A look back at Endeavour: NASA releases first-ever pictures of space shuttle docked on International Space Station

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Flying high: The International Space Station is seen with the docked space shuttle Endeavour in this photo taken on May 23


NASA has released the first-ever images of a space shuttle linked to the International Space Station taken from a departing spaceship.

Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli took the photos two weeks ago from inside a Russian Soyuz capsule soon after he left the space station for the trip back to Earth.

The shuttle Endeavour is pictured attached to the bow of the space station and was captured by the capsule as it orbited at 17,000mph at 220 miles above Earth.


One final journey: Days after the photos were taken, Endeavour landed at Kennedy Space Center on June 1, bringing to an end NASA's 30-year shuttle programme .


A Soyuz capsule had never headed for home while a shuttle was parked at the space station due to safety procedures. However, space officials made a rare exception to capture a picture of the shuttle for posterity. The ISS was even commanded to rotate 130 degrees to get the best shot.

The photo was taken by Expedition 27 crew member Nespoli from the Soyuz TMA-20 when it was 600ft away from the station on May 23, 2011.

The camera is pointed along the ISS's backbone, which holds the four sets of solar wings that power the craft. A European ATV cargo carrier can be seen on the far right.

The European Space Agency astronaut had around half an hour to capture high resolution digital photos and videos of Space Shuttle Endeavour docked to the orbiting lab for the very last time.


Here's looking at you: Astronaut Paolo Nespoli's camera can be glimpsed in the Soyuz window as they head back to Earth


The Expedition 27 crew was made up of Paolo Nespoli, Russian Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and NASA astronaut Cady Coleman.

The trio began their mission with the departure of the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft on March 16 and spent two months on the ISS working on microgravity experiments.

They landed in Kazakhstan on May 24, days before Endeavour concluded its final mission, which marked the completion of NASA's 30-year space shuttle programme. At the time, Endeavour was on the next-to-last shuttle mission.

NASA's shuttle fleet is retiring after one last flight next month with a load of supplies for the station.


Unprecedented images: Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli took the photos from inside a Russian Soyuz capsule soon after he left the space station for the trip back to Earth


Endeavour landed at Kennedy Space Center on June 1, bringing to an end to America's 30-year shuttle programme.

Commander Mark Kelly, Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori and Endeavour's four other astronauts - Gregory Johnson, Michael Fincke, Greg Chamitoff and Andrew Feustel - had returned to Earth after 16 days in space of repairs at International Space Station.

The crew installed a $2billion cosmic ray detector, an extension beam and a platform full of spare parts, enough to keep the station operating in the shuttle-less decade ahead.



Into the future: NASA is leaving the Earth-to-orbit business behind to focus on expeditions to asteroids and Mars


The $2.2billion ship, the youngest of the shuttles with 123 million miles over 25 flights, is now bound for the California Space Center in Los Angeles.

NASA is leaving the Earth-to-orbit business behind to focus on expedition to asteroids and Mars.

Private companies hope to pick up the slack for cargo and crew hauls to the space station.

Until then, Americans will continue hitching rides to the station aboard Russian Soyuz capsules at the cost of tens of millions of dollars a seat.


source: dailymail

Not tonight, I'm closing my wings: How female butterflies avoid the attention of over-zealous males

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Scientists have found that female butterflies keep their wings closed when they do not want male attention


When being chased by a man, women have a number of techniques to show they are simply not interested.

Now scientists have discovered that butterflies also have a tell-tale sign.

A team in Japan has found that females of the species closed their wings when they want to avoid unwanted male attention.

They say that by folding away the wings, which often have striking patterns, they are less visible to males.

The research was carried out by the Kurume Institute of Technology in Fukuora and published in the journal Ethology.

The head of the team, Jun-Ya Ide, noticed during analysis of small copper butterflies that they often closed their wings when others flew nearby.

He decided this required further investigation so used a male model to trigger a reaction in the females.


Female small copper butterflies only mate once during their lifetime


He at first believed that the closure of wings was used to avoid the harassment of males.

But as the small copper butterflies only have sex once in their entire life, he then used the model with females who had mated.

