India, US to cooperate in space flights

India and the US plan to cooperate in the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, including in the area of human space flights, under a new agreement between their space agencies. A framework agreement establishing the terms for future cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and US space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was signed on Friday at the Kennedy Space Centre by ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair and NASA administrator Michael Griffin. "I am honoured to sign this agreement with the India Space Research Organisation," Griffin said. "This agreement will allow us to cooperate effectively on a wide range of programmes of mutual interest." "India has extensive space-related experience, capabilities and infrastructure, and will continue to be a welcome partner in NASA's future space exploration activities," he added. According to the framework agreement, the two agencies will identify areas of mutual interest and seek to develop cooperative programmes or projects in Earth and space science, exploration, human space flight and other activities.
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Nasa beams Beatles' song into space

The Beatles' song Across the Universe will be the first ever to be beamed directly into space next week, Nasa said. Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney said it was an "amazing" achievement and John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono called it the "beginning of a new age".The transmission of the song over the space agency's Deep Space Network on Monday will mark the 40th anniversary of the day the band recorded the song. The song will be aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light years away from Earth, and it will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second, Nasa said. In a message to the space agency, Sir Paul said: "Amazing! Well done, Nasa! Send my love to the aliens. All the best, Paul." Ms Ono added: "I see this as the beginning of the new age in which we will communicate with billions of planets across the universe." Anything listening out there would hear the lyrics which include the chorus line: "Nothing's gonna change my world." Fans have been invited to participate in the event by playing the song around the world at midnight GMT on Monday night - the same time it will be transmitted by Nasa. The event will also mark 50 years of Nasa, 45 years of the Deep Space Network and 50 years since the founding of Explorer 1, the first US satellite.

NASA Issues Environmental Impact Statement for Constellation

NASA’s Constellation Program is developing a space transportation system that is designed to return humans to the moon by 2020. The Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement concludes that localized and global environmental impacts associated with implementing the program would be comparable to past or ongoing NASA activities. The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to prepare an environmental impact statement for major federal actions that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Federal agencies consider potential environmental impacts of their proposed actions before deciding whether and how to proceed. The statement examines the effects of development, testing and operation of spacecraft and support systems associated with Constellation Program activities through the early 2020s. NASA plans to use multiple government and contractor facilities in implementing the program. The program components to be developed include the Orion crew exploration vehicle, the Ares I crew launch vehicle, the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, the Altair lunar lander and other cargo systems. Orion will launch atop the Ares I and be capable of docking with the International Space Station or with cargo launched to low Earth orbit by the Ares V for transit to the moon, or future missions to Mars.

NASA Uses Vertical Treadmill to Improve Astronaut Health in Space

WASHINGTON - NASA is using a new treadmill that allows people to run while suspended horizontally to help astronauts prepare for long-duration missions to the moon and beyond. A team of engineers at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland built the Standalone Zero Gravity Locomotion Simulator to imitate conditions astronauts experience while exercising in space. Exercise in microgravity helps lessen the harmful health effects of long-duration space travel, promoting astronauts' well-being and mission success.