An aurora and an atmospheric glow crown Earths horizon beneath a starry sky in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Canadian province of Quebec.

A week of science and station upkeep continued on Friday aboard the International Space Station. Ahead of their off-duty weekend, the seven Expedition 70 crew members completed an array of tasks to wrap up maintenance activities and resume microgravity research investigations.

On Tuesday, NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli kicked off a multi-day-long study investigating the efficiency of an antimicrobial coating in space. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa took over this work on Friday, continuing the investigation to help researchers better understand how the coating holds up over time.

Furukawa and Moghbeli then teamed up to inspect and change out cartridges in masks that are used in the unlikely event an emergency were to occur on station. Later on, Furukawa transferred data collected earlier this week during his and NASA Flight Engineer Loral OHaras acoustic monitoring sessions. At the end of the day, OHara configured the Microgravity Science Glovebox (MSG) for an ongoing fiber optics investigation.

Station Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) spent Friday wrapping up tasks conducted earlier this weekstowing spacesuit hardware and charging the VR Mental Care battery. In the evening, Mogensen performed a VR for Exercise session, which focuses on the use of a virtual reality environment for biking aboard the orbiting laboratory. Not only does this mitigate bone and muscle loss that occurs in low-Earth orbit, but can increase motivation for daily exercise and boost morale.

The Roscosmos trio split up their duties Friday, carrying out ongoing tasks from the week. Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko removed and replaced hardware in the Zvezda service module, while Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub completed some orbital plumbing. Meanwhile, Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov performed an experiment that studies the glow of Earths nighttime atmosphere in near-ultraviolet.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

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Crew Wraps Up Station Upkeep, Conducts Fiber Optics and Antimicrobial Investigations on Friday - NASA Blogs

NASA and Russia have agreed to keep launching American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts on each other's spacecraft, media reports suggest.

Roscosmos announced both it and NASA will continue the International Space Station launches with each other's crew members through at least 2025, "to maintain the reliability of the ISS as a whole," according to multiple reports including the Moscow Times.

A NASA spokesperson confirmed the agreement in an email to Space.com. "NASA and Roscosmos have amended the integrated crew agreement to allow for a second set of integrated crew missions in 2024 and one set of integrated crew missions in 2025," the spokesperson wrote. "For continued safe operations of the space station, the integrated crew agreement helps ensure that each crewed spacecraft docked to the station includes an integrated crew with trained crew members in both the Russian and U.S. Operating Segment systems."

NASA and Roscosmos have an existing agreement to launch crew members on each other's spacecraft, to allow for independent launch access for both nations and backup in case of trouble. Right now the manifest includes SpaceX Dragon for NASA missions, and Soyuz for Russia. (When Boeing Starliner is ready, presumably it will be included too for U.S. missions.)

The ISS is manifested to last until at least 2030, as most of the international coalition has agreed to stick with it. Russia will remain until 2028 or so, based on the most recent reports; the country is working on a different set of space plans in the future.

Related: NASA working to get private space stations up and running before ISS retires in 2030

Though NASA and Russia are the chief ISS partners alongside the European Space Agency, Japan and Canada, relations changed in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine to the condemnation of most of the world. Most space partnerships were severed with Russia aside from the ISS, which remains for space policy reasons.

Russia and NASA operate different segments of the space station with different operational responsibilities. They also send up cargo ships for resupply missions and interface with the crew in independent mission controls.

Since 2022, Russia has teamed up with China to launch a moon-facing alliance. NASA also has its own group, under the Artemis Accords, a coalition of 30-plus nations that themselves promise peaceful space exploration norms with a subset of countries also participating in moon exploration.

The Artemis Accords aim to put astronauts on the moon no earlier than 2025 with Artemis 3, and have already launched Artemis 1 (uncrewed) in 2022 around the moon. Artemis 2, with four astronauts on board, should launch around the moon in 2024 or so.

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NASA and Russia will keep launching each other's astronauts to ISS until 2025: report - Space.com

The suns first rays begin illuminating Earths atmosphere in this photograph from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

A STEMonstration, station upkeep, and routine hearing assessments kept the Expedition 70 crew busy on Wednesday. The seven orbital residents split up duties aboard the International Space Station as they continue their microgravity research missions into the new year.

NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli began her day recording a STEMonstration for teachers and students grades 5-8, demonstrating how to use a microscope for cell research aboard the station. To connect with students and teachers around the world, crew members will routinely record short three- to five-minute educational videos that demonstrate popular STEM topics in microgravity. Afterward, Moghbeli moved onto some station and spacesuit upkeep to install restraint straps and stowage bags on spacesuits that will be used for upcoming spacewalks this year, and perform inspections of various modules around the station.

Experiencing 16 sunrises and sunsets per day can affect crew members circadian rhythms while in low-Earth orbit. To counter this, the Circadian Light investigation tests a new lighting system to help astronauts maintain an acceptable circadian rhythm, which could in turn boost cognitive performance. ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen began his day performing a Circadian Light assessment before moving into surveying various station segments to send to grounds teams for assessments of station configuration.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa focused his day on prepping the Life Sciences Glovebox for upcoming research and measuring acoustic levels within the orbiting laboratory.

Near the end of the day, NASA Flight Engineer Loral OHara was joined by cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Konstantin Borisov to complete routine hearing assessments using specially designed space software to measure auditory function while exposed to the microgravity environment.

Kononenko also spent part of his day removing and replacing hardware in the Zvezda service module and running the 3D printer once more, while Borisov picked back up on inventory audits that began yesterday.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: http://www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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STEMonstrations, Station Upkeep, and Hearing Assessments Top Wednesday's Schedule - NASA Blogs

Digital content creators are invited to register to attend the launch of the eighth SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket that will carry crew to the International Space Station for a science expedition mission. This mission is part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program.

