AFP UK

People in a railway station in Seoul watch a television screen showing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching with South Korea's first lunar orbiter Danuri onboard from Cape Canaveral in Florida

South Korea’s first lunar orbiter successfully launched on a year-long mission to observe the Moon, Seoul said Friday, with the payload including a new disruption-tolerant network for sending data from space.

Danuri — a portmanteau of the Korean words for “Moon” and “enjoy” — was on a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida by Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX. It aims to reach the Moon by mid-December.

“South Korea’s first lunar orbiter ‘Danuri’ left for space at 8:08 am on August 5, 2022,” Seoul’s science ministry said in a tweet, sharing a video of the rocket blasting off trailing a huge column of smoke and flames.

Danuri “successfully entered orbit towards the moon”, Seoul’s vice science minister Oh Tae-seok told reporters later Friday, saying that researchers were already communicating with Danuri through NASA’s deep-space antenna in Canberra, Australia.

“Analysis of the received satellite information confirmed that Danuri’s solar panel was properly unfolded to start power generation,” he said, adding everything appeared to be going smoothly.

Danuri will use six different instruments, including a highly sensitive camera provided by NASA, to conduct research, including investigating the lunar surface to identify potential landing sites.

One of the instruments will evaluate disruption-tolerant, network-based space communications, which, according to South Korea’s science ministry, is a world first.

– BTS in space –

Danuri will also try to develop a wireless Internet environment to link satellites or exploration spacecraft, Seoul has said.

The lunar orbiter will stream K-pop sensation BTS’ song “Dynamite” to test this wireless network.

Scientists also hope Danuri will find hidden sources of water and ice in areas of the Moon, including the permanently dark and cold regions near the poles.

“This is a very significant milestone in the history of Korean space exploration,” said Lee Sang-ryool, head of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, in a video shown before the launch.

“Danuri is just the beginning, and if we are more determined and committed to technology development for space travel, we will be able to reach Mars, asteroids, and so on in the near future.”

South Korean scientists say Danuri — which took seven years to build — will pave the way for the nation’s more ambitious goal of landing on the Moon in the next decade. 

“South Korea will become the seventh country in the world to have launched an unmanned probe to the Moon,” an official at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute told AFP.

“We hope to continue contributing to the global understanding of the Moon with what Danuri is set to find out.”

– Lunar ambitions –

Danuri was launched by a private company — SpaceX — but South Korea recently became one of a handful of countries to successfully launch a one-tonne payload using their own rockets.

In June, the country’s homegrown three-stage rocket nicknamed Nuri — a decade in development at a cost of 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) — launched successfully and put a satellite into orbit, on its second attempt after a failure last October.

That launch — coupled with Danuri’s launch Friday — helps bring South Korea ever closer to achieving its space ambitions.

In Asia, China, Japan and India all have advanced space programmes — and the South’s nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea has also demonstrated satellite launch capability.

Ballistic missiles and space rockets use similar technology and Pyongyang put a 300-kilogram (660-pound) satellite into orbit in 2012 in what Washington condemned as a disguised missile test.

A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launches from Launch Site One in West Texas north of Van Horn

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on Thursday launched six people to space, including the first from Egypt and Portugal, on the company’s sixth crewed flight. 

Mission “N-22” saw the New Shepard suborbital rocket blast off around 8:58 am local time (1358 GMT) from Blue’s base in the west Texas desert.

The autonomous, re-usable vehicle sent its crew capsule soaring above the Karman line, the internationally recognized space boundary, 62 miles (100 kilometers) above sea level. 

“I’m floating!” a crew mate could be heard saying on a livestream, as the capsule coasted to its highest point and the passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness. 

Both the rocket and capsule separately returned to the base — the latter using giant parachutes — completing the mission around 11 minutes after lift-off.

The crew included Egyptian engineer Sara Sabry, and Portuguese entrepreneur Mario Ferreira, both the first people of their countries to leave Earth.

