Just a few months into 2010, and Mother Nature has delivered a slew of costly and deadly natural disasters. From the catastrophic Haiti and Chilean earthquakes to the U.S. blizzard that descended on Washington, D.C., last month, which was mostly just inconvenient by comparison, 2010 is already above average in terms of natural-disaster casualties.
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The consortium of agencies building the International Space Station wants to see if the orbital outpost can operate until 2028, the European Space Agency said on Thursday.
“The partnership is currently working to certify on-orbit elements through 2028,” it said.
“There are no identified technical constraints to continuing ISS operations beyond the current planning horizon of 2015 to at least 2020,” it said in a press release after a meeting of ISS partners in Tokyo.
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Forecasters say a wetter-than-usual winter and a jet stream ripping over the part of the country known as “Tornado Alley” could lead to an active spring - perhaps starting with the strong twister that nicked a small western Oklahoma town Monday night.
The nation typically will see 70-100 tornadoes by early March, but only 42 had been reported until Monday night’s Oklahoma tornado.
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Having the “right” brand of jeans or the latest gadget isnt just an annoying trait of teenagers (not to mention their parents). New research found that even preschoolers are brand-conscious and can recognize kiddie brand logos and products.
She added, “We also need to realize that its not completely safe to leave a 3-year-old alone with a TV set without proper supervision or a parent to help them to understand that they are on the receiving end of targeted advertising.
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Chile’s earthquake-delayed school year began Monday, but education officials said it may take until April 1 before all students are back in classrooms.
The earthquake hit on the last weekend of the South American summer vacation, and many families had just made back-to-school purchases of books and uniforms, only to see the supplies ruined or swept away.
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Australian police boarded and searched an anti-whaling ship at the request of Japanese authorities on Saturday after activists cut short their annual harassment campaign and returned to port.
“As a result of a formal referral from Japanese authorities, the Australian Federal Police can confirm it conducted a search warrant in boarding the Steve Irwin this morning,” a police spokesman said.
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Scientists are impressed with the flood of data beamed back by NASA’s most advanced Mars orbiter.
Launched from Florida in 2005, the reconnaissance orbiter reached Mars in March 2006. It is the most powerful probe ever sent to the Red Planet.
The space agency said Wednesday the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has sent back 100 terabits of information since 2006.
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Russia announced a halt to space tourism on Wednesday, saying it would struggle to ferry professional crews to the International Space Station after the U.S. mothballs its shuttle fleet this year.
Russia, sending crews to the ISS aboard its single-use three-man Soyuz ships, will double the number of manned launches to four this year because permanent crews of professional astronauts aboard the expanded station are set to rise to six.
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Sneezing, congestion, and runny noses from hay fever may be lasting longer because climate change may be extending pollen seasons, doctors in Italy said on Monday.
The team at Genoa University recorded pollen counts, how long pollen seasons lasted and sensitivity to five types of pollen in the Bordighera region of Italy from 1981 to 2007.
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Sustainable Energy Technologies Ltd, a solar equipment maker that recently relocated to Toronto from Calgary, may soon land its first large-scale orders in its new home province, the worlds newest “go-to” region for solar power.
Inverters are key components of power systems that turn the suns rays into electricity as they convert the direct current output generated by the solar panels into the alternating current that the power grid runs on.
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