In a first, Chinese women enrol to become astronautsSeptember 17th, 2009 BEIJING - China has selected 30 men and 15 women candidates in the second round of its space-training programme, officials said Thursday. All 45 candidates are air force pilots.
China selects new astronauts - one third of them womenSeptember 17th, 2009 BEIJING - The preliminary selection for candidates of China's second-batch of astronauts has been completed and candidates are 30 men and 15 women who are all air force pilots, authorities said Thursday. Among them, five men and two women would be the final candidates to join the space programme.
Outspoken pupils perform betterSeptember 4th, 2009 LONDON - A new study has given kids the perfect excuse to throw traditional classroom adage "Sit quietly then teacher will begin" out of the window: Outspoken children learn more. Edinburgh University academics claimed that encouraging youngsters to speak out in class could be a more effective way for them to learn, reports The Scotsman.
Asteroid visits could prepare astronauts for Mars landingAugust 12th, 2009 LONDON - A committee appointed by the White House to review NASA's aims has put forward the idea to send astronauts on progressively longer space trips to asteroids, in order to prepare them for a landing on Mars. According to a report in New Scientist, committee member Edward Crawley of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said that the first mission would fly by the moon.
China to select only 'super humans' as future astronautsAugust 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Reports indicate that the Chinese government wants all its future astronauts to be 'super human', in the sense that they should be close to perfection to meet the standards set for the men and women who will lead China into outer space. They have to be scar-free from head to toe, have no history of serious illnesses and be unmarred by bad breath or dental cavities, the reports add.
Astronauts complete final spacewalkJuly 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Two astronauts have completed their fifth and final spacewalk installing two cameras on Japan's Kibo laboratory at the International Space Station (ISS), the US space agency NASA said. The spacewalk, conducted by Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn, lasted four hours and 54 minutes.
Astronauts install video cameras on ISS porchJuly 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US astronauts Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy installed video cameras Monday on the International Space Station's new Japanese porch. The work was the main task of a planned six-and-a-half-hour spacewalk that began about an hour ahead of schedule at 11:33 GMT.
Spacewalkers replace ISS solar panel batteriesJuly 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn Friday undertook an intense spacewalk to change batteries on a solar panel of the International Space Station (ISS). During seven hours and 12 minutes of work, the astronauts replaced four batteries that collect and store energy from the station's solar panels.
Apollo astronauts dream of trip to MarsJuly 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - It's been decades since they set foot on the moon, but the pioneers of the Apollo programme remain committed to exploring space with the goal of sending a human to Mars. Seven astronauts from the Apollo programme talked with journalists Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.
China may put first woman in space by 2012July 9th, 2009 BEIJING - China's first astronaut, Yang Liwei, has revealed that Chinese women would soon be seen in space. During a web chat with the official Xinhua news agency, Liwei said: "The selection (of China's first woman astronaut) is underway I believe Chinese women will be seen in space in the near future."
Yang, now 44, made history when he voyaged beyond the planet's atmosphere for 21 hours aboard the Shenzhou V spaceship in 2003.
Space headache a new secondary disorder, say scientistsJune 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - After carrying out a study of 17 astronauts, scientists are calling for space headache to be established as a new secondary disorder. Their study jettisons the theory that astronauts' headaches are normally caused by space motion sickness, after showing that more than three-quarters of those studied had no connection.
Dame Helen Mirren slapped with no-singing-around-home ban!April 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Hollywood actress Dame Helen Mirren has revealed that her husband has banned her from singing around home, because her tuneless humming leaves him irritated. The Queen star revealed that although she loves to belt out tracks, her director husband Taylor Hackford insists she should keep quiet.
Discovery astronauts install solar panel on spacewalkMarch 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astronauts installed a crucial new solar panel on the International Space Station during a spacewalk Thursday. The 300-million-dollar panel is part of a truss segment that will complete the backbone of the station and boost its energy capacity, allowing the resident crew size to double to six astronauts.
ISS, Discovery astronauts get solar panel in placeMarch 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astronauts were steering a new solar panel into place using robotic arms Wednesday ahead of a spacewalk to install the segment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The panel is part of a truss segment that will complete the backbone of the station and boost its energy capacity, allowing the crew size to double to six astronauts.
Months in space erode astronauts' bone strengthJanuary 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Astronauts who spend months in space tend to lose bone strength, making them increasingly vulnerable to fractures in later life. Universities of California (UC) Irvine and San Francisco evaluated 13 astronauts who spent four to six months on the International Space Station and found that, on average, their hipbone strength decreased 14 percent.
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