The targeted launch date for the agencys SpaceX Crew-8 mission is no earlier than mid-February from Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch will carry NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, commander; Michael Barratt, pilot; and mission specialist Jeanette Epps, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut mission specialist Alexander Grebenkin, to the International Space Station to conduct a wide range of operational and research activities.

If your passion is to communicate and engage the world online, then this is the event for you! Seize the opportunity to see and share the #Crew8 mission launch.

A maximum of 50 social media users will be selected to attend this three-day event and will be given access similar to news media.

NASA Social participants will have the opportunity to:

NASA Social registration for the Crew-8 launch opens on Friday, Jan. 5, and the deadline to apply is at 3 p.m. EST Tuesday, Jan. 9. All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

APPLY NOW

Yes. This event is designed for people who:

Users on all social networks are encouraged to use the hashtag #NASASocial and #Crew8. Updates and information about the event will be shared on X via @NASASocial and @NASAKennedy, and via posts to Facebook and Instagram.

Registration for this event opens Friday, Jan. 5, and closes at 3 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Registration is for one person only (you) and is non-transferable. Each individual wishing to attend must register separately. Each application will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Because of the security deadlines, registration is limited to U.S. citizens. If you have a valid permanent resident card, you will be processed as a U.S. citizen.

After registrations have been received and processed, an email with confirmation information and additional instructions will be sent to those selected. We expect to send the acceptance notifications on Jan. 17.

All social applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Those chosen must prove through the registration process they meet specific engagement criteria.

If you do not make the registration list for this NASA Social, you still can attend the launch offsite and participate in the conversation online. Find out about ways to experience a launch here.

Registration indicates your intent to travel to NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida and attend the three-day event in person. You are responsible for your own expenses for travel, accommodations, food, and other amenities.

Some events and participants scheduled to appear at the event are subject to change without notice. NASA is not responsible for loss or damage incurred as a result of attending. NASA, moreover, is not responsible for loss or damage incurred if the event is cancelled with limited or no notice. Please plan accordingly.

Kennedy is a government facility. Those who are selected will need to complete an additional registration step to receive clearance to enter the secure areas.

IMPORTANT: To be admitted, you will need to provide two forms of unexpired government-issued identification; one must be a photo ID and match the name provided on the registration. Those without proper identification cannot be admitted.

For a complete list of acceptable forms of ID, please visit: NASA Credentialing Identification Requirements.

All registrants must be at least 18 years old.

Many different factors can cause a scheduled launch date to change multiple times. If the launch date changes, NASA may adjust the date of the NASA Social accordingly to coincide with the new target launch date. NASA will notify registrants of any changes by email.

If the launch is postponed, attendees will be invited to attend a later launch date. NASA cannot accommodate attendees for delays beyond 72 hours.

NASA Social attendees are responsible for any additional costs they incur related to any launch delay. We strongly encourage participants to make travel arrangements that are refundable and/or flexible.

If you cannot come to the Kennedy Space Center and attend in person, you should not register for the NASA Social. You can follow the conversation online using #NASASocial.

You can watch the launch on NASA Television or http://www.nasa.gov/live. NASA will provide regular launch and mission updates on @NASA, @NASAKennedy, and @Commercial_Crew.

If you cannot make this NASA Social, dont worry; NASA is planning many other Socials in the near future at various locations! Check backherefor updates.

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Experience the Launch of NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 Mission - NASA

NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli configures spacewalking tools inside the International Space Stations Quest airlock.

Another day of station upkeep is underway aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 70 crew spent most of the day on spacesuit and station maintenance, auditing equipment, and wrapping up experiments started earlier this week.

In the morning, NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli was joined by ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen to perform a loop scrub on spacesuits that will be used during upcoming spacewalks this year. Moghbeli then reconfigured the hardware to initiate iodination, which is performed to remove contaminants from transfer loops.

Mogensen had a busy rest of the day, completing a VR Mental Care session, which demonstrates the use of virtual reality for mental relaxation. He then moved on to station upkeeprestocking the battery pantry and completing monthly maintenance on the orbital labs treadmillbefore rounding out the day with a hearing assessment.

NASA Flight Engineer Loral OHara began the day setting up a microphone to be worn on her shoulder to take sound measurements around the station and then completed some orbital plumbing tasks, removing and replacing the filter in the waste and hygiene compartment.

Earlier in the week, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa hydrated and incubated production packs for the BioNutrients-1 investigation. On Thursday, Furukawa retrieved the samples to inspect and photograph, which will help researchers better understand on-demand production of human nutrients over long-duration missions. He then wrapped up his day installing the Robotics Work Station for upcoming research.

All three cosmonauts aboard the station continued audit and inventory tasks that started earlier this week. Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko inventoried the Rassvet module, while Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub audited medical kits and Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov audited light units throughout Roscosmos segments. Borisov also ran a Pilot-T session, an ongoing experiment to practice piloting techniques, while Chub replaced the carbon monoxide sensor in the Zarya module.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station and @ISS_Research on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

Get weekly video highlights at: https://roundupreads.jsc.nasa.gov/videoupdate/

Get the latest from NASA delivered every week. Subscribe here: http://www.nasa.gov/subscribe

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Spacesuit Loop Scrubs and Routine Station Maintenance for Crew on Thursday - NASA Blogs

The US Space Agency highlights the work of its three competing commercial space station partners Axiom Space, Orbital Reef and Starlab for the design and development of possible new orbital destinations.