It also included Coby Cotton, one of five co-founders of the YouTube sports and comedy channel Dude Perfect, which boasts more than 57 million followers.

A Blue Origin spokeswoman confirmed all six crew were paying passengers — though Sabry’s seat was sponsored by nonprofit Space for Humanity.

Blue Origin has not revealed its ticket prices. 

Past flights have included celebrity guests who have flown for free, including Star Trek legend William Shatner. 

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on Thursday launched six people to space, including the first from Egypt and Portugal, on the company’s sixth crewed flight. 

Mission “N-22” saw the New Shepard suborbital rocket blast off around 8:58 am local time (1358 GMT) from Blue’s base in the west Texas desert.

The autonomous, re-usable vehicle sent its crew capsule soaring above the Karman line, the internationally recognized space boundary, 62 miles (100 kilometers) above sea level. 

“I’m floating!” a crew mate could be heard saying on a livestream, as the capsule coasted to its highest point and the passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness. 

Both the rocket and capsule separately returned to the base — the latter using giant parachutes — completing the mission around 11 minutes after lift-off.

The crew included Egyptian engineer Sara Sabry, and Portuguese entrepreneur Mario Ferreira, both the first people of their countries to leave Earth.

It also included Coby Cotton, one of five co-founders of the YouTube sports and comedy channel Dude Perfect, which boasts more than 57 million followers.

A Blue Origin spokeswoman confirmed all six crew were paying passengers — though Sabry’s seat was sponsored by nonprofit Space for Humanity.

Blue Origin has not revealed its ticket prices. 

Past flights have included celebrity guests who have flown for free, including Star Trek legend William Shatner. 

While adult Belugas migrate away from the Arctic in the autumn to feed, they rarely venture so far south. File picture

A beluga whale that swam up France’s Seine river appears to be underweight and officials are worried about its health, regional authorities said Thursday.

The protected species, usually found in cold Arctic waters, had made its way up the waterway and reached a lock some 70 kilometres (44 miles) from Paris.

The whale was first spotted Tuesday in the river that flows through the French capital to the English Channel, and follows the rare appearance of a killer whale in the Seine just over two months ago.

French rescue services as well as firefighters and biodiversity officials mobilised swiftly and kept a close eye on the whale throughout the day to evaluate the “worrying” health of the mammal, the local prefecture said.

It added the whale seemed to have “skin changes and to be underweight”.

It is “currently between the Poses dam and that of Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne”, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) northwest of Paris.

Gerard Mauger, deputy head of French Marine Mammal Research Group GEEC, said the mammal spent “very little time on the surface” and appeared to have “good” lung capacity.

But Mauger said rescuers were struggling to guide the whale to the mouth of the Seine.

Officials did not specify the size, but an adult beluga can reach up to four metres (13 feet) in length.

Authorities in Normandy’s Eure department urged people to keep their distance to avoid distressing the animal.

Lamya Essemlali, head of the non-profit marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd, said some of her team would arrive with drones in the evening to locate the whale more easily.

“The environment is not very welcoming for the beluga, the Seine is very polluted and cetaceans are extremely sensitive to noise,” she said, adding that the Seine was “very noisy”.

In late May, the killer whale — also known as an orca, but technically part of the dolphin family — was found dead in the Seine between Le Havre and Rouen.

The animal had found itself stranded in the river and was unable to make its way back to the ocean despite attempts by officials to guide it.

“The urgency is to feed the whale to prevent it from suffering the same fate as the orca who died after starving to death,” Essemlali said.

The prefecture said it would assist and monitor Sea Shepherd’s efforts.

The Eure authorities said lone belugas do sometimes swim further south than usual, and are able to temporarily survive in fresh water.

While they migrate away from the Arctic in the autumn to feed as ice forms, they rarely venture so far south.

South Korea’s first lunar orbiter successfully launched on a year-long mission to observe the Moon, Seoul said Friday, with the payload including a new disruption-tolerant network for sending data from space.

