Four-astronaut Team Departs International Space Station on Flight back to Earth
The third long-duration team of astronauts launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA safely departed the orbiting outpost to begin their descent back to Earth, capping a six-month science mission.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying three U.S. NASA astronauts and a German astronaut from the European Space Agency undocked from the ISS at 1:20 a.m. EDT (0520 GMT) to embark on a return flight expected to last about 23 hours.
Wearing helmeted white-and-black spacesuits, the four astronauts were seen strapped into the crew cabin shortly before the spacecraft separated from the space station, orbiting some 250 miles (400 km) above the Earth.
May 04, 2022
Russia to Pull Out of International Space Station: Roscosmos
US space agency NASA and Russia's state space corporation Roscosmos have been the two largest partners on the International Space Station (ISS) for the last three decades. The two organisations have agreed to work together on the ISS through 2024, but on December 31, 2021, US President Joe Biden's administration committed to extending the operations through 2030. While Russia did not formally agree to the extension, in January 2022, Rogozin had said that Roscosmos and NASA were in talks on extending the operation of the ISS until 2030. But Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, affected space cooperation between the two countries and Roscosmos's participation in the extension started to seem unlikely.
Russia has already made the decision to pull out of the International Space Station, likely in about two years time, chief of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin said.
May 03, 2022
IIT-Mandi Team Discovers Molecule that Can be Used for Treatment of Diabetes
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mandi identified a drug molecule which triggers the release of insulin by pancreas and can potentially be used as an orally administered medicine for diabetes. According to the research team, the molecule is called PK2 and the findings of the research have been published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Diabetes is associated with insufficient insulin release by beta cells of pancreas in response to blood glucose levels. The release of insulin entails many intricate biochemical processes. One such process involves protein structures called GLP1R present in the cells. A hormonal molecule called GLP1, released after the ingestion of a meal, binds to the GLP1R and triggers the release of insulin.
May 02, 2022
UAE's Probe Finds New Auroras on Mars
Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) probe, Hope, captured stunning images of Mars' enigmatic auroras that will provide new insights into the interactions between the Red Planet's atmosphere, its magnetic fields and the solar wind.
Auroras are dancing waves of light like the northern lights seen on Earth. They appear on a planet when solar activity disturbs its atmosphere.
The latest observations by EMM include a never-before seen phenomenon, dubbed the 'sinuous discrete aurora' -- a huge worm-like aurora that extends halfway around the Red Planet.
NASA Scientists Crack 60-year-old Mystery of Explosions on Sun
Scientists at NASA developed a theory that explains how explosions occur on the Sun, and help better predict geomagnetic storms and solar flares that can impact Earth. An explosive process called magnetic reconnection triggers solar flares, which can, in just minutes, release enough energy to power the whole world for 20,000 years. Scientists have spent the last half-century trying to understand how this process happens.
The team at NASA's Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) has a new theory that explains how the most explosive type of magnetic reconnection - called fast reconnection - occurs and why it happens at a consistent speed.
Magnetic reconnection is a process that occurs in plasma - energetic, fluid-like material that is exquisitely sensitive to magnetic fields.
From flares on the Sun, to near Earth space, to black holes, plasmas throughout the universe undergo magnetic reconnection, which rapidly converts magnetic energy into heat and acceleration. While there are several types of magnetic reconnection, one particularly puzzling variant is known as fast reconnection, which occurs at a predictable rate.
May 01, 2022
60 Countries Join Hands for Open, Free and Secure Global Internet
The US, all the European Union (EU) member states and 32 non-EU countries signed a "Declaration for the Future of the Internet" that calls for an "open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, and secure" internet.
The declaration represents a political commitment among partners to advance a positive vision for the internet and digital technologies.
It also reaffirms and recommits its partners to a single global Internet - one that is truly open and fosters competition, privacy, and respect for human rights.
The declaration aims to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people and promote a global Internet that advances the free flow of information.