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  Three astronauts return to Earth after spending six months at International Space Station

  December 20, 2018 12:30 IST

  A Russian Soyuz capsule with NASA's Serena Aunon-Chancellor, Russian Sergey Prokopyev and German astronaut Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency landed on the snow-covered steppes in Kazakhstan.

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  Planets with oxygen don't necessarily have life: Study

  December 19, 2018 13:34 IST

  Simulating in the lab the atmospheres of planets beyond the solar system, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University in Maryland successfully created both organic compounds and oxygen, absent of life.  

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  Farout: Scientists spot solar system’s farthest known object

  December 19, 2018 11:43 IST

  The International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center announced the discovery on Monday.

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  NASA's 1st flight to moon, Apollo 8, marks 50th anniversary

  December 19, 2018 6:59 IST

  To this day, that 1968 mission is considered to be NASA's boldest and perhaps most dangerous undertaking. That first voyage by humans to another world set the stage for the still grander Apollo 11 moon landing seven months later.  

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  ISRO's military communications satellite GSAT-7A to be launched from Sriharikota today

  December 19, 2018 6:47 IST

  The mission life of the GSAT-7A, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation, is eight years.

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  Iconic Saturn rings have less than 100 million years to live: NASA scientists

  December 18, 2018 11:41 IST

  Scientists have long wondered if Saturn was formed with the rings or if the planet acquired them later in life.

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  Astronomers spot solar system's farthest known object, Farout

  December 18, 2018 9:41 IST

  “Farout” is about 120 astronomical units away — that’s 120 times the distance between Earth and the Sun, or 11 billion miles. 

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  'Treasure trove' of 85 well-preserved dinosaur footprints discovered

  December 17, 2018 16:50 IST

  Many of the footprints -- which range in size from less than two cm to over 60 cm across -- are so well-preserved that fine detail of skin, scales and claws is easily visible.

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  Three-hour manned flights to International Space Station to begin in 18 months: Roscosmos

  December 17, 2018 12:57 IST

  In 2013, Russia introduced a six-hour route to the International Space Station, consisting of four orbits.

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  Astronomers spot unusual star forming like a planet

  December 16, 2018 18:41 IST

  The main object, referred to as MM 1a, is a young massive star surrounded by a rotating disc of gas and dust that was the focus of the scientists' original investigation.  

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  Mars InSight lander seen in first images from space: NASA

  December 16, 2018 18:27 IST

  This is not the first time HiRISE has photographed a Mars lander. InSight is based largely on 2008's Phoenix spacecraft, which the camera aboard MRO captured on the surface of Mars as well as descending on its parachute.  

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  Stargazers to witness yet another celestial treat as brightest comet to pass by Earth today

  December 16, 2018 11:17 IST

  First discovered by astronomer Carl Wirtanen in 1948, 46P/Wirtanen, with a width of 1.1 kilometres, orbits the Sun fairly quickly for a comet — once every 5.4 years — making it a short-period comet.

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  Rocket Lab to launch 10 NASA CubeSats on Sunday

  December 15, 2018 14:14 IST

  Owing to bad weather, Rocket Lab was forced to postpone the earlier decided launch on December 12.   

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  Scientists scour WWI shipwreck to solve military mystery

  December 15, 2018 10:46 IST

  German naval records recovered after the war revealed that U-boat 156 had sailed just off the coast of New York, planting explosives.  

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  Neanderthal genes behind shape of human skulls: Study

  December 15, 2018 7:45 IST

  Humans have unusually globular (or round) skulls and brains compared to our ancient ancestors including our closest extinct cousins -- the Neanderthals, and a new study from Germany provides a possible explanation as to why, CNN reported on Friday.  

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  NASA seeks US partners to design, develop reusable systems for Moon mission

  December 14, 2018 12:51 IST

  The agency plans to send humans to the Moon using a system of three separate elements that will provide transfer, landing, and safe return. 

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  Hubble Space Telescope discovers planet vanishing at record speed

  December 14, 2018 12:05 IST

  Researchers hypothesise that these Neptunes get stripped of their atmospheres and ultimately become smaller planets.

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  Photos from Japan space rovers show rocky asteroid surface

  December 14, 2018 8:02 IST

  The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Thursday the two solar-powered rovers have become inactive and are probably in the shade, but are still responding to signals after three months, exceeding their projected life of several days.  

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  Eyes in the sky capture carbon, other climate culprits

  December 14, 2018 7:56 IST

  While scientists and policy-makers agree that getting a firm grasp on the origins of emissions is key to tackling global warming, there is great political sensitivity surrounding the issue.  

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  Virgin Galactic tourism rocket ship reaches space in test

  December 14, 2018 7:52 IST

  The rocket ship hit an altitude of 51 miles (82 kilometers) before beginning its gliding descent, said mission official Enrico Palermo. It landed on a runway minutes later.  

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  NASA's Juno mission to cross halfway to Jupiter next week

  December 13, 2018 15:00 IST

  Launched on August 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral, the spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter on July 4, 2016.   

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  Geminid Meteor Shower 2018: When, Where and How to see LIVE streaming; All you need to know

  December 13, 2018 13:04 IST

  Geminid Meteor Shower 2018: According to NASA, December is going to be the biggest month this time as it is bringing the strongest meteor shower of the year.

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  NASA's ICESat-2 maps Antarctic ice sheet melting: Study

  December 12, 2018 17:34 IST

  NASA's ICESat-2 -- launched less than three months ago -- has mapped melting ice sheets in Antarctica and the resulting sea level rise across the globe, which could help improve climate forecasts.

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  ISRO to launch GSAT-7A communication satellite on Dec 19 from Sriharikota

  December 12, 2018 17:29 IST

  GSAT-7 will have a mission life of eight years and it is built to provide communication capability to the users in Ku-band over the Indian region.

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  NASA's InSight sends back first selfie on Mars

  December 13, 2018 13:20 IST

  In addition, InSight sent another set of mosaic composed of 52 individual photos.

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  Evidence of water discovered on asteroid Bennu: NASA

  December 12, 2018 12:52 IST

  While Bennu itself is too small to have ever hosted liquid water, the finding indicates that liquid water was present at some time on Bennu's parent body, a much larger asteroid.

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  NASA's Mars lander takes selfie from above with robotic arm

  December 12, 2018 7:04 IST

  The InSight lander snapped a series of pictures that NASA turned into a stunning mosaic, released on Tuesday.  

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  SpaceX Christmas delivery arrives at space station

  December 09, 2018 7:52 IST

  The Dragon capsule pulled up at the orbiting lab three days after launching from Cape Canaveral. Commander Alexander Gerst used the space station’s big robotic arm to grab the cargo carrier, as the two craft soared 250 miles above the Pacific.