Danuri — a portmanteau of the Korean words for “Moon” and “enjoy” — was on a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida by Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX. It aims to reach the Moon by mid-December.

“South Korea’s first lunar orbiter ‘Danuri’ left for space at 8:08 am on August 5, 2022,” Seoul’s science ministry said in a tweet, sharing a video of the rocket blasting off trailing a huge column of smoke and flames.

“Danuri will be the first step towards the Moon and the farther universe,” it said, apparently referring to the country’s ambitious space program, which includes plans for a Moon mission by 2030.

SpaceX tweeted that the launch had been a success.

“Deployment of KPLO confirmed,” it said, referring to Danuri using an acronym of its official name, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter.

During its mission, Danuri will use six different instruments, including a highly sensitive camera provided by NASA, to conduct research, including investigating the lunar surface to identify potential landing sites.

One of the instruments will evaluate disruption-tolerant, network-based space communications, which, according to South Korea’s science ministry, is a world first.

– BTS in space –

Danuri will also try to develop a wireless Internet environment to link satellites or exploration spacecraft, they added.

The lunar orbiter will stream K-pop sensation BTS’ song “Dynamite” to test this wireless network.

Another instrument, ShadowCam, will record images of the permanently shaded regions around the poles of the Moon where no sunlight can reach.

Scientists also hope that Danuri will find hidden sources of water and ice in areas of the Moon, including the permanently dark and cold regions near the poles.

“This is a very significant milestone in the history of Korean space exploration,” said Lee Sang-ryool, head of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, in a video shown before the launch.

“Danuri is just the beginning, and if we are more determined and committed to technology development for space travel, we will be able to reach Mars, asteroids, and so on in the near future.”

South Korean scientists say Danuri — which took seven years to build — will pave the way for the nation’s more ambitious goal of landing on the Moon by 2030. 

“South Korea will become the seventh country in the world to have launched an unmanned probe to the Moon,” an official at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute told AFP.

“We hope to continue contributing to the global understanding of the Moon with what Danuri is set to find out.”

– Lunar ambitions –

Danuri was launched by a private company — SpaceX — but South Korea recently became one of a handful of countries to successfully launch a one-tonne payload using their own rockets.

In June, the country’s homegrown three-stage rocket nicknamed Nuri — a decade in development at a cost of 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) — launched successfully and put a satellite into orbit, on its second attempt after a failure last October.

That launch — coupled with Danuri’s launch Friday — helps bring South Korea ever closer to achieving its space ambitions.

In Asia, China, Japan and India all have advanced space programmes — and the South’s nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea has also demonstrated satellite launch capability.

Ballistic missiles and space rockets use similar technology and Pyongyang put a 300-kilogram (660-pound) satellite into orbit in 2012 in what Washington condemned as a disguised missile test.

South Korea’s first lunar orbiter successfully launched on a year-long mission to observe the Moon, Seoul said Friday, with the payload including a new disruption-tolerant network for sending data from space.

Danuri — a portmanteau of the Korean words for “Moon” and “enjoy” — was on a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida by Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX. It aims to reach the Moon by mid-December.

“South Korea’s first lunar orbiter ‘Danuri’ left for space at 8:08 am on August 5, 2022,” Seoul’s science ministry said in a tweet, sharing a video of the rocket blasting off trailing a huge column of smoke and flames.

“Danuri will be the first step towards the Moon and the farther universe,” it said, apparently referring to the country’s ambitious space program, which includes plans for a Moon mission by 2030.

SpaceX tweeted that the launch had been a success.

“Deployment of KPLO confirmed,” it said, referring to Danuri using an acronym of its official name, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter.

During its mission, Danuri will use six different instruments, including a highly sensitive camera provided by NASA, to conduct research, including investigating the lunar surface to identify potential landing sites.

One of the instruments will evaluate disruption-tolerant, network-based space communications, which, according to South Korea’s science ministry, is a world first.

– BTS in space –

Danuri will also try to develop a wireless Internet environment to link satellites or exploration spacecraft, they added.

