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Under bright-blue morning skies, China launched its first crewed space mission in five years Thursday, sending three science-minded military pilots rocketing to a new orbiting station they’re expected to reach around midafternoon.

The astronauts, already wearing their spacesuits, were seen off by space officials, other uniformed military personnel and a crowd of children waving flowers and flags and singing patriotic songs. The three gave final waves to a crowd of people waving flags, then entered the elevator to take them to the spaceship at the Jiuquan launch center in northwestern China.

The astronauts are traveling in the Shenzhou-12 spaceship launched by a Long March-2F Y12 rocket that blasted off shortly after the target time of 9:22am (6:52am IST) with near-perfect visibility at the launch center on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

The two veteran astronauts and a newcomer making his first space flight are scheduled to stay three months in the Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony, conducting experiments, testing equipment, and preparing the station for expansion before two laboratory modules are launched next year.

The rocket dropped its boosters about two minutes into the flight followed by the coiling surrounding Shenzhou-12 at the top of the rocket. After about 10 minutes it separated from the rocket’s upper section, extended its solar panels and shortly afterward entered orbit.

About a half-dozen adjustments will take place over the next four to six hours to line up the spaceship for docking with the Tianhe at about 4pm (1:30pm IST), the mission’s deputy chief designer, Gao Xu, told state broadcaster CCTV.

The travel time is down from the two days it took to reach China’s earlier experimental space stations, a result of a “great many breakthroughs and innovations” Gao said.

“So the astronauts can a have a good rest in the space which should make them less tired,” Gao said.

Other improvements include an increase in the number of automated and remote-controlled systems that should “significantly lessen the pressure on the astronauts,” Gao said.

The mission brings to 14 the number of astronauts China has launched into space since its first crewed mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to do so on its own. Two astronauts on those past missions were women, and while this first station crew is all male, women are expected to be part of future station crews.

The mission is the third of 11 planned through next year to add the additional sections to the station and send up crews and supplies. A fresh three-member crew and a cargo ship with supplies will be sent in three months.

China is not a participant in the International Space Station, largely as a result of US objections to the Chinese programs secrecy and close military ties. However, China has been stepping up cooperation with Russia and a host of other countries, and its station may continue operating beyond the International Space Station, which is reaching the end of its functional life.

China landed a probe on Mars last month that carried a rover, the Zhurong, and earlier landed a probe and rover on the moon’s less explored far side and brought back the first lunar samples by any country’s space programme since the 1970s.

After the Tianhe was launched in April, the rocket that carried it into space made an uncontrolled reentry to Earth, though China dismissed criticism of the potential safety hazard. Usually, discarded rocket stages reenter the atmosphere soon after liftoff, normally over water, and don’t go into orbit.

The rocket used Thursday is of a different type and the components that will reenter are expected to burn up long before they could be a danger, said Ji Qiming, assistant director of the China Manned Space Agency.

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‘Ghost’ Plume Found Beneath Oman May Explain India’s Ancient Tectonic Shift

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June 23, 2025

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‘Ghost’ Plume Found Beneath Oman May Explain India’s Ancient Tectonic Shift

A long-hidden plume of magma beneath Oman’s Salma Plateau may have played a surprising role in shaping the Indian subcontinent’s ancient journey, researchers report. This “ghost” plume — hot material trapped beneath Earth’s thick crust — cannot erupt but may have shifted the Indian tectonic plate’s course during its dramatic collision with Eurasia tens of millions of years ago. First detailed in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, the finding reveals a new class of deep mantle plumes that shape continents silently, without the typical signature of surface volcanoes.

Hidden ‘Ghost’ Plume Beneath Oman May Have Steered India’s Collision Path with Eurasia

As per a Live Science report, the plume was detected using seismic data from Oman’s dense sensor network. Under the leadership of geophysicist Simone Pilia, the group discovered that the plume altered the way sound waves moved through Earth’s layers, which in turn pointed to its presence. Unlike most mantle plumes, which rise and erupt through the oceanic plates, Dani is amagmatic and does not create surface eruptions because of the thick continental crust above the plume. This finding means that there may potentially be many hidden plumes lurking beneath continents.

The Dani plume is the first such non-eruptive plume beneath a continental plate, which is broadening scientists’ view of how mantle dynamics unfold out of sight. The researchers also calculated the movement of the Indian plate and found that it took a significant turn between 40 and 25 million years ago, which might have been affected by the shear stress created by the plume. The plume’s effects on topography are expected to be small regionally, but its geological role could be relatively large.

