Latest news with #SpaceStation
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Science
- Time of India
Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom 4 launch delayed again; Nasa cites safety checks; new date expected soon
. Nasa has postponed the planned launch of Axiom Mission 4 to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, which includes Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and crew members from Poland and Hungary, was rescheduled for Sunday, June 22. It will now take place on a later date yet to be announced. 'Nasa has made the decision to stand down from a launch on Sunday, June 22, and will target a new launch date in the coming days,' Axiom Space said in a statement. Nasa in a statement said it needed more time to assess recent repair work done on the aft (rear) section of the ISS's Zvezda service module. Since many systems aboard the space station are closely linked, engineers want to be sure it's fully ready to support a new group of astronauts, it said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Why CVS Hides This Cheap 87¢ ED Medication Health Alliance by Friday Plans Learn More Undo 'Nasa is taking the time necessary to review data,' the agency said. 'The goal is to ensure the station is ready to receive additional crew.' The international crew is currently in pre-flight quarantine in Florida and will stay mission-ready until the launch window is cleared. While Isro astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as pilot, the mission will also include astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary. The much-anticipated Axiom-4 mission has faced series of postponements caused by technical issues, weather conditions, and safety concerns.
Time of India
a day ago
- Science
- Time of India
NASA-ISRO joint mission Axiom-4 set to launch on June 22 after multiple delays
After a series of postponements caused by technical issues, weather conditions, and safety concerns, the much-anticipated Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been rescheduled to launch on June 22, 2025, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) confirmed. The announcement followed extensive discussions between ISRO and space agencies from Poland and Hungary, whose astronauts will participate in the mission, along with India's Gaganyatri Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Peggy Whitson, the former NASA astronaut who will serve as mission commander. The mission, a collaboration between Axiom Space, NASA, SpaceX, and ISRO, has faced multiple delays since its original launch target in May. Axiom-4 Mission's postponements so far The mission was initially targeted for May 29, but that date was deferred to June 8 after engineers detected issues in the electrical harness of the Crew Dragon Module . A series of subsequent delays followed, caused by weather concerns, incomplete readiness of the Falcon-9 launch vehicle, and technical faults, including an oxygen leak and anomalies in an engine actuator identified during hot fire tests. International collaboration and crew composition by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Buy Brass Idols - Handmade Brass Statues for Home & Gifting Luxeartisanship Buy Now Undo The Axiom-4 mission represents a unique international partnership. Along with astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary, the crew is led by Peggy Whitson, a seasoned spacefarer and former NASA astronaut. The 14-day manned mission is designed to conduct scientific experiments aboard the ISS, advancing human spaceflight and microgravity research. Safety concerns on the ISS One of the critical reasons for the latest delay involved an air leak in the Zvezda Service Module of the ISS. On June 11, ISRO and NASA flagged concerns to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, and recommended in-situ repairs followed by low-temperature leak tests to validate the module's integrity before launch. New target and readiness conditions According to ISRO, the new date of June 22 was finalized based on the readiness of SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket , the Dragon spacecraft, ascent weather conditions, crew health during quarantine, and the completion of necessary repairs aboard the ISS. A backup launch window is available on June 23 if needed. The Axiom-4 mission underscores the growing role of private and international cooperation in space exploration. With safety checks completed and technical hurdles addressed, the mission is now poised to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, taking another step toward a more globally connected presence in space.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Mars orbiter captures 1st-ever pic of volcano above clouds: It's twice as tall as Mauna Loa