'When I brought the model close to a mated female, she often closed the wings,' he told BBC Nature.

He then tried with virgin females of the species and discovered that they left their wings open.

'I concluded that, since females don't need more copulations, they close their wings to conceal themselves,' Dr Ide added.

source: dailymail

Save our hedgehogs! A plea for help to gardeners as numbers across Britain plunge

By FIONA MACRAE

In the 1950s, gardens and hedgerows were home to around 30million hedgehogs (pictured: Erinaceus europaeus). Today, the figure could be less than a million


They are cherished by wildlife lovers across the country.

But hedgehogs have become increasingly rare in recent times.

So gardeners are now being urged to create ‘hedgehog highways’ in an attempt to stop one of Britain’s best-loved creatures from disappearing for ever.

Manicured gardens, road deaths, attacks by badgers and modern farming practices are blamed for hedgehog numbers plummeting.

In the 1950s, gardens and hedgerows were home to around 30million hedgehogs.
Today, the figure could be less than a million.

And conservation charities warn that unless urgent action is taken, the mammals could vanish from some parts of the UK by 2050.



They suggest homeowners interlink their gardens by removing a single brick from the bottom of a wall or cutting a hole in a fence – so creating a type of ‘hedgehog highway’, or thoroughfare.

This small action, they say, will aid the remaining hedgehogs on their nocturnal forages, which can see them covering up to a mile a night on the hunt for worms and other tasty titbits.

The Hedgehog Street campaign, launched today by the People’s Trust for Endangered Species and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, is also appealing for enthusiastic gardeners to become ‘hedgehog champions’ and recruit their neighbours to the cause.

‘Twenty-three million households have access to a garden in the UK covering around 433,000 hectares (1 million acres).

‘Reaching a modest 0.1 per cent of these could lead to the creation of a hedgehog refuge larger than the Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve.’


source: dailymail

The gorillas in the midst of an Atkins diet plan: When fruit is scarce they load up on protein

By FIONA MACRAE

When fruit was thin on the trees, the gorillas gorged on protein-rich leaves, meaning that protein accounted for 30 per cent of their calories


Some might look like they could do with losing a few pounds, but it is unlikely your average gorilla has much idea about slimming.

That said, researchers have found a group of great apes are unwittingly following the Atkins diet.

A study shows that when fruit is scarce, mountain gorillas follow a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet, similar to the Atkins plan followed by slimmers worldwide.

When fruit is plentiful, their diet is still protein-rich, but is more similar to that recommended by heart charities for health.

The observation comes from researchers who spent a year watching gorillas at Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the Royal Society journal Biology Letters reports.



When fruit was thin on the trees, the gorillas gorged on protein-rich leaves, meaning that protein accounted for 30 per cent of their calories.

But between February and March and from June to July, when fruit was easy to find, protein made up just 16 per cent of their diet.

Jessica Rothman, of the City University of New York, said the balance during fruit periods was close to the current recommendations of the American Heart Association.

‘By contrast, when leaves dominated diets, 31 per cent of total energy is consumed as protein, a value close to the upper energy limit recommended for humans and similar to high-protein weight loss diets.’

The Atkins diet, which promoted swapping white bread and potatoes for fry-ups and steaks, was followed by millions.

However, it fell out of favour after being dogged by side-effects such as constipation and claims it could increase the risk of heart disease.

source: dailymail

Flying high: Jetpack invention reaches 5,000ft as futuristic transport gets ever-closer to commercial use

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Previous test: The Martin Jetpack has already completed a seven-minute test flight, which saw it climb to an altitude of 100ft


Travelling by jetpack used to be something only seen in science fiction.

But the first commercial suit could soon be on sale following another successful step on the flight towards production.

Over the weekend, a team of New Zealand inventors behind the Martin rocketman suit conducted a test flight that saw them soar to 5,000 feet.


Flying high: The jetpack soars above the New Zealand countryside as it reached heights of 5,000 feet during its ten minute test flight


In the test, carried out over the Canterbury region of the country, a dummy took the place of a passenger as it was flown by remote control from a helicopter.

