Hasta La Gadget!

It reads like the beginnings of a bad horror movie–after seven
years in space, a Japanese probe has brought back asteroid dust. It’s the first
time that the material has been brought to earth. Scientists at Japan Aerospace
Exploration Agency (JAXA) are hoping to discover information about the
formation of the solar system with the material.

“There is so much that humans don’t know, such as how
the Mo on was formed,” a JAXA spokesman told ABC News. “But research,
not just into these particles but into other findings, could provide us with
hints on how the solar system and the planets were formed.”

The surfaces of asteroids, scientists believe, have
undergone few changes that the surface of the earth, which has been shaped by
phenomena like atmosphere and water.

The particles are made up of minerals like olivine, plagioclases,
and pyroxene and are mostly smaller than 1/100th of a millimeter.

Poor, poor space shuttle Discovery. After 38 flights in over a quarter-century of operations, the shuttle is one mission away from retirement. It’s a mission that’s been plagued by one delay after another. The 11 day mission, which was initially planned to lift off on November 1st, has been continually pushed back, thanks to circuit board problems, weather, and fuel tank leaks.

A search yesterday uncovered even more leaks in the ship’s fuel tanks–two of them, both measuring around nine inches a piece. “They were found one of the stringers, which are composite aluminum ribs located vertically on the tank’s intertank area,” NASA told the press.

NASA engineers are taking a look at the cracks. “Usually, technicians will remove the cracked aluminum and replace it with a ‘doubler,’ which is a twice-as-thick stringer section, before replacing the foam insulation,” according to PCMag.

The space shuttle Discovery’s final launch was delayed again last night, thanks to an electronic glitch in the vehicle’s backup systems. NASA pushed back launch a full 24 hours, due to the issue, which was discovered earlier in the day.

The shuttle, originally scheduled for a 3:30 launch today, will now launch at the same time on Thursday. According to the official NASA statement, “The Prelaunch Mission Management Team wants to give engineers more time to look deeply into two electrical issues from a main engine computer controller that cropped up this morning.”

Discovery’s management team is set to meet again at 2 PM today, to make sure the shuttle is in fact ready a 3:30 launch. “Rather than rush the shuttle launch team through an analysis and launch cycle quickly,” NASA added, “[Prelaunch Mission Management Team chair, Mike] Moses said he opted to let the engineers work throughout the night on the issue without having to worry about an early morning tanking and Wednesday afternoon launch.”

This marks the third delay for the shuttle, which was initially scheduled to launch on November 1st. The mission, STA-133, will be the 39th and final flight for Discovery.

The space shuttle Discovery is launching for the last time ever this Wednesday. Things will be a bit crowded on board, with six veteran crew members and a team of 16 mice. The rodents are along for the ride to demonstrate the effects of spaceflight on the immune system.

“Since the Apollo missions, we have had evidence that astronauts have increased susceptibility to infections during flight and immediately post-flight,” Dr Roberto Garofalo, the principal investigator, told the press. “We want to discover what triggers this increased susceptibility to infection, with the goal both of protecting the astronauts themselves and people with more vulnerable immune systems here on Earth, such as the elderly and young children.”

On the ground, meanwhile, NASA will be hosting 150 Twitter followers, as part of an official Tweetup. Twitters users were selected randomly from a group of 2,700. The Tweetup begins today, with events planned through Wednesday’s launch.