Four astronauts arrive at International Space Station after SpaceX flight


Sarwat Nasir
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Four new astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday for a six-month science mission.

The Crew-8 mission, featuring three American citizens and a Russian, arrived on board a SpaceX Dragon capsule at the orbiting laboratory about 24 hours after blasting off from a Florida spaceport.

Crews have occupied the ISS since 2000, with the structure travelling at 8km a second to maintain its orbit of Earth.

"Crew-8’s mission will further the understanding of how humans learn and behave in space and how their bodies respond, and it’s all critical to our lunar exploration," Nasa's associate administrator Jim Free said in a statement.

"We need all of these to come together to understand how people and technologies and systems will behave when we go on longer duration missions.”

They join those already on board the ISS, including Nasa astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli and Loral O'Hara, the European Space Agency's Andreas Mogensen, Japan's Satoshi Furukawa and cosmonauts Konstantin Borisov, Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub.

Meet the crew

Matthew Dominick served as Crew-8 commander on the journey to the ISS.

He was selected by Nasa in 2017 and this is his first spaceflight.

With a master's degree in systems engineering, the astronaut has also graduated from the US Naval Test Pilot School.

Michael Barratt was the pilot of the SpaceX capsule. He is on his third visit to the ISS and had already spent 212 days in space before this mission.

Selected by Nasa in 2000, Dr Barratt was flight engineer on a mission in 2009 and carried out two spacewalks. He also flew on the Discovery space shuttle in 2011.

Jeanette Epps was selected by Nasa in 2009 and this is her first spaceflight.

She has worked on other assignments with Nasa on the ground, including crew support astronaut for two missions and as lead capsule communicator in mission control, in Houston.

She was previously assigned to Nasa's Boeing Starliner-1 mission but was replaced so Boeing could have more time to complete development of the capsule.

Scientific research

Crew-8 is expected to carry out more than 200 experiments in science and research, technology development and commercialisation of low-Earth orbit.

Some of the work will involve using stem cells to create miniature versions of human organs to study degenerative diseases.

They will also analyse the effects of microgravity and ultraviolet radiation on plant cells.

Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

Test series fixtures

(All matches start at 2pm UAE)

1st Test Lord's, London from Thursday to Monday

2nd Test Nottingham from July 14-18

3rd Test The Oval, London from July 27-31

4th Test Manchester from August 4-8

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8

Transmission: nine-speed automatic

Power: 630bhp

Torque: 900Nm

Price: Dh810,000

New UK refugee system

 

  • A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
  • Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
  • A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
  • To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
  • Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
  • Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
The%20specs
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Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

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What is the definition of an SME?

SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors. 

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Lamsa

Founder: Badr Ward

Launched: 2014

Employees: 60

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: EdTech

Funding to date: $15 million

RESULT

Huddersfield Town 1 Manchester City 2
Huddersfield: Otamendi (45' 1 og), van La Parra (red card 90' 6)
Man City: Agüero (47' pen), Sterling (84')

Man of the match: Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

Opening weekend Premier League fixtures

Weekend of August 10-13

Arsenal v Manchester City

Bournemouth v Cardiff City

Fulham v Crystal Palace

Huddersfield Town v Chelsea

Liverpool v West Ham United

Manchester United v Leicester City

Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur

Southampton v Burnley

Watford v Brighton & Hove Albion

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton

The schedule

December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club

December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq

December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm

December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition

December 13: Falcon beauty competition

December 14 and 20: Saluki races

December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm

December 16 - 19: Falconry competition

December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am

December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am

December 22: The best herd of 30 camels

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Turkish Ladies

Various artists, Sony Music Turkey 

Updated: March 06, 2024, 5:49 AM