And in another first, the suit then descended to 2,000 feet before deploying a parachute and landing, albeit with rather a large bump.

The flight lasted around ten minutes, making it the longest ever recorded.


On the way down: The jetpack is the first to deploy a parachute to help it land - even if on this occasion it was a bumpy one


The successful test brings the reality of flight by jetpack another step closer after 40 years of development by inventor Glenn Martin.

Mr Martin has spent NZ$12million on the venture, but now hopes to bring in more investment and possibly even start mass production.

This weekend's flight follows on from a test which took place in April that saw the invention reach 100ft and fly for seven minutes.


Take off: With a dummy as a pilot, the jetpack, which was flown by radio control from a helicopter, lifts off for its journey


The engine, fuel tank and pilot are positioned between and below the lift-fans to lower the centre of gravity and prevent the machine turning upside down.

While the tests are a huge advancement in bringing the device to the shelves, it is still unclear how aviation authorities will treat the jetpack.

Weighing just 250lbs, users in many European countries, including Britain, should not need to be licensed. However, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is still considering an official response.

Either way, Martin Aircraft Company said any attempt to fly the jetpack without professional instruction would be ‘extremely foolhardy’.

The company will require all owners to undertake an approved training programme before flying the aircraft with personal users taking delivery in around 18 months.


Sean Connery uses a Belt Rocket Belt jetpack in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball. It could carry a man over 30ft-high obstacles and reached speeds of up to 10mph but had a limited flying time of just 20-30 seconds and huge fuel consumption


Martin Jetpack 5000ft flight - highlights


source: dailymail

Flying high: Jetpack invention reaches 5,000ft as futuristic transport gets ever-closer to commercial use

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Previous test: The Martin Jetpack has already completed a seven-minute test flight, which saw it climb to an altitude of 100ft


Travelling by jetpack used to be something only seen in science fiction.

But the first commercial suit could soon be on sale following another successful step on the flight towards production.

Over the weekend, a team of New Zealand inventors behind the Martin rocketman suit conducted a test flight that saw them soar to 5,000 feet.


Flying high: The jetpack soars above the New Zealand countryside as it reached heights of 5,000 feet during its ten minute test flight


In the test, carried out over the Canterbury region of the country, a dummy took the place of a passenger as it was flown by remote control from a helicopter.

And in another first, the suit then descended to 2,000 feet before deploying a parachute and landing, albeit with rather a large bump.

The flight lasted around ten minutes, making it the longest ever recorded.


On the way down: The jetpack is the first to deploy a parachute to help it land - even if on this occasion it was a bumpy one


The successful test brings the reality of flight by jetpack another step closer after 40 years of development by inventor Glenn Martin.

Mr Martin has spent NZ$12million on the venture, but now hopes to bring in more investment and possibly even start mass production.

This weekend's flight follows on from a test which took place in April that saw the invention reach 100ft and fly for seven minutes.


Take off: With a dummy as a pilot, the jetpack, which was flown by radio control from a helicopter, lifts off for its journey


The engine, fuel tank and pilot are positioned between and below the lift-fans to lower the centre of gravity and prevent the machine turning upside down.

While the tests are a huge advancement in bringing the device to the shelves, it is still unclear how aviation authorities will treat the jetpack.

Weighing just 250lbs, users in many European countries, including Britain, should not need to be licensed. However, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is still considering an official response.

Either way, Martin Aircraft Company said any attempt to fly the jetpack without professional instruction would be ‘extremely foolhardy’.

The company will require all owners to undertake an approved training programme before flying the aircraft with personal users taking delivery in around 18 months.


Sean Connery uses a Belt Rocket Belt jetpack in the 1965 James Bond film Thunderball. It could carry a man over 30ft-high obstacles and reached speeds of up to 10mph but had a limited flying time of just 20-30 seconds and huge fuel consumption


Martin Jetpack 5000ft flight - highlights


source: dailymail

Final spacewalkers of Nasa's 30-year shuttle mission

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Space Shuttle Endeavour astronaut Greg Chamitoff is seen outside the International Space Station in this photo taken by Mike Fincke


159 space walks totalling 1,000 hours to build the station and keep it running

These stunning images capture the final stage of the construction of the International Space Station.