We are ending the year on a high note with multiple important milestones being completed by our partners, said Angela Hart, manager of the Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program at NASA Johnson Space Center. Over the past few months, we have been able to dig into the details of the specific hardware and processes of these stations and are moving forward to multiple comprehensive design reviews next year.

For example, Axiom Space, which holds a firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract with NASA, is on schedule to launch and attach its first module, says the agency. The module is named Axiom Hab One, and is due to attach to the International Space Station in 2026.

Four modules are planned for the Axiom Commercial Segment attached to the station. And after the space stations retirement, the Axiom Commercial Segment will separate and become a free-flying commercial destination, named Axiom Station.

The hatches of the Axiom Hab One module are fabricated and prepared to undergo pressure testing to ensure a strong enough seal to withstand the vacuum of space, writes Nasa. Manufacturing of the Axiom Hab One module is underway, and the critical design review will occur in 2024. During this review, NASA will assess the maturity of the Axiom Space design and provide feedback necessary to ensure safe operations when it is attached to the International Space Station.

The Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin, which was awarded a contract by Nasa in 2021 to develop a free-flying space station named Orbital Reef, has also recently completed tests, reports the agency for a window system and a structural demonstration. It writes:

For the structural test, Blue Origin used a prototype of their space stations main module, called the Core, to demonstrate the manufacturing processes required to build the final pressurized modules of the station. The test supports validation of the structural models and analytical tools for the Cores structural design.

The International Space Stations cupola, a room with seven windows overlooking the Earth, is the cornerstone of crewed missions for both research and astronaut morale. Orbital Reef will incorporate multiple windows on its Core, with each window spanning about twice the size of a car windshield. For the window test, Blue Origin evaluated the window integration structure design concept and its performance against the pressures and temperatures the windows will be exposed to while in orbit.

The third example given of progress for a new space station involved Starlab, a station being developed by Voyager Spaces Exploration Segment, in partnership with Airbus and Northrop Grumman.

Voyager Space recently completed three milestones, said the North American agency: a system definition review and the initiation of two pairs of milestones for an optical link demonstration and alternative urine processor demonstration.

Free-space optical, also called laser communications, allows for higher data rates and more energy-efficient communications than radio frequency communication systems. A major goal of the optical communication demonstration is to conduct testing from the International Space Station to the ground to establish the capabilities needed for Starlab. This initial milestone, within the optical link demonstration milestone pair scope, validated the Starlab testing plan. The optical link is planning to be tested next on the International Space Station.

You can read more on the Nasa website.

The ISS is expected to be deorbited by a dedicated NASA spacecraft in 2031.

Image: Axiom Space A hatch of the Axiom Hab One module, which will attach the module to the ISS.

See also: Nasa invites students to rise to 2024 Human Exploration Rover Challenge

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Nasa builds towards new space stations - Electronics Weekly

Astronaut photograph of the Sun rising above Earths horizon captured from the International Space Station on September 29, 2023.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are uniquely positioned to capture striking photos of the Sun and Earth.

As the International Space Station orbited over the southern Indian Ocean, an astronaut looked eastward and captured this photo of the Sun rising above Earths horizon.

This edge-on photo of Earths limb reveals several atmospheric layers. The lowest layer, known as the troposphere, appears orange and red as these wavelengths of light are scattered by particles of dust, smoke, and smog. Directly above the troposphere is the stratosphere. This blue layer is usually cloud-free and extends as much as 50 kilometers (30 miles) above Earths surface. The region directly above the stratosphere is known as the mesosphere.

The Sunthe focal point in this imageis front and center in NASAs Heliophysics Big Year. This big year celebration began with the annular solar eclipse in October 2023 and continues with a total solar eclipse in April 2024. It concludes with the Parker Solar Probes closest approach to the Sun in December 2024.

The total solar eclipse in April 2024 will pass over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. In addition to putting on an impressive show, the eclipse offers research opportunities including the chance for scientists to study the Suns effect on Earths ionosphere. This is the region spanning from about 80600 kilometers (50400 miles) above Earths surface, overlapping with the top of the atmosphere and the beginning of space. It is where the space station and other satellites in low Earth orbit hang out, and where radio and GPS signals bounce around.

During a solar eclipse, astronauts on the space station can sometimes see the Moons shadow passing over Earth. Views of sunrises are much more common, with astronauts witnessing as many as 16 sunrises every 24 hours.

Astronaut photograph ISS070-E-1178 was acquired on September 29, 2023, with a Nikon D5 digital camera using a focal length of 170 millimeters. The image was provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 70 crew. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public and to make those images freely available on the Internet.

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Dawn Breaks Over Earth: A Spectacular Sunrise Seen From the Space Station - SciTechDaily

Four Expedition 70 crew members share New Years remarks. From left, Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA, Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA, Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA, and Flight Engineer Loral OHara of NASA. Credit: NASA

The seven-member Expedition 70 crew was back to work after Monday saw an off-duty day for the International Space Station residents. A variety of activities took place in orbit on Tuesday, while some members conducted cleaning activities and others picked back up on scientific research to kick-start the new year.

Flight Engineer Loral OHara of NASA spent part of her day unstowing materials in the Combustion Integrated Rack to prep for the SoFIE-GEL investigation. As part of ongoing science, crew members study burning in microgravity to determine how material flammability is affected by fuel temperatures. To continue this research, OHara swapped out a used manifold gas bottle in the experiment with a new one. In the evening, she donned the Actiwatch to monitor sleep-wake patterns throughout the night.