The lunar orbiter will stream K-pop sensation BTS’ song “Dynamite” to test this wireless network.

Another instrument, ShadowCam, will record images of the permanently shaded regions around the poles of the Moon where no sunlight can reach.

Scientists also hope that Danuri will find hidden sources of water and ice in areas of the Moon, including the permanently dark and cold regions near the poles.

“This is a very significant milestone in the history of Korean space exploration,” said Lee Sang-ryool, head of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, in a video shown before the launch.

“Danuri is just the beginning, and if we are more determined and committed to technology development for space travel, we will be able to reach Mars, asteroids, and so on in the near future.”

South Korean scientists say Danuri — which took seven years to build — will pave the way for the nation’s more ambitious goal of landing on the Moon by 2030. 

“South Korea will become the seventh country in the world to have launched an unmanned probe to the Moon,” an official at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute told AFP.

“We hope to continue contributing to the global understanding of the Moon with what Danuri is set to find out.”

– Lunar ambitions –

Danuri was launched by a private company — SpaceX — but South Korea recently became one of a handful of countries to successfully launch a one-tonne payload using their own rockets.

In June, the country’s homegrown three-stage rocket nicknamed Nuri — a decade in development at a cost of 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) — launched successfully and put a satellite into orbit, on its second attempt after a failure last October.

That launch — coupled with Danuri’s launch Friday — helps bring South Korea ever closer to achieving its space ambitions.

In Asia, China, Japan and India all have advanced space programmes — and the South’s nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea has also demonstrated satellite launch capability.

Ballistic missiles and space rockets use similar technology and Pyongyang put a 300-kilogram (660-pound) satellite into orbit in 2012 in what Washington condemned as a disguised missile test.

South Korea’s first lunar orbiter successfully launched on a year-long mission to observe the Moon, Seoul said Friday, with the payload including a new disruption-tolerant network for sending data from space.

Danuri — a portmanteau of the Korean words for “Moon” and “enjoy” — was on a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida by Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX. It aims to reach the Moon by mid-December.

“South Korea’s first lunar orbiter ‘Danuri’ left for space at 8:08 am on August 5, 2022,” Seoul’s science ministry said in a tweet, sharing a video of the rocket blasting off trailing a huge column of smoke and flames.

“Danuri will be the first step towards the Moon and the farther universe,” it said, apparently referring to the country’s ambitious space program, which includes plans for a Moon mission by 2030.

SpaceX tweeted that the launch had been a success.

“Deployment of KPLO confirmed,” it said, referring to Danuri using an acronym of its official name, the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter.

During its mission, Danuri will use six different instruments, including a highly sensitive camera provided by NASA, to conduct research, including investigating the lunar surface to identify potential landing sites.

One of the instruments will evaluate disruption-tolerant, network-based space communications, which, according to South Korea’s science ministry, is a world first.

– BTS in space –

Danuri will also try to develop a wireless Internet environment to link satellites or exploration spacecraft, they added.

The lunar orbiter will stream K-pop sensation BTS’ song “Dynamite” to test this wireless network.

Another instrument, ShadowCam, will record images of the permanently shaded regions around the poles of the Moon where no sunlight can reach.

Scientists also hope that Danuri will find hidden sources of water and ice in areas of the Moon, including the permanently dark and cold regions near the poles.

“This is a very significant milestone in the history of Korean space exploration,” said Lee Sang-ryool, head of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, in a video shown before the launch.

“Danuri is just the beginning, and if we are more determined and committed to technology development for space travel, we will be able to reach Mars, asteroids, and so on in the near future.”

South Korean scientists say Danuri — which took seven years to build — will pave the way for the nation’s more ambitious goal of landing on the Moon by 2030. 

“South Korea will become the seventh country in the world to have launched an unmanned probe to the Moon,” an official at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute told AFP.

“We hope to continue contributing to the global understanding of the Moon with what Danuri is set to find out.”