But as they marked the beginning of a new era in space exploration, the spacewalk undertaken by Gregory Chamitoff and Mike Fincke also represented an end - of Nasa's 30-year shuttle programme.

All future spacewalks - including one during the final shuttle voyage this summer - will be performed by full-time space station residents.


The space shuttle Endeavour, seen docked to the International Space Station, will be returning to earth in just a few days as the Nasa space shuttle mission draws to a close


'This space station is the pinnacle of human achievement and international co-operation,' spacewalker Gregory Chamitoff observed before heading back inside.

'Twelve years of building and 15 countries and now it's the Parthenon in the sky and hopefully the doorstep to our future. So congratulations everybody on assembly complete.'

The two astronauts completed construction of the International Space Station with the smooth addition of an extension boom.

Mr Chamitoff said it was fitting for Endeavour to be present for the last spacewalk by a shuttle crew - conducted on the next-to-last flight of the shuttle era - since it was present for the first in December 1998. It was the fourth spacewalk in a week for the Endeavour astronauts, who will head back to Earth in just a few days.

Mr Chamitoff and his spacewalking partner, Mike Fincke, teamed up with robot arm operator Gregory Johnson to accomplish the last construction job.


The space shuttle Endeavour first made the voyage to the International Space Station in 1992


The Russian Soyuz capsule is seen docked to the International Space Station with the earth's horizon and the sun in the background


Mr Fincke is due to pass the US record of 377 days in space. He spent six months living on the space station - twice. This is his first shuttle trip; he previously rode Russian Soyuz rockets into orbit.

'I could not share this moment with a group of better people, including our friends on the ground,' he radioed.

Endeavour and its crew of six will leave the space station late on Sunday night. Landing is set for the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday during a rare touchdown in darkness.



The space shuttle Endeavour is seen docked to the International Space Station


source: dailymail

Final spacewalkers of Nasa's 30-year shuttle mission

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Space Shuttle Endeavour astronaut Greg Chamitoff is seen outside the International Space Station in this photo taken by Mike Fincke


159 space walks totalling 1,000 hours to build the station and keep it running

These stunning images capture the final stage of the construction of the International Space Station.

But as they marked the beginning of a new era in space exploration, the spacewalk undertaken by Gregory Chamitoff and Mike Fincke also represented an end - of Nasa's 30-year shuttle programme.

All future spacewalks - including one during the final shuttle voyage this summer - will be performed by full-time space station residents.


The space shuttle Endeavour, seen docked to the International Space Station, will be returning to earth in just a few days as the Nasa space shuttle mission draws to a close


'This space station is the pinnacle of human achievement and international co-operation,' spacewalker Gregory Chamitoff observed before heading back inside.

'Twelve years of building and 15 countries and now it's the Parthenon in the sky and hopefully the doorstep to our future. So congratulations everybody on assembly complete.'

The two astronauts completed construction of the International Space Station with the smooth addition of an extension boom.

Mr Chamitoff said it was fitting for Endeavour to be present for the last spacewalk by a shuttle crew - conducted on the next-to-last flight of the shuttle era - since it was present for the first in December 1998. It was the fourth spacewalk in a week for the Endeavour astronauts, who will head back to Earth in just a few days.

Mr Chamitoff and his spacewalking partner, Mike Fincke, teamed up with robot arm operator Gregory Johnson to accomplish the last construction job.


The space shuttle Endeavour first made the voyage to the International Space Station in 1992


The Russian Soyuz capsule is seen docked to the International Space Station with the earth's horizon and the sun in the background


Mr Fincke is due to pass the US record of 377 days in space. He spent six months living on the space station - twice. This is his first shuttle trip; he previously rode Russian Soyuz rockets into orbit.

'I could not share this moment with a group of better people, including our friends on the ground,' he radioed.

Endeavour and its crew of six will leave the space station late on Sunday night. Landing is set for the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday during a rare touchdown in darkness.