A NASA spacecraft that has been circling Mars for more than two decades recently spotted something it never has before in well over 100,000 orbits of the Red Planet. On a morning horizon in May, the Odyssey spacecraft caught a stunning glimpse of one of the planet's largest volcanoes peeking out above a canopy of clouds. Known as Arsia Mons, the volcano dwarfs Earth's tallest volcanoes. Odyssey snapped some photos of the volcano in May, which NASA released in June in a blog post. Scientists at the U.S. space agency say the images provide far more than just a striking never-before-seen view of the Martian geography. In fact, studying the features detailed in Odyssey's photos could help NASA prepare for future crewed missions to Mars by better understanding the planet's weather and atmosphere. Here's a look at what Odyssey captured and what to know about the volcano, Arsia Mons. The new panorama captured by the Odyssey orbiter shows one of Mars' tallest volcanoes poking through clouds just before dawn. The image marks the first time a Martian volcano can be seen on the planet's horizon, offering what NASA says is a view akin to what astronauts on the International Space Station have of Earth. Odyssey's camera, called the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS,) is built to study the Martian surface. The THEMIS camera is equipped to view Mars in both visible and infrared light, the second of which allows scientists to identify subsurface areas that contain water ice. Such a resource would be an invaluable source of not only water, but a means to produce oxygen and fuel for crewed spacecraft when the first astronauts land on Mars. Odyssey rotated 90 degrees while orbiting Mars so that its camera had the correct angle to capture the shot, which, by revealing the horizon, allows scientists to observe seasonal changes on the Red Planet. Understandin the planet's weather, including its dust storms, could also help the space agency plan for future human spaceflights, according to NASA. The volcano Odyssey spotted is known as Arsia Mons, which is one of three on Mars forming the Tharsis Montes, or Tharsis Mountains. While clouds composed of carbon dioxide are common on Mars, the Martian mountain range is instead often surrounded by water ice clouds, especially in the morning, NASA says. Odyssey's latest horizon image, captured May 2, indicates that Arsia Mons stands 12 miles high. That's roughly twice as tall as Earth's largest volcano, Mauna Loa in Hawaii, which rises six miles above the seafloor. The southernmost of the Tharsis volcanoes, Arsia Mons is also the cloudiest of the three. The clouds, which form when air expands as it blows up the sides of the mountain and rapidly cools, are especially thick when Mars is farthest from the sun. The band of clouds that forms across the planet's equator at this time of year, called the aphelion cloud belt, is on prominent display in Odyssey's new panorama. 'We picked Arsia Mons hoping we would see the summit poke above the early morning clouds," Jonathon Hill, a researcher at Arizona State University who is the operations lead for THEMIS, said in a statement. "And it didn't disappoint.' Launched in 2001, Odyssey is the longest-running mission orbiting any planet besides Earth. The orbiter is also one of two spacecrafts orbiting Mars under threat of being axed under President Donald Trump's budget proposal for NASA. Managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, Odyssey completed its primary science mission from February 2002 through August 2004. Since then, the orbiter has set out to study Martian clouds, fog and frost while mapping the surface to pave the way for future crewed landings. The newest panorama, NASA said, represents the kind of science the orbiter began pursuing in 2023, when it captured the first of its now four high-altitude images of the Martian horizon. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mars orbiter gets 1st-ever glimpse of volcano above clouds: See photo
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fact Check: Yes, U.S. Army secretary said there is a soldier stationed on the moon. (There isn't)
Claim: U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll said: "We talked to an astronaut yesterday who's on the moon, who's a soldier." Rating: A rumor that the United States Army has a soldier stationed on the moon orbited social media in mid-June 2025 as a result of a statement allegedly made by U.S. Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll. The statement, shared by users on X (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and Reddit, was: "We talked to an astronaut yesterday who's on the moon, who's a soldier." People were quick to share the purported quote, some decrying it as an obvious blunder while others believed Driscoll inadvertently shared confidential intelligence. The quote about a soldier being stationed on the moon was correctly attributed to Driscoll, who made the comment during a Fox News appearance on June 11, 2025. The segment is available to watch on YouTube (at the 4:00 mark). Driscoll's remark came in response to a question about the military parade planned for June 14, 2025, when host Brian Kilmeade asked the secretary about allegations that the parade was meant for U.S. President Donald Trump's birthday rather than a celebration of Flag Day and the Army's 250th anniversary. The exchange began around three minutes into the segment. Driscoll said assertions the parade was celebrating Trump's birthday were "preposterous," adding: The Army started planning this long in advance because what we believe is this will continue the strength and recruiting and retention that we have as young Americans across the country get to see all of the amazing things that the Army has done, whether