– Lunar ambitions –

Danuri was launched by a private company — SpaceX — but South Korea recently became one of a handful of countries to successfully launch a one-tonne payload using their own rockets.

In June, the country’s homegrown three-stage rocket nicknamed Nuri — a decade in development at a cost of 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion) — launched successfully and put a satellite into orbit, on its second attempt after a failure last October.

That launch — coupled with Danuri’s launch Friday — helps bring South Korea ever closer to achieving its space ambitions.

In Asia, China, Japan and India all have advanced space programmes — and the South’s nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea has also demonstrated satellite launch capability.

Ballistic missiles and space rockets use similar technology and Pyongyang put a 300-kilogram (660-pound) satellite into orbit in 2012 in what Washington condemned as a disguised missile test.

With just a look, Sosima Olivera knows when her cherished agave plants will be ready to make mezcal, tequila’s lesser-known Mexican cousin whose fast-growing popularity is raising fears of overexploitation.

The mezcal boom means a greater need for the land, water and firewood used to produce the smoky spirit, said Olivera.

“This excess demand from national and international markets has consequences. If more plants are needed, of course there’s more exploitation,” said the 50-year-old, who heads a producers’ collective.

Craft distillers like Olivera, who has dedicated her life to the process, aim to safeguard mezcal’s future with measures including seed banks and efforts to showcase artisanal methods.

“A bottle sums up everything we’ve done for years,” she told AFP while touring a field in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca where magueys — a type of agave plant — grow slowly under the sun.

Once drunk only in small Mexican communities, mezcal has enjoyed a surge in demand, both at home and abroad.

It is traditionally sipped neat, accompanied by slices of orange and salt mixed with dried chiles and ground agave worms.

Nowadays it can also be found on the menu in fashionable cocktail bars from New York to Tokyo.

Celebrities who have jumped on the bandwagon include the co-stars of the hit television show “Breaking Bad,” Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, who founded the drinks company “Dos Hombres.”

– No maguey, no mezcal –

The value of Mexico’s mezcal exports skyrocketed from nearly $20 million in 2015 to around $63 million in 2020, according to official figures.

The United States, Canada, Spain, France and Germany are among the top consumers of the drink, which is produced in several Mexican states, but above all in Oaxaca.

Although mezcal and tequila have similar production methods, some important differences set them apart.

Tequila is made with blue agave in the western state of Jalisco.

Mezcal uses other types — including highly prized wild magueys — some of which take 15 years or longer to mature.

For that reason, producers such as Graciela Angeles believe it is crucial to preserve the plants for future generations.

“What will happen to biological diversity? There are very few efforts to conserve these species,” said the 43-year-old creator of the “Real Minero” brand.

“Without magueys there’s no mezcal,” added Angeles, who keeps seeds to ensure the plants will still exist for her children to harvest one day.

– ‘Balance in life’ –

The complex process of mezcal production hinges largely on the distiller’s talent and sense of smell.

But with the arrival of deep-pocketed corporations, high-volume producers have become little more than “assembly plants” blending mezcal from different communities, Angeles said.

On average, a 750-milliliter bottle costs about $40 in Oaxaca, but the most exclusive varieties have a price tag of more than $100.

In the United States, a limited edition bottle of “Dos Hombres” mezcal made from tobala agave sells for more than $300.

The mezcal produced by Olivera and Angeles is the result of a painstaking process dating back several generations — something they are determined will live on.

“Small producers will always exist… who know that we have to plant a certain amount of plants, distill a certain amount. There’s a balance in life,” Olivera said.

Both women organize tastings to showcase the flavors and aromas of their products.

In the city of Oaxaca, mezcal tasting has become a must-do for many tourists.

Australian visitor Christopher Govers said he had learned all about the spirit “after falling in love with the taste and the effect.” 

“The history and culture behind it is connected with the taste,” he said at a bustling trade fair, where an illuminated sign read “Make Mezcal, Not War.”

