Private spaceflight ends with a Pacific splashdown for astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary
Their SpaceX capsule undocked from the I nternational Space Station on Monday and parachuted into the ocean off the Southern California coast, less than 24 hours later.
The crew of four launched nearly three weeks ago on a flight chartered by the Houston company Axiom Space.
Axiom's Peggy Whitson, the most experienced U.S. astronaut, served as commander. Joining her were India's Shubhanshu Shukla, Poland's Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Hungary's Tibor Kapu, whose countries paid more than $65 million apiece for the mission.
The visiting astronauts conducted dozens of experiments in orbit while celebrating their heritage. The last time India, Poland and Hungary put anyone in space was during the late 1970s and 1980s, launching with the Soviets.
It was Axiom's fourth mission to the orbiting outpost since 2022, part of NASA's ongoing effort to open up space to more businesses and people. The company is one of several developing their own space stations to replace the current one. NASA plans to abandon the outpost in 2030, after more than 30 years of operation.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Skimming the Sun, probe sheds light on space weather threats
Eruptions of plasma piling atop one another, solar wind streaming out in exquisite detail -- the closest-ever images of our Sun are a gold mine for scientists. Captured by the Parker Solar Probe during its closest approach to our star starting on December 24, 2024, the images were recently released by NASA and are expected to deepen our understanding of space weather and help guard against solar threats to Earth. - A historic achievement – "We have been waiting for this moment since the late Fifties," Nour Rawafi, project scientist for the mission at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, told AFP. Previous spacecraft have studied the Sun, but from much farther away. Parker was launched in 2018 and is named after the late physicist Eugene Parker, who in 1958 theorized the existence of the solar wind -- a constant stream of electrically charged particles that fan out through the solar system. The probe recently entered its final orbit where its closest approach takes it to just 3.8 million miles from the Sun's surface -- a milestone first achieved on Christmas Eve 2024 and repeated twice since on an 88-day cycle. To put the proximity in perspective: if the distance between Earth and the Sun measured one foot, Parker would be hovering just half an inch away. Its heat shield was engineered to withstand up to 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,370 degrees Celsius) -- but to the team's delight, it has only experienced around 2,000F (1090C) so far, revealing the limits of theoretical modeling. Remarkably, the probe's instruments, just a yard (meter) behind the shield, remain at little more than room temperature. - Staring at the Sun – The spacecraft carries a single imager, the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe (WISPR), which captured data as Parker plunged through the Sun's corona, or outer atmosphere. Stitched into a seconds-long video, the new images reveal coronal mass ejections (CMEs) -- massive bursts of charged particles that drive space weather -- in high resolution for the first time. "We had multiple CMEs piling up on top of each other, which is what makes them so special," Rawafi said. "It's really amazing to see that dynamic happening there." Such eruptions triggered the widespread auroras seen across much of the world last May, as the Sun reached the peak of its 11-year cycle. Another striking feature is how the solar wind, flowing from the left of the image, traces a structure called the heliospheric current sheet: an invisible boundary where the Sun's magnetic field flips from north to south. It extends through the solar system in the shape of a twirling skirt and is critical to study, as it governs how solar eruptions propagate and how strongly they can affect Earth. - Why it matters – Space weather can have serious consequences, such as overwhelming power grids, disrupting communications, and threatening satellites. As thousands more satellites enter orbit in the coming years, tracking them and avoiding collisions will become increasingly difficult -- especially during solar disturbances, which can cause spacecraft to drift slightly from their intended orbits. Rawafi is particularly excited about what lies ahead, as the Sun heads toward the minimum of its cycle, expected in five to six years. Historically, some of the most extreme space weather events have occurred during this declining phase -- including the infamous Halloween Solar Storms of 2003, which forced astronauts aboard the International Space Station to shelter in a more shielded area. "Capturing some of these big, huge be a dream," he said. Parker still has far more fuel than engineers initially expected and could continue operating for decades -- until its solar panels degrade to the point where they can no longer generate enough power to keep the spacecraft properly oriented. When its mission does finally end, the probe will slowly disintegrate -- becoming, in Rawafi's words, "part of the solar wind itself." ia/jgc