The space shuttle Endeavour is seen docked to the International Space Station


source: dailymail

Final spacewalkers of Nasa's 30-year shuttle mission

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Space Shuttle Endeavour astronaut Greg Chamitoff is seen outside the International Space Station in this photo taken by Mike Fincke


159 space walks totalling 1,000 hours to build the station and keep it running

These stunning images capture the final stage of the construction of the International Space Station.

But as they marked the beginning of a new era in space exploration, the spacewalk undertaken by Gregory Chamitoff and Mike Fincke also represented an end - of Nasa's 30-year shuttle programme.

All future spacewalks - including one during the final shuttle voyage this summer - will be performed by full-time space station residents.


The space shuttle Endeavour, seen docked to the International Space Station, will be returning to earth in just a few days as the Nasa space shuttle mission draws to a close


'This space station is the pinnacle of human achievement and international co-operation,' spacewalker Gregory Chamitoff observed before heading back inside.

'Twelve years of building and 15 countries and now it's the Parthenon in the sky and hopefully the doorstep to our future. So congratulations everybody on assembly complete.'

The two astronauts completed construction of the International Space Station with the smooth addition of an extension boom.

Mr Chamitoff said it was fitting for Endeavour to be present for the last spacewalk by a shuttle crew - conducted on the next-to-last flight of the shuttle era - since it was present for the first in December 1998. It was the fourth spacewalk in a week for the Endeavour astronauts, who will head back to Earth in just a few days.

Mr Chamitoff and his spacewalking partner, Mike Fincke, teamed up with robot arm operator Gregory Johnson to accomplish the last construction job.


The space shuttle Endeavour first made the voyage to the International Space Station in 1992


The Russian Soyuz capsule is seen docked to the International Space Station with the earth's horizon and the sun in the background


Mr Fincke is due to pass the US record of 377 days in space. He spent six months living on the space station - twice. This is his first shuttle trip; he previously rode Russian Soyuz rockets into orbit.

'I could not share this moment with a group of better people, including our friends on the ground,' he radioed.

Endeavour and its crew of six will leave the space station late on Sunday night. Landing is set for the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday during a rare touchdown in darkness.



The space shuttle Endeavour is seen docked to the International Space Station


source: dailymail

A fish with arms... and a 'T-Rex' leech found up a girl's nose: Scientists reveal amazing top 10 'new species' list

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Strolling along: The hopping pancake batfish, discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, moves like a walking bat on its arm-like fins


Amazing jumping cockroach and glowing fungus also make top 10 list

10million species waiting to be classified, say experts


It looks like a pancake, crossed with a fish, and a bat... with arms. And it hops. So it's no surprise scientists have labelled one of their new discoveries the hopping pancake batfish.

The creature is one of ten 'new species' to have made it onto a list of weird and wonderful creatures published today.

Joining it is the 'T-rex leech' - a bloodthirsty 2inch invertebrate which was discovered when it was pulled from the mucous membrane of a girl in a remote region of Peru.


Fearsome leech: Tyrannobdella rex has a mouthful of gigantic teeth, much like its namesake, the 'king of dinosaurs' Tyrannosaurus rex. It was found up the nose of a nine-year-old girl in Peru


Strong little fella: This new species of orb-weaver spider - found in Madagascar - is able to weave webs large enough to span rivers and lakes while, right, among the new plant life identified was this gilled mushroom - found in a river in Oregon, U.S. - which fruits underwater


Flies beware: An example of the orb-weaver's massive webs


As well as the Tyrannobdella rex leech - which has a mouthful of gigantic teeth, much like its namesake, the Tyrannosaurus rex - there is also a 6ft-long fruit-eating lizard and a glowing tree fungus on the list.

There is also a jumping cockroach, a cricket which is the only pollinator of a rare orchid, a spider that weaves webs large enough to span rivers and lakes, and a gilled mushroom that fruits underwater.

Experts made the selection from thousands of plants, animals and microbes described for the first time last year to draw attention to the importance of conserving life on Earth.


