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| Europe's Comet Probe Ready SCIENTISTS have outlined details of one of Europe's most ambitious space projects - a �600 million mission to chase down a comet and land a spacecraft on its surface. After being delayed for more than a year, the European Space Agency (Esa) Rosetta craft is due to be launched from French Guiana, in South America, next week. Designed and built with help from British scientists, Rosetta aims to shed light on the origins of the solar system - and even the beginnings of life on earth. The Open University's Dr Ian Wright, one of the British experts working on the project, explained the importance of the "audacious mission" to study a comet in more detail than ever before. "Comets are potentially incredibly important in the development of the Earth and the development of life," he said at the Royal Society in central London. "It is entirely possible that the water on the Earth was brought here by comets in the initial formation process of the planets. "Comets contain water and they also contain organic molecules - these are the veritable building blocks of life." Originally planned for launch in January last year, the mission was delayed after an Ariane 5 rocket - which was due to carry Rosetta - exploded minutes after lift-off. |
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| Boeing to build new aircraft Aviation giant Boeing is to launch its first new jet design in 13 years, the 7E7 Dreamliner, as it fights to snatch back aircraft leadership from European rival Airbus. Now Boeing is pinning its future on a lighter, roomier, more fuel-efficient jet. The announcement of plans to start selling the mid-size, 200-plus passenger jet capped a two-day meeting of the company's board of directors. It comes as the aviation world celebrates the centennial of man's first powered flight and just two weeks after a top-level shake-up following an ethics scandal and worries about Boeing's direction. Boeing will build the 7E7 at its Everett, Washington, plant. The plane will eventually come in three models and fly 200 to 250 people up to 8,300 miles non-stop. The jet could not be formally launched until mid-2004, or even enter the market before 2008. But a decision to begin offering it for sale is an important landmark for a company that has been overtaken by Airbus in the plane-manufacturing business it had long ruled. Using more composite materials than metal, the plane would weigh less and use 20% less fuel than other models. It also would have bigger windows and slightly wider aisles and seats than other planes. Boeing would sell the jet as a replacement for the 757 and 767, with greater range to handle long-distance routes. Boeing had not approved any all-new plane programme since the 777 in 1990. Pressure to commit to the 7E7 had grown since the aerospace giant pulled away from launching the 747X and the Sonic Cruiser in the past three years, while Airbus was breaking even in the commercial plane market. New Boeing chief executive officer Harry Stonecipher strongly endorsed the building of the 7E7 on his first day in the top post. Washington governor Gary Locke and the Legislature were determined to win the project, especially since being stunned two years ago by Boeing's decision to move its Seattle headquarters to Chicago. This summer, they agreed to grant the aerospace industry tax breaks totalling �260 million through 2009 -- and potentially worth �2.1 billion over 20 years -- if Boeing built the 7E7 there. Boeing has been battered by bad news since its move to Chicago in 2001, from the global aviation downturn after the 2001 terrorist attacks to recent scandals involvinggovernment contracts. |
| Moon Mission Ends NASA Hubble Trips NASA is cancelling all space shuttle servicing missions to the Hubble Space Telescope. The decision will, in effect, cause the powerful observatory to slowly degrade and eventually become useless. John Grunsfeld, NASA's chief scientist, said NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe made the decision to cancel the fifth space shuttle service mission to the Hubble when it became clear there was not time to conduct it before the shuttle is retired. The servicing mission was considered essential to enable the orbiting telescope to continue to operate. "This is a sad day," said Grunsfeld, but he said the decision "is the best thing for the space community." He said the decision was influenced by President George W. Bush's new space initiative, which calls for NASA to start developing the spacecraft and equipment for voyages to the Moon and later to Mars. The president's plan also called for the space shuttle to be retired by 2010. Virtually all of the shuttle's remaining flights would be used to complete construction of the International Space Station. The shuttle has been grounded since the explosion of the Columbia nearly a year ago. |
| Mars' 'Grand Canyon' snapped Mars Express, the mothership of Britain's ill-fated Beagle 2, has sent back its first pictures of the Red Planet's Grand Canyon. The pictures show Valles Marineris - more than six times deeper than the famous Grand Canyon on Earth and as long as the whole of Europe. It is the first image of this size showing the surface of Mars in high resolution in colour and in 3D. The lower part of the pictuGre shows the same region in perspective view as if seen from a low-flying aircraft. It shows vast mountain ranges and valleys formed by water erosion. The images were taken from 275km above the planet by the European Space Agency craft as it orbited Mars. The information will provide scientists with a better knowledge of the planet and give information on possible future landing sites for space craft. Dr John Murray, of the Open University, said: "At the end of the mission, we will know the surface of Mars better than we do the Earth." Mars Express will be studying the surface of Mars for the next two years. |