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SpaceX Dragon Crew to Blast Off for ISS

In this frame grab from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon is seen after docking at the International Space Station, late Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (NASA TV via AP)
In this frame grab from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon is seen after docking at the International Space Station, late Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (NASA TV via AP)
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SpaceX Dragon Crew to Blast Off for ISS

In this frame grab from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon is seen after docking at the International Space Station, late Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (NASA TV via AP)
In this frame grab from NASA TV, the SpaceX Dragon is seen after docking at the International Space Station, late Monday, Nov. 16, 2020. (NASA TV via AP)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to blast off early Monday for the International Space Station carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and the second Emirati to voyage to space.

The SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission is set to lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:45 am (0645 GMT). Weather conditions are expected to be near perfect, AFP said.

The Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed Endeavour, is scheduled to dock with the ISS at 2:38 am (0738 GMT) on Tuesday.

As the sun set on Sunday, the US space agency expressed confidence that the launch was a go.

"Countdown to liftoff!" NASA tweeted, as it promoted its livestream of the launch.

NASA's Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, Russia's Andrey Fedyaev and Sultan al-Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates are to spend six months on the orbiting space station.

Neyadi, 41, will be the fourth astronaut from an Arab country and the second from the oil-rich UAE to journey to space; his compatriot Hazzaa al-Mansoori flew an eight-day mission in 2019.

Neyadi described the upcoming mission as a "great honor."

Hoburg, the Endeavour pilot, and Fedyaev, the Russian mission specialist, will also be making their first space flights.

Fedyaev is the second Russian cosmonaut to fly to the ISS aboard a SpaceX rocket. NASA astronauts fly regularly to the station on Russian Soyuz capsules.

Space has remained a rare venue of cooperation between Moscow and Washington since the Russian offensive in Ukraine placed the two in sharp opposition.

Such exchanges have continued despite those tensions.

Bowen, a veteran of three space shuttle missions, said politics rarely come up while in space.

"We're all professionals. We keep focused on the mission itself," the mission commander said. "It's always been a great relationship we've had with cosmonauts once we get to space."

While aboard the ISS, the Crew-6 members will conduct dozens of experiments including studying how materials burn in microgravity and researching heart, brain and cartilage functions.

The current crew is the sixth to be transported by a SpaceX rocket to the ISS. The Endeavour capsule has flown into space three times.

NASA pays the private SpaceX company to ferry astronauts to the flying laboratory roughly every six months.

The space agency expects Crew-6 to have a handover of several days with the four members of the SpaceX Dragon Crew-5, who have been stationed on the ISS since October. Crew-5 will then return to Earth.

- Rescue capsule -
Also aboard the ISS are cosmonauts Dmitry Petelin and Sergei Prokopyev, as well as NASA astronaut Frank Rubio.

They had been scheduled to return home on March 28 but the cooling system of their Soyuz MS-22 capsule was damaged by a tiny meteoroid in mid-December while docked with the ISS.

An uncrewed Russian Soyuz capsule, MS-23, took off on Friday from Kazakhstan to bring the three astronauts home. They are now scheduled to return to Earth in September.

The ISS was launched in 1998 at a time of increased US-Russia cooperation following the Cold War space race.

Russia has been using the aging but reliable Soyuz capsules to ferry astronauts into space since the 1960s.

But in recent years, Russia's space program has been beset by a litany of problems that have led to the loss of satellites and vehicles.

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Tunisia's Famed Blue-and-white Village Threatened after Record Rains

© FETHI BELAID / AFP
© FETHI BELAID / AFP
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Tunisia's Famed Blue-and-white Village Threatened after Record Rains

© FETHI BELAID / AFP
© FETHI BELAID / AFP

Perched on a hill overlooking Carthage, Tunisia's famed blue-and-white village of Sidi Bou Said now faces the threat of landslides, after record rainfall tore through parts of its slopes.

Last week, Tunisia saw its heaviest downpour in more than 70 years. The storm killed at least five people, with others still missing.

Narrow streets of this village north of Tunis -- famed for its pink bougainvillea and studded wooden doors -- were cut off by fallen trees, rocks and thick clay. Even more worryingly for residents, parts of the hillside have broken loose.

"The situation is delicate" and "requires urgent intervention", Mounir Riabi, the regional director of civil defense in Tunis, recently told AFP.

"Some homes are threatened by imminent danger," he said.

Authorities have banned heavy vehicles from driving into the village and ordered some businesses and institutions to close, such as the Ennejma Ezzahra museum.

- Scared -

Fifty-year-old Maya, who did not give her full name, said she was forced to leave her century-old family villa after the storm.

"Everything happened very fast," she recalled. "I was with my mother and, suddenly, extremely violent torrents poured down."

"I saw a mass of mud rushing toward the house, then the electricity cut off. I was really scared."

Her Moorish-style villa sustained significant damage.

One worker on site, Said Ben Farhat, said waterlogged earth sliding from the hillside destroyed part of a kitchen wall.

"Another rainstorm and it will be a catastrophe," he said.

Shop owners said the ban on heavy vehicles was another blow to their businesses, as they usually rely on tourist buses to bring in traffic.

When President Kais Saied visited the village on Wednesday, vendors were heard shouting: "We want to work."

One trader, Mohamed Fedi, told AFP afterwards there were "no more customers".

"We have closed shop," he said, adding that the shops provide a livelihood to some 200 families.

Chokri Yaich, a geologist speaking to Tunisian radio Mosaique FM, said climate change has made protecting the hill increasingly urgent, warning of more storms like last week's.

The hill's clay-rich soil loses up to two thirds of its cohesion when saturated with water, making it highly unstable, Yaich explained.

