellite Echo Star XVIII entered orbit. The satellite is designed to provide direct broadcasting services for 15 years to the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii for Dish Network. Forty-two minutes after blast off, the satellite BRIsat reached its orbit. It is the first telecommunications satellite dedicated to a financial institution, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, which has 53 million customers across the Indonesian archipelago, according to Arianespace. (AFP)

Europe's Ariane 5 launches 2 satellites into space

Aliens may take another 1,500 years to contact us as Earth&#39;s physical attributes are not unique, making it difficult for the extraterrestrials to locate us, a new study has found. 
 
&quot;We haven&#39;t heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place, but that doesn&#39;t mean no one is out there,&quot; said Evan Solomonides, from the Cornell University in the US. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s possible to hear any time at all, but it becomes likely we will have heard around 1,500 years from now,&quot; said Solomonides.&nbsp;&quot;Until then, it is possible that we appear to be alone - even if we are not. But if we stop listening or looking, we may miss the signals. So we should keep looking,&quot; he said. 
 
Astronomers from Cornell University deconstructed the Fermi Paradox and paired it with the Mediocrity Principle into a fresh equation.&nbsp;According to the Fermi Paradox, billions of Earth-like planets exist in our galaxy, yet no aliens have contacted or visited us. Thus the paradox: the cosmos teems with possibility. 
 
The mediocrity principle - proposed by 16th-century mathematician Copernicus - states that the Earth&#39;s physical attributes are not unique, as natural processes are likely common throughout the cosmos, and therefore aliens would not discover us for a while. 
 
Hunting for extraterrestrials means sending out signals like television broadcasts, for example. As Earth&#39;s electronic ambassador, TV and radio signals are sent into space as a byproduct of broadcasting. 
 
These signals have been travelling from Earth for 80 years at the speed of light. 
 
For aliens receiving these transmissions, they would likely be indecipherable, said Solomonides, as the extraterrestrials would need to decode light waves into sounds, then parse 3,000 human languages to grasp the message. 
 
Earth&#39;s broadcast signals have reached every star within about 80 light years from the Sun - about 8,531 stars and 3,555 Earth-like planets, as our Milky Way galaxy alone contains 200 billion stars, researchers said. 
 
Combining the equations for the Fermi Paradox and the mediocrity principle, the researchers suggest that the Earth might hear from an alien civilisation when about half of the Milky Way Galaxy has been signalled in about 1,500 years. 
(PTI)

'We haven't heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place, but that doesn't mean no one is out there'

Aliens may take another 1,500 years to contact us as Earth's physical attributes are not unique, making it difficult for the extraterrestrials to locate us, a new study has found. "We haven't heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place, but that doesn't mean no one is out there," said Evan Solomonides, from the Cornell University in the US. "It's possible to hear any time at all, but it becomes likely we will have heard around 1,500 years from now," said Solomonides. "Until then, it is possible that we appear to be alone - even if we are not. But if we stop listening or looking, we may miss the signals. So we should keep looking," he said. Astronomers from Cornell University deconstructed the Fermi Paradox and paired it with the Mediocrity Principle into a fresh equation. According to the Fermi Paradox, billions of Earth-like planets exist in our galaxy, yet no aliens have contacted or visited us. Thus the paradox: the cosmos teems with possibility. The mediocrity principle - proposed by 16th-century mathematician Copernicus - states that the Earth's physical attributes are not unique, as natural processes are likely common throughout the cosmos, and therefore aliens would not discover us for a while. Hunting for extraterrestrials means sending out signals like television broadcasts, for example. As Earth's electronic ambassador, TV and radio signals are sent into space as a byproduct of broadcasting. These signals have been travelling from Earth for 80 years at the speed of light. For aliens receiving these transmissions, they would likely be indecipherable, said Solomonides, as the extraterrestrials would need to decode light waves into sounds, then parse 3,000 human languages to grasp the message. Earth's broadcast signals have reached every star within about 80 light years from the Sun - about 8,531 stars and 3,555 Earth-like planets, as our Milky Way galaxy alone contains 200 billion stars, researchers said. Combining the equations for the Fermi Paradox and the mediocrity principle, the researchers suggest that the Earth might hear from an alien civilisation when about half of the Milky Way Galaxy has been signalled in about 1,500 years. (PTI)

Aliens may take 1,500 more years to contact Earth: Study

space

Space, News on Space, stories on Space, articles on Space, Space stories at Wion, Space news, Space latest news