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Hypoxic Brain Injuries Diagnosed in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Delay
Diffusion MRIs can reveal hypoxic brain injuries missed by routine MRIs, helping diagnose birth injuries linked to severe, lifelong neurodevelopmental harm 'Some children with global developmental delay and ASD, who may need lifelong, 24-hour care, have normal routine MRIs but show abnormalities on diffusion weighted MRIs consistent with hypoxic injury.'— Greg Vigna, MD LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, July 16, 2025 / / -- 'Although diffusion MRI imaging often requires sedation, families and patients deserve definitive testing to rule out hypoxic brain damage that may be invisible with routine MRI. These are serious injuries and the diagnosis matters,' states Greg Vigna, MD, JD, Board Certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. What does Kenichi Oishi, MD, PhD from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, say about diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) about the Prognostic Prediction of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy? 'Diffusion tensor imaging is one of the most powerful neuroimaging tools with which to predict the prognosis of neonatal HIE by providing microscopic features that cannot be assessed by conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).' Read Dr. Oishi's article, 'Quantification of Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Prognostic Prediction of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encehpalopathy' published in Developmental Neuroscience: Dr. Greg Vigna, MD, JD, national birth injury lawyer, explains, 'We have known for decades that hypoxic exposure at birth is a cause of autism spectrum disorder. Children with ASD who experienced hypoxic exposure tend to have greater impairments and require more care.' What did Dr. Perciado report in her article published in Autism Research, 'Prenatal exposure to hypoxic risk conditions in autistic neurotypical youth; Associated ventricular differences, sleep, disturbance, and sensory processing' (2024; 17:2547-2557)? 'Results from a cohort of 104 youth revealed a higher incidence of exposure to prenatal hypoxic conditions in the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) group. Additionally, ASD individuals with prenatal hypoxic exposure demonstrated larger third ventricle volumes compared with both autism spectrum disorder and neurotypical control individuals without such exposure, respectively. Furthermore, associations were identified between prenatal hypoxic exposure, third ventricle volume, sensory dysfunction, and severity of sleep disturbances. These findings suggest exposure to prenatal hypoxic risk conditions may exacerbate or modify the neurodevelopmental trajectory and symptom severity in ASD.' Read Dr. Perciado's article: Can diffusion MRI predict clinical outcomes in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy? 'Numerous studies describe statistically significant associations between brain MRI and HIE outcomes, measurement of MRI brain injury alone is far from perfect in predicting the full range of long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, regardless of the scoring system that is used,' states Dr. Yvonne W. Wu, MD. Read Dr. Wu's article, 'Advancing brain MRI as a prognostic indicator in hypoxic-ischmic encephalopathy': Dr. Vigna continues, 'Researchers in the field of neuroradiology and pediatrics are actively working to develop valid scoring systems using MRI and diffusion weighted MRI to better predict clinical outcomes. It's clear that some signs of hypoxic brain damage are not visible with routine MRI but can be detected with diffusion weighted MRI. Some children with global developmental delay and autism spectrum disorder, who may require lifelong, 24-hour care, have normal routine MRIs but show abnormalities on diffusion weighted MRIs that are consistent with hypoxic injury. This indicates a birth injury, and those cases warrant a review of birth records to determine if there was a negligent delivery that caused harm.' Dr. Vigna concludes, 'We are evaluating cases with histories that might include 1) Neonatal encephalopathy, 2) Seizures, 3) Low APGARS, 4) Emergent C-section, 5) Born blue, 6) Born flaccid, 7) Acidotic, 8) Feeding difficulties, 9) Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), 10) Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and Babies that do not cry at birth.' Click here to read Dr. Vigna's book, " The Mother's Guide to Birth Injury.' Dr. Vigna is a California and Washington DC lawyer who focuses on neurological injuries caused by medical negligence, including birth injury. He is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Vigna co-counsels with the Ben Martin Law Group, a national pharmaceutical injury law firm and birth injury lawyer in Dallas, Texas. Click