Expedition 70 Flight Engineers (from left) Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral OHara, both from NASA, pose for a portrait inside the Destiny laboratory module. Credit: NASA

Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli of NASA cleaned up in the Harmony module in the morning, then set out to replenish the water supply in the distribution and recovery reservoirs of Plant Habitat-06an investigation that studies the physiological and genetic responses to defense activation in wild-type tomatoes. Afterward, Moghbeli began an experiment to test the efficiency of an antimicrobial coating in space.

Commander Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European Space Agency) began the day swapping out the heart rate monitor on CEVIS, the stations bicycle. He then completed a robotics training session, practicing the capture of a cargo craft, reviewing how to control free-flying assistants, and operating the robotic arm. After lunch, Mogensen deployed the Life Sciences Glovebox that will be used for ongoing science activities this week, then analyzed water from the stations water processor assembly.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen gets ready for the Christmas season and poses for a fun portrait wearing a Santa Claus hat. Credit: NASA

Meanwhile, Satoshi Furukawa of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) hydrated and incubated production packs for the BioNutrients-1 investigation which uses technology for on-demand production of human nutrients over long-duration missions.

The three cosmonauts aboard the orbiting laboratoryOleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub, and Konstantin Borisovsplit up maintenance duties on Tuesday. Kononenko ran the 3D printer in Zvezda and audited cargo in the Prichal module, while Chub conducted maintenance on the water management system and Borisov inventoried accessories of the Roscosmos docking system.

Read more here:

Space Station Crew Members Kick-Start New Year With Advanced Science - SciTechDaily

Its the holidays, and theres no better time to gather around a console for some couch games.

But if youve been playing Overcooked, then you might know all too well that theres a fine line between laughing together and everyone questioning their friendships and relationships. Sure, the first few levels seem like an episode of The Three Stooges where everyone is laughing at the silly onscreen antics but things quickly morph into what seems like an elaborate heist movie, where precise timing and teamwork are needed to beat the harder levels.

Ive had friends who need to take a minute after having their dish accidentally slapped out of their hands by a dashing teammate, spoiling the entire level. Mercifully, no controllers have been thrown.

If youre not entirely burned by the experience and are still interested in couch cooperative games, then I would suggest taking a look at Out of Space, a 2020 release where, this time, you and a team of up to five friends are tasked with cleaning out a derelict space station. It still has the same goofy art style and welcoming approach of Overcooked, but it offers more manageable leaps in difficulty.

You and your friends will take on the role of astronaut roommates moving into a spaceship where the previous renters must have forfeited their deposit, failing to clean up an alien infestation. Youll work together, moving from room to room to clean up the goop and clear out the aliens with a broom, a refillable water bucket and a grinder to turn the trash into money.

In addition to clearing out rooms, youll need to manage your characters energy and food levels, which plays out with you building out the rooms as you move through the station. In rooms newly freed from the alien goop, youll be building simple bedrooms, kitchens and other utilities that will help you stay on your feet and equipped for the challenges.

It still requires teamwork and coordination with players, but the pace is friendlier. Beyond your hunger and sleepiness, theres no ticking time clock on the game, and you can clear rooms at your own pace.

In our playthroughs this holiday, wed work methodically through the ships by doublechecking everything for specks of infestation before moving onto the next room, us all gathered around the airlock with brooms, buckets, and a sink installed nearby. In it, theres a pleasant rhythm of housebuilding management and panicked action when an alien slipped past our defenses and laid eggs in the kitchen.

Those moments of panic when the alien infestation gets out of hand when an alien has slipped past or snuck in through an air vent are some of the best. If you let your guard down, it doesnt take much to get overwhelmed, but a bit of quick thinking and teamwork can usually stabilize the situation. You might have lost access to the bedroom, but you can work together to figure out a solution, even if its as basic as splashing water on your sleepy teammates.

In many ways, Out of Space is what I wanted Overcooked to be.

The slower pace and more manageable challenge means that you get to spend more time digging into the roleplaying elements of a management simulator. Instead of each level feeling like you were getting set in the blocks of a sprint, each new level of Out of Space feels like an opportunity to try something new and have fun with friends.

Theres still plenty of failure and frustration to be found in Out of Space you can definitely mess things up by opening a door before everyones ready, just ask me how but it seems like you always have a chance to dig yourself out of the tailspin and emerge a stronger team ... as long as you dont go opening the airlock too early.

Rating: Four of five stars

Platforms: PC (reviewed), MacOS, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4

Release Date: Feb. 26, 2020

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In space, no one can hear you scream ... at the alien-infested space station you're cleaning - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

Expedition 70 Flight Engineers (from left) Loral OHara and Jasmin Moghbeli, both NASA astronauts, pose for a portrait while installing helmet lights on spacesuits and checking the functionality of their spacesuits components. Credit: NASA

Thursday marked another day of station upkeep aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The Expedition 70 crew spent most of the day on spacesuit and station maintenance, auditing equipment, and wrapping up experiments started earlier this week.

In the morning, NASA Flight Engineer Jasmin Moghbeli was joined by ESA (European Space Agency) Commander Andreas Mogensen to perform a loop scrub on spacesuits that will be used during upcoming spacewalks this year. Moghbeli then reconfigured the hardware to initiate iodination, which is performed to remove contaminants from transfer loops.

ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Commander Andreas Mogensen replaces computer hardware inside the Advanced Space Experiment Processor-2 (ADSEP-2) that can house and process samples for a variety of biological and physical science experiments. Credit: NASA

Mogensen had a busy rest of the day, completing a VR Mental Care session, which demonstrates the use of virtual reality for mental relaxation. He then moved on to station upkeeprestocking the battery pantry and completing monthly maintenance on the orbital labs treadmillbefore rounding out the day with a hearing assessment.