'Beautiful': This luminescent fungus - found in Sao Paulo, Brazil - attracts small insects that help to disperse its spores


I'm new in town: This 6ft-long fruit-eating monitor lizard from the Philippines is on a list of 10 new species drawn up by scientists


Scientists say that 'a reasonable estimate' is that there are still around 10million species waiting to be described, named, and classified before the diversity and complexity of the biosphere is understood.

A somewhat more attractive example of a new species is the striking fruit-eating monitor lizard, Varanus bitatawa, from Luzon Island in The Philippines.


Another large species on the top 10 list is Walter's duiker, Philantomba walteri, an antelope first encountered at a bushmeat market in West Africa


Dr Mary James, from Wichita State University in the U.S., who chaired the international committee which drew up the list, said: 'Each of these amazing species discoveries tells a story about our planet.

'They are pieces of the puzzle that help us to understand how all of the components of life on earth work together.

'That beautiful, luminescent mushroom: its all-day glow attracts small insects that help to disperse the mushroom's spores.


Spreading the word: This cricket - found in the Mascarene Archipelago in the Indian Ocean - is the only known pollinator of a rare orchid


'The rust-eating bacterium: it recycles even the most titanic of human creations so that the constituents can be used by other creatures.

'I think that the top 10 species helps to bring attention to the pieces of the puzzle that are still waiting to be discovered, whether it's in your own backyard, a health clinic in Peru, in the deep ocean, or a market in West Africa.

'Biodiversity science is all about exploration and discovery - cool stuff.'


Up and away: This cockroach- found in the Mountain National Park in South Africa - has modified legs that puts it on par with grasshoppers; right, a rust-eating bacterium, discovered on the wreckage of the Titanic, recycles sunken human creations so that the constituents can be re-used by others

source: dailymail

Riddle of the whales who disappeared in the night: Pod of 60 vanish after two died

By DAVID DERBYSHIRE

Beached: Marine experts bring ashore a female pilot whale washed up dead in shallow waters off Loch Carnan. The pod has disappeared but another dead whale has been found on an islet


Pod had been at risk of beaching themselves on Scottish coast

Creatures swim off after body of female pilot whale is washed up

Second dead whale is found on nearby islet


The pod of 60 pilot whales at risk of beaching themselves on the Scottish coast vanished yesterday after two died.

The creatures swam off after the body of a female, killed by an infection, washed up in Loch Carnan in South Uist.

A second dead whale was spotted on a nearby islet but could not be reached last night due to bad weather.


Strong social ties: Marine biologists say the group may have been accompanying the sick whale to her death


Members of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue were on stand-by in case the pod returned. But storms and winds of up to 70mph scuppered their plans to search by helicopter.

A post-mortem examination on the female found 'potential evidence of an infection' in a fatty region of its forehead.

The examination showed that grisly scrapes and cuts on the whale's body were not enough to cause its death.

Alisdair Jack of the BDMLR said last night: 'It is very disappointing to have found the second stranded whale.

'It was spotted through binoculars at around 4pm. Our fear has been that the first dead whale would not be the last.'


Cause of death: Marine experts perform a post mortem examination on the pilot whale. She is thought to have died from an infection in a fatty region on her forehead



Final journey: Marine experts load the dead pilot whale onto a truck for disposal


The pod was first seen in the loch on Thursday. Around 20 of the whales were suffering from head wounds that may have been caused by boats or by rocks close to the shore.

At the end of October last year, 33 pilot whales came close to being stranded in the same sea loch.

Less than a week later, they were found dead on a beach in Co Donegal.
Pilot whales prefer deep water but come inshore to feed on squid, their main food.


Cause for concern: The pod of 60 whales was first seen off the coast of South Uist on Thursday


Dicing with death: Some of the whales in the pod had head injuries, thought to have been caused by boats or rocks


Head injuries: It had been feared that if the sick whales in the group tried to beach themselves, the others were likely to follow


Calum Watt, senior inspector for the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the whales’ strong social bonds meant healthy animals within a pod would follow sick and injured ones on to shore.

He said, before the second dead whale was found: 'This could be the first of many other whales coming in - we hope it's not. It would be great if this is the only one to come in.'


Rescue mission: Volunteers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue travelled overnight in an attempt to reach the whales




source: dailymail