here to learn more: California Offices: 8939 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 102, Los Angeles, CA 90045 2570 N. First Street,2nd Floor, San Jose, CA, 95131 931 10th Street, #962, Modesto, CA 95354 2281 Lava Ridge Court, Suite 200, Roseville, CA, 95661 600 West Broadway, Suite 700, San Diego, CA 92101 Connecticut Office: 515 Centerpoint Drive, Suite #2212, Middletown, CT 06457 Washington DC Office: 700 12th Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, District of Columbia 20005 Greg Vigna, MD, JD Vigna Law Group +1 8178099023 email us here Visit us on social media: LinkedIn Facebook X Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Taranis Initiates Drilling the Intrusive Target at Thor and Announces Granting of Incentive Stock Options
ESTES PARK, CO / ACCESS Newswire / July 15, 2025 / Taranis Resources Inc. ('Taranis' or the 'Company') (TSXV:TRO)(OTCQB:TNREF) is providing an update on exploration activities at Thor. All of the 2025 exploration drilling is being directed in an area southeast of the Thor epithermal deposit and is aimed at discovery of an intrusive body. Recent Investigations of the Intrusive Target In 2024 Taranis completed deep exploration holes from the top of Broadview Mountain targeting two airborne geophysical anomalies. This area is 1km southeast of the Broadview Mine and despite the lack of historic mines in this area, recent exploration work has shown it to have extensive propylitic alteration characteristic of the outer margins of a porphyry-type environment. This alteration forms two concentric dyke-like bodies (I-2 east and west) that encapsulate a deeply buried central resistivity anomaly (I-1). The I-2 features are the youngest geological units at Thor and cut the Thor epithermal deposit at depth. Both I-2, the epithermal deposit, and I-1 are undeformed late-stage features superimposed on the highly-folded host rocks that are part of the Silver Cup Anticline. The mineralogy of I-2 is primarily albite, garnet, amphibole, chlorite, quartz and magnetite. The intrusive target at Thorhas two parts associated with it, an upper elongate portion referred to as Z-900/1300 that occurs between 900 and 1300m ASL, and a deeper circular resistive feature called I-1 that is found below 900m ASL to at least 0m ASL. The composite resistivity anomaly presence is manifested at surface however, the most obvious being a large hill overlying the hard and resistive rocks associated with the composite resistivity feature. Other important exploration criteria include the bracketing of the feature by widespread propylitic alteration, and the presence of mineralogy characteristic of contact-related alteration including albite, ludwigite and hornfels. Geochemical Gold, Arsenic and Zinc Associated with I-1 and Tungsten Tin Enrichment In 2024, Taranis was able to identify wide zones (up to 53m) of geochemical gold, arsenic and zinc mineralization beneath I-2, and west of the I-1 resistivity anomaly in drill holes Thor-246, Thor-247and Thor-248 (Taranis News Release dated February 25th, 2025). As neither the Z-900/1300 nor I-1 resistivity anomaly was intersected in this drilling, the main intrusive target at Thor remains untested and is the focus of the 2025 exploration drilling. Geochemical levels of gold, arsenic and zinc occur in a phyllic alteration zone, characterized by the presence of muscovite (fuchsite), carbonate, albite and quartz. These rocks are fine-grained, non-foliated and are interpreted to be distal edges of a sodic-calcic intrusive body (I-1). Quantitative alteration studies (Gresen method) show that the rocks have had mass addition of tin and tungsten, and this would be consistent with intrusive-related hydrothermal alteration. Drilling from the main access road at Thor will allow Taranis to fully evaluate the I-1 and Z-900-1300 target this summer. Granting of Incentive Stock Options Taranis also announces that it has granted incentive stock options to its Directors and Officers, entitling them to purchase up to a total of 2,000,000 shares at a price of $0.26 per share for a period of five years. Qualified Person Exploration activities at Thor were overseen by John Gardiner (P. Geo.), who is a Qualified Person under the meaning of Canadian National Instrument 43-101. John Gardiner is the principal of John J. Gardiner & Associates, LLC which operates in British Columbia under Firm Permit Number 1002256. Mr. Gardiner is the President and CEO of Taranis Resources inc. and has reviewed and approved the comments contained within this News Release. Taranis currently has 100,348,794 shares issued and outstanding (113,827,227 shares on a fully-diluted basis). TARANIS RESOURCES INC. Per: John J. Gardiner (P. Geo.), President and CEO For further information contact: John J. Gardiner 681 Conifer Lane Estes Park, Colorado 80517 Phone: (303) 716-5922 Cell: (720) 209-3049 [email protected] NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. This News Release may contain forward looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from expected results. SOURCE: Taranis Resources, Inc. press release