NASA Flight Engineer Loral OHara began the day setting up a microphone to be worn on her shoulder to take sound measurements around the station and then completed some orbital plumbing tasks, removing and replacing the filter in the waste and hygiene compartment.

JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa poses for a portrait next to the Cell Biology Experiment Facility Incubator Unit inside the International Space Stations Kibo laboratory module. Credit: NASA

Earlier in the week, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Satoshi Furukawa hydrated and incubated production packs for the BioNutrients-1 investigation. On Thursday, Furukawa retrieved the samples to inspect and photograph, which will help researchers better understand on-demand production of human nutrients over long-duration missions. He then wrapped up his day installing the Robotics Work Station for upcoming research.

All three cosmonauts aboard the station continued audit and inventory tasks that started earlier this week. Flight Engineer Oleg Kononenko inventoried the Rassvet module, while Flight Engineer Nikolai Chub audited medical kits and Flight Engineer Konstantin Borisov audited light units throughout Roscosmos segments. Borisov also ran a Pilot-T session, an ongoing experiment to practice piloting techniques, while Chub replaced the carbon monoxide sensor in the Zarya module.

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From Spacesuit Loop Scrubs to VR Therapy: Decoding a Day of Science Aboard the ISS - SciTechDaily

Track SPACE STATION now!10-day predictions The ISS Notification Tool HD Live streaming from Space Station SPACE STATION is classified as:

Uplink (MHz): 145.825Downlink (MHz): 145.825Beacon (MHz): Mode: 1200bps AFSKCall sign: RS0ISS ARISSStatus: Active

Uplink (MHz): 145.990Downlink (MHz): 437.800Beacon (MHz): Mode: FM tone 67.0Hz 9k6 FSKCall sign: NA1SSStatus: Active

Uplink (MHz): 145.990Downlink (MHz): 145.800Beacon (MHz): Mode: SSTVCall sign: Status: Unknown

Uplink (MHz): 145.200Downlink (MHz): 145.800Beacon (MHz): Mode: Voice(Reg 1)Call sign: NA1SSStatus: Inactive

Uplink (MHz): 144.490Downlink (MHz): 145.800Beacon (MHz): Mode: Voice(Reg 2 3)Call sign: NA1SSStatus: Inactive

Uplink (MHz): 435.050Downlink (MHz): 145.800Beacon (MHz): Mode: FM tone 67.0HzCall sign: Status: Inactive

Uplink (MHz): 437.550Downlink (MHz): 437.550Beacon (MHz): Mode: 1200bps AFSKCall sign: RS0ISS-4 11Status: Inactive

The International Space Station (ISS) is a joint project of five space agencies: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (United States), the Russian Federal Space Agency (Russian Federation), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Japan), the Canadian Space Agency (Canada) and the European Space Agency (Europe). It is serviced primarily by the Soyuz, Progress spacecraft units and possible private missions in near future. Last Space Shuttle mission that serviced the Space Station ended in July 2011 (Atlantis, STS-135). The ISS is expected to remain in operation until at least 2020, and potentially to 2028.

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SPACE STATION Satellite details 1998-067A NORAD 25544 - N2YO.com

A powerful eye in the sky is helping scientists spy "super-emitters" of methane, a greenhouse gas about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

That observer is NASA's Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation instrument, or EMIT for short. EMIT has been mapping the chemical composition of dust throughout Earth's desert regions since being installed on the exterior of the International Space Station (ISS) in July, helping researchers understand how airborne dust affects climate.

That's the main goal of EMIT's mission. But it's making another, less expected contribution to climate studies as well, NASA officials announced on Tuesday (Oct. 25). The instrument is identifying huge plumes of heat-trapping methane gas around the world more than 50 of them already, in fact.

Related: Climate change: Causes and effects

"Reining in methane emissions is key to limiting global warming. This exciting new development will not only help researchers better pinpoint where methane leaks are coming from, but also provide insight on how they can be addressed quickly," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement (opens in new tab).

"The International Space Station and NASA's more than two dozen satellites and instruments in space have long been invaluable in determining changes to the Earth's climate," Nelson added. "EMIT is proving to be a critical tool in our toolbox to measure this potent greenhouse gas and stop it at the source."

EMIT is an imaging spectrometer designed to identify the chemical fingerprints of a variety of minerals on Earth's surface. The ability to spot methane as well is a sort of happy accident.

"It turns out that methane also has a spectral signature in the same wavelength range, and that's what has allowed us to be sensitive to methane," EMIT principal investigator Robert Green, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, said during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Green and other EMIT team members gave some examples of the instrument's sensitivity during the Tuesday media call. For example, the instrument detected a plume of methane also known as natural gas at least 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) long in the sky above an Iranian landfill. This newfound super-emitter is pumping about 18,700 pounds (8,500 kilograms) of methane into the air every hour, the researchers said.

That's a lot, but it pales in comparison to a cluster of 12 super-emitters EMIT spotted in Turkmenistan, all of them associated with oil and gas infrastructure. Some of those plumes are up to 20 miles (32 km) long, and, together, they're adding about 111,000 pounds (50,400 kg) of methane to Earth's atmosphere per hour.

That's comparable to the peak rates of the Aliso Canyon leak, one of the largest methane releases in U.S. history. (The Aliso Canyon event, which occurred at a Southern California methane storage facility, was first noticed in October 2015 and wasn't fully plugged until February 2016.)

EMIT spotted all of these super-emitters very early, during the instrument's checkout phase. So it should make even greater contributions as it gets fully up and running, and as scientists gain more familiarity with the instrument's capabilities, team members said.