it's helping with floods in North Carolina or wildfires in California, or we talked to an astronaut yesterday who's on the moon who's a soldier; including actually going to war and fighting to defend the freedoms that make our nation so great. We think this is going to be an incredible opportunity for the Army to fill up our pipeline for the years to come and I find it offensive that anybody is challenging that. Kilmeade offered no follow-up question to Driscoll's comment but it appeared the secretary misspoke. There is no evidence that an astronaut is currently stationed on the moon. NASA's website states that only 12 people have ever walked on the moon, while Royal Museums Greenwich in London notes that trips to the moon concluded in 1972. However, Driscoll was part of a June 9, 2025, conversation with flight engineer Anne McClain, who is aboard the International Space Station. According to McClain's biography on the NASA website, she is a U.S. Army colonel and "was selected in June 2013 as one of eight members of the 21st NASA astronaut class." McClain is currently deployed on the ISS as part of NASA Expedition 73, which began on April 19, 2025, and is expected to return in November 2025. The conversation, which is available to watch on NASA's YouTube page, appeared to be what Driscoll's comment on Fox News was referring to, during which he said "on the moon" instead of, presumably, "in space" or "on the space station." Snopes reached out to the Army for further clarification on Driscoll's comment. A spokesperson highlighted a post on the secretary's X account featuring the same conversation between Driscoll and McClain, indicating that he slipped up when speaking to Kilmeade. - YouTube. Accessed 13 June 2025. ---. Accessed 13 June 2025. Anne C. McClain - NASA. Accessed 13 June 2025. Expedition 73 - NASA. Accessed 13 June 2025. Loe, Megan. 'Breaking down Craigslist Ad Seeking Seat Fillers on Day of Trump's DC Parade'. Snopes, 12 June 2025, 'Military Parade to Celebrate the Army's 250th Anniversary Will Be Held on Trump's Birthday'. AP News, 2 May 2025, Moonwalkers - NASA Science. 13 Apr. 2023, Veterans Invited to Celebrate U.S. Army's 250th Birthday - VA News. 11 June 2025, Why Did We Stop Going to the Moon? | Royal Museums Greenwich. Accessed 13 June 2025.
Indian Express
13-06-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Axiom-4 mission: Leak on ISS, not oxygen leak from launch vehicle behind indefinite delay
While problems in electricals, oxygen leak, and unfavourable weather conditions were initially behind the delays of Axiom-4 space mission, it was an issue related to pressurisation in one of the modules of the International Space Station (ISS) that has now led to the mission being delayed indefinitely. 'The revised launch schedule will be announced by Nasa and Axiom after the activities and technical reviews are satisfactorily completed,' the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) said in a statement. Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is set to travel to space on board the Axiom-4 mission, making him the country's second astronaut in space and the first on the ISS. Shukla will spend nearly 14 days at the ISS, conducting science experiments. On Friday, Isro provided a timeline of what led to the delays. The launch was initially targeted for May 29 but was deferred due to an 'observation in the electrical harness' of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft — the module where the crew is seated for their journey to the ISS. The launch was then pushed to June 8 and then again by another day due to the delay in preparedness of the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The space agency said the launch was again pushed for a day due to unfavourable weather conditions on the ascent path of the rocket. In parallel, when the engines were test-fired on ground on June 8, an oxygen leak was observed in addition to an anomaly in one of the actuators. 'Anticipating the quick resolution of LOX (liquid oxygen) leak issue, the launch was rescheduled to June 11, 2025,' the space agency said, adding that it had suggested that the repairs and replacements could be carried out without moving or disassembling the vehicle. The Indian space agency suggested a low temperature leak test — a test that could assess the integrity of the components at very low temperatures — to validate the performance before moving for the final launch. On June 11, however, Nasa informed that it was working with the Russian space agency to evaluate a 'new pressure signature' that could indicate a leak in the back section of one of Russian modules of the space station — ISS Zvezda. This comes after a recent repair effort. The leak in the Zvezda module was first detected in 2019 and the space agencies have been working for years trying to fix it. Now, cosmonauts on board the space station have conducted inspections of the pressurised interior surfaces of the module, sealed off some 'additional areas of interest', and measured the current leak rate. 'The segment now is holding pressure,' Nasa said in a statement. The Axiom-4 mission was postponed, nonetheless, to provide additional time to Nasa and Roscosmos to evaluate the situation and determine if any additional troubleshooting might be needed.