South Korea’s first-ever lunar orbiter was launched from the US Thursday on a year-long mission to observe the Moon, live video showed, with a payload including a new disruption-tolerant network for sending data from space.

Danuri — a portmanteau of the Korean words for “Moon” and “enjoy” — was carried on a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida by Elon Musk’s aerospace company SpaceX. It aims to reach the Moon by mid-December.

“This is a very significant milestone in the history of Korean space exploration,” said Lee Sang-ryool, president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute, in a video shown prior to the launch.

“Danuri is just the beginning, and if we are more determined and committed to technology development for space travel, we will be able to reach Mars, asteroids, and so on in the near future.”

During the year-long mission, Danuri will use six different instruments, including a highly sensitive camera provided by NASA, to conduct research, including investigating the lunar surface to identify potential landing sites for future missions.

One of the instruments will evaluate disruption-tolerant, network-based space communications, which, according to South Korea’s science ministry, is a world first.

Danuri will also try to develop a wireless Internet environment to link satellites or exploration spacecraft, they added.

The lunar orbiter will stream K-pop sensation BTS’ song “Dynamite” to test this wireless network.

South Korean scientists say Danuri — which took seven years to build — will pave the way for the nation’s more ambitious goal of setting foot on the Moon by 2030. 

“If this mission succeeds, South Korea will become the seventh country in the world to have launched an unmanned probe to the Moon,” an official at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute told AFP.

“It is a huge moment for South Korea’s space development programme, and we hope to continue contributing to the global understanding of the Moon with what Danuri is set to find out.”

In June, the country launched its first domestically developed space rocket, its second attempt after a failed launch last October.

The three-stage Nuri rocket has been a decade in development at a cost of 2 trillion won ($1.5 billion).

In Asia, China, Japan and India all have advanced space programmes, and the South’s nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea was the most recent entrant to the club of countries with satellite launch capability.

A beluga whale that swam up France’s Seine river appears to be underweight and officials are worried about its health, regional authorities said Thursday.

The protected species, usually found in cold Arctic waters, had made its way up the waterway and reached a lock some 70 kilometres (44 miles) from Paris.

The whale was first spotted Tuesday in the river that flows through the French capital to the English Channel, and follows the rare appearance of a killer whale in the Seine just over two months ago.

French rescue services as well as firefighters and biodiversity officials mobilised swiftly and kept a close eye on the whale throughout the day to evaluate the “worrying” health of the mammal, the local prefecture said.

It added the whale seemed to have “skin changes and to be underweight”.

It is “currently between the Poses dam and that of Saint-Pierre-la-Garenne”, around 70 kilometres (43 miles) northwest of Paris.

Gerard Mauger, deputy head of French Marine Mammal Research Group GEEC, said the mammal spent “very little time on the surface” and appeared to have “good” lung capacity.

But Mauger said rescuers were struggling to guide the whale to the mouth of the Seine.

Officials did not specify the size, but an adult beluga can reach up to four metres (13 feet) in length.

Authorities in Normandy’s Eure department urged people to keep their distance to avoid distressing the animal.

Lamya Essemlali, head of the non-profit marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd, said some of her team would arrive with drones in the evening to locate the whale more easily.

“The environment is not very welcoming for the beluga, the Seine is very polluted and cetaceans are extremely sensitive to noise,” she said, adding that the Seine was “very noisy”.

In late May, the killer whale — also known as an orca, but technically part of the dolphin family — was found dead in the Seine between Le Havre and Rouen.

The animal had found itself stranded in the river and was unable to make its way back to the ocean despite attempts by officials to guide it.

“The urgency is to feed the whale to prevent it from suffering the same fate as the orca who died after starving to death,” Essemlali said.

The prefecture said it would assist and monitor Sea Shepherd’s efforts.

The Eure authorities said lone belugas do sometimes swim further south than usual, and are able to temporarily survive in fresh water.

While they migrate away from the Arctic in the autumn to feed as ice forms, they rarely venture so far south.