"We are really only scratching the surface of EMIT's potential for mapping greenhouse gases," Andrew Thorpe, a research technologist at JPL, said during Tuesday's press conference. "We're really excited about EMIT's potential for reducing emissions from human activity by pinpointing these emission sources."

Mike Wall is the author of "Out There (opens in new tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Facebook (opens in new tab).

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Methane 'super-emitters' on Earth spotted by space station experiment ...

China is nearly ready to launch the third and final piece of its modular crewed space station.

A Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket rolled out to the pad at Wenchang spaceport on Hainan island early Tuesday (Oct. 25), Chinas human spaceflight agency (CMSA) announced.

The Mengtian space station module is encapsulated in a 67-foot-long (20.5 meters) payload fairing on top of the 187-million-pound (849,000 kilograms) Long March 5B. The rocket and module were transported to the pad in a vertical position, covering roughly 9,200 feet (2,800 meters) in under three hours.

Related: The latest news about China's space program

CMSA did not reveal a launch date for Mengtian, but previous launches and earlier statements by Chinese space officials point to a liftoff around Oct. 31 Beijing time.

Mengtian ("Dreaming of the Heavens") is a 58.7-foot-long (17.9 m) and roughly 48,500-pound (22 metric tons) spacecraft designed mainly to host an array of science racks and experiments.

The new module will join the already orbiting Tianhe core module, launched in April 2021, and Wentian, which launched in July. Together the three modules will complete Chinas Tiangong space station.

Three Shenzhou 14 mission astronauts are currently aboard Tiangong awaiting the arrival of the new module.

China plans to operate Tiangong for at least a decade and will conduct its first crew handover as soon as next month, when the Shenzhou 14 astronauts welcome aboard the crew of Shenzhou 15, who will launch from Jiuquan in the Gobi Desert.

Notably, the huge first stages of the three previously launched Long March 5B rockets have entered orbit and made high-profile uncontrolled reentries around a week after launch. The fiery first stage reentry from the Wentian module launch in July was spotted by onlookers in Malaysia and Indonesia.

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China rolls out rocket to launch final space station module | Space

1 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

2 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

During the Crew-2 return journey to Earth in early November, the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft took a trip around the ISS. That gave ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet an opportunity to photograph the station from a variety of angles.

3 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

The ISS stands out against the darkness of space in this image from November 2021.

4 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

The International Space Station is made up a of series of modules that are used for science experiments, spacecraft docking, and areas for the crew.

5 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

This close-up of the ISS from early November 2021 gives a good view of some of the station's solar panels. The sets of darker-brown panels are roll-out solar arrays that were added to boost the station's power.

6 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

This view of the ISS shows a peeled-back section of the station's radiator system. It's an old bit of damage that doesn't affect the station's operations.

7 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

The International Space Station's radiators are on show in a photo snapped from a SpaceX Crew Dragon during the return of the Crew-2 mission to Earth.

8 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

The ISS is a truly international project, featuring components from the US, Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe.

9 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

The International Space Station sparkles in a glorious photo taken by ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet on his way home to Earth in November 2021 as part of the SpaceX Crew-2 mission.

10 of 10 NASA/ESA/Thomas Pesquet

Fluffy white clouds provide an elegant backdrop for a new image of the International Space Station, taken in early November 2021.

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International Space Station shines in glamour shots from SpaceX ... - CNET

1. SpaceX launches tomato seeds, other supplies to International Space Station  CNN
2. SpaceX supply ship docks at space station Spaceflight Now  Spaceflight Now
3. Dragon Cargo Craft Arriving at Station Live on NASA TV  NASA Blogs
4. Liftoff! SpaceX Falcon 9 Soars Into the Sky With Space Station Supplies  SciTechDaily
5. SpaceX Dragon cargo ship docks at space station to deliver solar arrays, seeds and more  Space.com
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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SpaceX launches tomato seeds, other supplies to International Space Station - CNN

AI-lands in the Stream

Sorry, but not even Dolly Parton is sacred amid the encroachment of AI into art.

Holly Herndon, an avant garde pop musician, has released a cover of Dolly Parton's beloved and frequently covered hit single, "Jolene." Except it's not really Herndon singing, but her digital deepfake twin known as Holly+.

The music video features a 3D avatar of Holly+ frolicking in what looks like a decaying digital world.

And honestly, it's not bad — dare we say, almost kind of good? Herndon's rendition croons with a big, round sound, soaked in reverb and backed by a bouncy, acoustic riff and a chorus of plaintive wailing. And she has a nice voice. Or, well, Holly+ does. Maybe predictably indie-folk, but it's certainly an effective demonstration of AI with a hint of creative flair, or at least effective curation.

Checking the Boxes

But the performance is also a little unsettling. For one, the giant inhales between verses are too long to be real and are almost cajolingly dramatic. The vocals themselves are strangely even and, despite the somber tone affected by the AI, lack Parton's iconic vulnerability.

Overall, it feels like the AI is simply checking the boxes of what makes a good, swooning cover after listening to Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" a million times — which, to be fair, is a pretty good starting point.

Still, it'd be remiss to downplay what Herndon has managed to pull off here, and the criticisms mostly reflect the AI's limited capabilities more than her chops as a musician. The AI's seams are likely intentional, if her previous work is anything to go off of.

Either way, if you didn't know you were listening to an AI from the get-go, you'd probably be fooled. And that alone is striking.

The Digital Self

Despite AI's usually ominous implications for art, Herndon views her experiment as a "way for artists to take control of their digital selves," according to a statement on her website.