He also pointed to marine erosion and the growing weight of urbanisation, saying that construction had increased by about 40 percent over the past three decades.

For now, authorities have yet to announce a protection plan, leaving home and shop owners anxious, as the weather remains unpredictable.

Varieties

Saudi Arabia: AlUla Hot Air Balloons, Safari Span 200,000 Years of History

The experience combines sunrise balloon flights with fine dining and stargazing under AlUla’s clear skies. SPA
The experience combines sunrise balloon flights with fine dining and stargazing under AlUla’s clear skies. SPA
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Saudi Arabia: AlUla Hot Air Balloons, Safari Span 200,000 Years of History

The experience combines sunrise balloon flights with fine dining and stargazing under AlUla’s clear skies. SPA
The experience combines sunrise balloon flights with fine dining and stargazing under AlUla’s clear skies. SPA

AlUla’s season has launched a new slate of aerial experiences, offering visitors a rare opportunity to explore nearly 200,000 years of human history from the air, with hot air balloon flights rising to 4,000 feet above the desert landscape.

The experience combines sunrise balloon flights with fine dining and stargazing under AlUla’s clear skies, blending adventure, heritage, and luxury hospitality.

Daily sunrise tours are operated by Hero Balloon Flights Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom’s first licensed hot air balloon operator.

The flights offer sweeping views of AlUla’s natural and historical landmarks, including deep valleys, carved tombs stretching across the desert, and sites of natural and cultural heritage from elevated vantage points.

As the balloon slowly inflates with bursts of hot air and lifts gently into the sky, expansive natural vistas unfold, offering what many describe as some of the most striking scenery in Saudi Arabia and a new perspective on the region.

Afternoon flights are paired with a broader program that connects seamlessly to dinner at Sharaan Nature Reserve and guided stargazing sessions.

The experience begins with an off-road exploration of valleys and natural trails within Sharaan Reserve, bringing visitors into close contact with the landscape while offering insight into the area’s geological features and history.

The evening concludes with a refined stargazing session led by a professional astronomer.

From daytime balloon flights, the experience extends to safari-style tours in Sharaan Nature Reserve, organized by Platinum Heritage Saudi, part of the Hero Experiences Group.

The journey highlights AlUla’s geological and cultural legacy.

The afternoon Platinum dinner experience is led by guides specializing in environmental conservation and natural heritage. As convoys travel through the reserve’s pristine terrain, guests learn about ancient rock inscriptions dating back thousands of years, explore historic valleys, and discover elements of local folklore.

As sunset approaches, visitors stop at a scenic overlook above the vast valleys, where appetizers and refreshments are served before continuing to dinner in Sharaan Reserve and a stargazing session that begins at dusk.

At a secluded desert camp illuminated by lanterns, guests are served dinner beneath a star-filled sky, combining nature and hospitality in the heart of the desert.

As night falls, a visual program blending light projection, sand art, and shadow transforms the canyon walls into a storytelling canvas, recounting the story of planet Earth and AlUla’s place within it.

Designed to accompany the dining experience, the show takes guests on a journey through time via projected imagery within a natural valley, supported by sand drawings and light interacting with sandstone formations.

The presentation reimagines the evolution of the planet, culminating in the rise of AlUla’s ancient civilizations.

The evening concludes with guided stargazing as guests observe celestial bodies and asteroids through telescopes, an experience that links sky and earth.

Positioned as one of the world’s emerging tourism destinations, AlUla offers a blend of unspoiled nature, cultural richness, and contemporary hospitality experiences.

Varieties

Scientists May Have Unlocked Key Secret to Long Life

Prof Uri Alon said he hoped the study would inspire further investigation into the genes that affect lifespan (Shutterstock)
Prof Uri Alon said he hoped the study would inspire further investigation into the genes that affect lifespan (Shutterstock)
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Scientists May Have Unlocked Key Secret to Long Life

Prof Uri Alon said he hoped the study would inspire further investigation into the genes that affect lifespan (Shutterstock)
Prof Uri Alon said he hoped the study would inspire further investigation into the genes that affect lifespan (Shutterstock)

Scientists think they may have unlocked a key secret to long life – quite simply, genetics, according to The Guardian.

Writing in the journal Science, the researchers described how previous studies that had attempted to unpick the genetic component of human lifespan had not taken into account that some lives were cut short by accidents, murders, infectious diseases or other factors arising outside the body. Such “extrinsic mortality” increases with age, as people often become more frail.

Prof Uri Alon and colleagues at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel say the true genetic contribution to the variation in human lifespan has been masked.

The team looked at “heritability,” the proportion of change in a characteristic such as height, body weight or lifespan within a population that can be attributed to genetics rather than environmental factors. Previous studies for human lifespan have thrown up a wide range of values – with heritability ranging from 6% of the variation to 33%.

But Alon, who co-authored the research, and his colleagues said such figures were underestimates. “I hope this will inspire researchers to make a deep search for the genes that impact lifespan,” The Guardian quoted Alon as saying. “These genes will tell us the mechanisms that govern our internal clocks.

“These can one day be turned into therapy to slow down the rate of ageing and in that way slow down all age-related disease at once.”

The team created a mathematical model that takes into account extrinsic mortality and the impact of biological ageing, and calibrated it using correlations of lifespan from historical datasets of thousands of pairs of twins in Denmark and Sweden.

They removed the impact of extrinsic mortality to reveal the signal from biological ageing, which is caused by genetics. The results suggest about 50% of the variation in human lifespan is due to genetics – a figure the researchers said was on a par with that seen in wild mice in the laboratory.

The other 50% of variation in human lifespan, they said, was probably explained by factors such as random biological effects and environmental influences.