While plumes typically leave a visible volcanic trail—like Hawaii’s island chain—the Dani plume’s evidence may have been erased by subduction activity in the nearby Makran zone. Still, researchers say this finding opens the door to discovering more “ghost” plumes, particularly in regions with similar thick crusts, such as Africa. As seismic technologies advance, more silent subterranean forces shaping Earth’s history may come to light.

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Blue Origin’s Crewed Suborbital Launch Delayed Again Due to Weather Conditions

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June 23, 2025

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Blue Origin’s Crewed Suborbital Launch Delayed Again Due to Weather Conditions

High winds have once more prevented Blue Origin from launching six people to suborbital space on the company’s New Shepard rocket. The mission, NS-33, was initially scheduled to launch on Saturday, June 21, from the company’s launch site in West Texas. However, adverse weather conditions forced a postponement, and a second attempt on Sunday morning was scrubbed as well due to continued high winds. Blue Origin has yet to announce when the next launch window will be, but they stated via social media that the team is “assessing our next launch opportunity.”

Blue Origin’s 13th Human Spaceflight NS-33 Delayed Again as Six Civilians Await Suborbital Trip

As per a report by Space.com, NS-33 will mark the 33rd overall flight of the New Shepard vehicle and Blue Origin’s 13th human spaceflight mission. Most previous flights have supported uncrewed research missions, but this flight will carry six civilian passengers, including Allie and Carl Kuehner, known for their work in conservation and exploration; philanthropist and beekeeper Leland Larson; entrepreneur Freddie Rescigno, Jr.; author and attorney Owolabi Salis; and retired lawyer Jim Sitkin. The delay adds to the mission’s significance as it continues Blue Origin’s trajectory of expanding commercial spaceflight.

The New Shepard system, fully autonomous and reusable, delivers passengers to suborbital space for brief yet profound experiences—roughly 10 to 12 minutes in duration. Riders experience several minutes of weightlessness and view Earth from the edge of space before the crew capsule safely returns under parachutes. The first human spaceflight for Blue Origin took place in July 2021, which lifted off with founder Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, aviation pioneer Wally Funk, and Dutch student Oliver Daemen.

Yet the delay of NS-33 is a reminder that even the most sophisticated spaceflight activity is no match for the weather. Its next launch try has not been confirmed, but the company’s fourth flight with humans this year is eagerly awaited.

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Green Rooftops Could Help Cities Like Shanghai Filter Out Tons of Microplastics from Rainwater

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June 23, 2025

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Green Rooftops Could Help Cities Like Shanghai Filter Out Tons of Microplastics from Rainwater

The research team at Tongji University collaborated with a colleague from the Shanghai Academy of Landscape Architecture Science and Planning, finding that growing plants on roofs can be an effective method for removing microplastics from the air. In this study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, the team measured the amounts of microplastics on the plants and soil in which they grow. Previous research has shown that growing plants on roofs can reduce heating and cooling bills, as well as clear the air surrounding them of pollution.

Testing Plant Types and Microplastic Exposure

As per the study, the research team found whether the growing plants have microplastics or not. To know this, they planted two different types of plants, which are used on rooftops in Shanghai. Further, they introduced microplastic particles in the air near those plants at common levels found in Shanghai. The researchers then introduced simulated rains, after measuring the microplastic levels in the soil and on the plants.

Green Roofs Trap the Majority of Microplastics from Rain

What they found was that the plants did a great job of pulling the microplastics from the rain by growing through the air above them. The green roof system created by researchers consisted of a soil layer, which pulled the microplastics from the rainwater that falls on it to around 97.5%.

Microplastics Mostly Captured in Soil, Not on Leaves

And after conducting the measurements through multiple rains, the team came to know that the percentage of microplastics removed further increased with the intensity of the rainfall.

The researchers found that leaves were collecting less of the microplastics, but the bulk was deposited in the soil in a better way, rather than in a fibre-like shape.

Shanghai’s Green Roof Potential to Capture Microplastics

The team noted that Shanghai currently has only 38.33 million square feet of roof occupied by vegetation. However, based on their findings, they suggest, it is possible that Shanghai could capture around 56.2 metric tons of microplastic every year if the rooftops of all the buildings were made green.

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