"Vocal deepfakes are here to stay," Herndon was quoted saying. "A balance needs to be found between protecting artists, and encouraging people to experiment with a new and exciting technology."

Whether Herndon's views are fatalistic or prudently pragmatic remains to be seen. But even if her intentions are meant to be good for artists, it's still worrying that an AI could pull off such a convincing performance.

More on AI music: AI That Generates Music from Prompts Should Probably Scare Musicians

The post This Deepfake AI Singing Dolly Parton's "Jolene" Is Worryingly Good appeared first on Futurism.

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This Deepfake AI Singing Dolly Parton's "Jolene" Is Worryingly Good

COP Out

Ever since she lambasted world leaders at a UN conference in 2018 when she was only 15 years old, Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg has had the ear of the international community.

Now, Thunberg says she's skipping out on next week's COP27 UN climate summit in Egypt. Why? Because it's rife with "greenwashing."

"I'm not going to COP27 for many reasons, but the space for civil society this year is extremely limited," Thunberg said at a press event for her book, "The Climate Book," as quoted by The Guardian. "The COPs are mainly used as an opportunity for leaders and people in power to get attention, using many different kinds of greenwashing."

Ultimately, in Thunberg's view, the COP conferences "are not really meant to change the whole system" and instead only promote incremental change. Bluntly put, they're feel-good events that don't accomplish much, so she's bowing out.

Wasted Breath

It's not an unfair assessment. For all the pledges made to drastically cut back emissions and achieve net carbon zero by 2050, very few nations have followed through in the short term. And in Europe, the energy crisis in the wake of the war in Ukraine has further sidelined those climate commitments.

So we can't blame her for not going. But it's a bit disheartening that even a tenacious young spokesperson like Thunberg has given up on convincing world leaders at the biggest climate summit in the world.

Maybe it's indicative of the frustrations of her generation at large. When Thunberg was asked what she thought about the recent wave of Just Stop Oil protests that included activists throwing soup on a Van Gogh painting, she said that she viewed what many detractors perceived as a dumb stunt to be symptomatic of the world's failure to effect meaningful environmental change.

"People are trying to find new methods because we realize that what we have been doing up until now has not done the trick," she replied, as quoted by Reuters. "It's only reasonable to expect these kinds of different actions."

Maybe the real question is: if even a UN climate conference isn't the place to get the message out and change hearts, where's the right place, and what's the right way? If the headlines are any indication, zoomers are struggling to figure that out.

More on Greta Thunberg: Greta Thunberg Thinks Germany Shutting Down Its Nuclear Plants Is a Bad Idea

The post Greta Thunberg Says UN Climate Conference Is a Scam and She's Not Attending appeared first on Futurism.

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Greta Thunberg Says UN Climate Conference Is a Scam and She's Not Attending

A provocative manslaughter case is about to kick off in Los Angeles later this month, involving a fatal crash caused by a Tesla vehicle that had the company's controversial Autopilot feature turned on.

It's the first case of its kind, and one that could set a precedent for future crashes involving cars and driver-assistance software, Reuters reports.

We won't know the exact defense until the case gets under way, but the crux is that the man who was behind the wheel of the Tesla is facing manslaughter charges — but has pleaded not guilty, setting up potentially novel legal arguments about culpability in a deadly collision when, technically speaking, it wasn't a human driving the car.

"Who's at fault, man or machine?" asked Edward Walters, an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University, in an interview with Reuters. "The state will have a hard time proving the guilt of the human driver because some parts of the task are being handled by Tesla."

The upcoming trial is about a fatal collision that took place in 2019. The crash involved Kevin George Aziz Riad, who ran a red light in his Tesla Model S, and collided with a Honda Civic, killing a couple who were reportedly on their first date.

According to vehicle data, Riad did not apply the brakes but had a hand on the steering wheel. Perhaps most critically, though, the Tesla's Autopilot feature was turned on in the moments leading up to the crash.

Riad is facing manslaughter charges, with prosecutors arguing his actions were reckless.

Meanwhile, Riad's lawyers have argued that he shouldn't be charged with a crime, but have so far stopped short of publicly placing blame on Tesla's Autopilot software.

Tesla is not directly implicated in the upcoming trial and isn't facing charges in the case, according to Reuters.

A separate trial, however, involving the family of one of the deceased is already scheduled for next year — but this time, Tesla is the defendant.

"I can't say that the driver was not at fault, but the Tesla system, Autopilot, and Tesla spokespeople encourage drivers to be less attentive," the family's attorney Donald Slavik told Reuters.

"Tesla knows people are going to use Autopilot and use it in dangerous situations," he added.

Tesla is already under heavy scrutiny over its Autopilot and so-called Full Self-Driving software, despite conceding that the features "do not make the vehicle autonomous" and that drivers must remain attentive of the road at all times.

Critics argue that Tesla's marketing is misleading and that it's only leading to more accidents — not making the roads safer, as Tesla CEO Elon Musk has argued in the past.

In fact, a recent survey found that 42 percent of Tesla Autopilot said they feel "comfortable treating their vehicles as fully self-driving."

Regulators are certainly already paying attention. The news comes a week after Reuters revealed that the Department of Justice is investigating Tesla over Autopilot.

Last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced an investigation of accidents in which Teslas have smashed into emergency response vehicles that were pulled over with sirens or flares.

This month's trial certainly stands the chance of setting a precedent. Was Riad fully at fault or was Tesla's Autopilot at least partially to blame as well?

The answer now lies in the hands of a jury.

READ MORE: Tesla crash trial in California hinges on question of 'man vs machine' [Reuters]

More on Autopilot: Survey: 42% of Tesla Autopilot Drivers Think Their Cars Can Drive Themselves

The post Manslaughter Case Has a Strange Twist: Tesla That Killed Couple Was on Autopilot appeared first on Futurism.

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Manslaughter Case Has a Strange Twist: Tesla That Killed Couple Was on Autopilot

Advertisers are fleeing Twitter in droves now that Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has taken over control.

Ever since officially closing the $44 billion deal, Musk has been busy gutting the company's executive suite and dissolving its board. Senior executives, as well as Twitter's advertising chief Sarah Personette, have departed as well.

After all, Musk has been very clear about his disdain for advertising for years now.

The resulting uncertainty has advertisers spooked — major advertising holding company IPG has already advised clients to pull out temporarily — and the billionaire CEO is in serious damage mode.

Now, Reuters reports, Musk is spending most of this week meeting with advertisers in New York, trying to reassure them that Twitter won't turn into a "free-for-all hellscape."

According to one of Reuters' sources, the meetings have been "very productive" — but plenty of other marketers are far from satisfied.

Advertisers are reportedly grilling Musk over his plans to address the rampant misinformation being spread on the platform, a trend that Musk himself has been actively contributing to since the acquisition.

And if he's succeeding in ameliorating advertisers in private, he's antagonizing them publicly. On Wednesday, Musk posted a poll asking users whether advertisers should support either "freedom of speech," or "political 'correctness'" — a type of false dichotomy that echoes the rhetoric of far-right conspiracy theorists and conservative pundits.

"Those type of provocations are not helping to calm the waters," an unnamed media buyer told Reuters.

Some are going public with the same sentiment.

"Unless Elon hires new leaders committed to keeping this 'free' platform safe from hate speech, it's not a platform brands can/should advertise on," Allie Wassum, global media director for the Nike-owned shoe brand Jordan, wrote in a LinkedIn post.

So far, Musk's plans for the social media platform remain strikingly muddy. In addition to the behind-the-scenes advertising plays, he's also announced that users will have to pay to retain their verification badge, though he's engaged in a comically public negotiation as to what the cost might be.

He's also hinted that previously banned users — former US president Donald Trump chief among them — might eventually get a chance to return, but only once "we have a clear process for doing so, which will take at least a few more weeks."

The move was seen by many as a way to wait out the impending midterm elections. After all, Twitter has played a huge role in disseminating misinformation and swaying elections in the past.

While advertisers are running for the hills, to Musk advertising is clearly only a small part of the picture — even though historically, social giants like Twitter have struggled to diversify their revenue sources much beyond display ads.

Musk nodded to that reality in a vague open letter posted last week.

"Low relevancy ads are spam, but highly relevant ads are actually content!" he wrote in the note, addressed to "Twitter advertisers."

Big picture, Twitter's operations are in free fall right now and Musk has yet to provide advertisers with a cohesive plan to pick up the pieces.

While he's hinted at the creation of a new content moderation council made up of both "people from all viewpoints" and "wildly divergent views," advertisers are clearly going to be thinking twice about continuing their business with Twitter.

With or without advertising, Twitter's finances are reportedly in a very deep hole. The billions of dollars Musk had to borrow to finance his mega acquisition will cost Twitter around $1 billion a year in interest alone.

The company also wasn't anywhere near profitable before Musk took over, losing hundreds of millions of dollars in a single quarter.

Whether that picture will change any time soon is as unclear as ever, especially in the face of a wintry economy.

But, of course, Musk has proved his critics wrong before. So anything's possible.

READ MORE: Advertisers begin to grill Elon Musk over Twitter 'free-for-all' [Reuters]

More on the saga: Elon Musk Pulling Engineers From Tesla Autopilot to Work on Twitter

The post Elon Musk Meeting With Advertisers, Begging Them Not to Leave Twitter appeared first on Futurism.

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Elon Musk Meeting With Advertisers, Begging Them Not to Leave Twitter

Cat Burglar

Cats are known for not really minding their own business, getting their furry paws on just about anything they can.

And it turns out, this makes them effective vectors for DNA evidence, according to a study published last month in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetic Supplement Series.

Researchers collaborating with the Victoria Police Forensic Services Department in Australia found detectable human DNA in 80 percent of the samples collected from 20 pet cats, with 70 percent of the samples strong enough that they could be linked to a person of interest in a crime scene investigation.

"Collection of human DNA needs to become very important in crime scene investigations, but there is a lack of data on companion animals such as cats and dogs in their relationship to human DNA transfer," said study lead author Heidi Monkman, a forensic scientist at Flinders University, in a statement.

"These companion animals can be highly relevant in assessing the presence and activities of the inhabitants of the household, or any recent visitors to the scene."

Here Kitty

One possible takeaway is that cats — and other companion pets like dogs — could be harboring DNA that could help solve a case.

The bigger issue, though, is that pets could introduce foreign DNA that muddles a crime scene, possibly leading to an innocent person being implicated. A pet could be carrying the DNA of a complete stranger, or it might bring the DNA of its owner into a crime scene that they had nothing to do with.

Monkman's colleague and co-author of the paper, Maria Goray, is an experienced crime scene investigator and an expert in DNA transfer. She believes their findings could help clear up how pets might tamper a crime scene by carrying outside DNA.

"Are these DNA findings a result of a criminal activity or could they have been transferred and deposited at the scene via a pet?" Goray asked.

It's a question worth asking — especially because innocent people have been jailed off botched DNA science far too often.

More on DNA evidence: Cops Upload Image of Suspect Generated From DNA, Then Delete After Mass Criticism

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Cats May Be Tampering With Crime Scenes, Scientists Say