Science News Roundup: NASA to conduct first global water survey from space; U.S. lab hits fusion milestone raising hopes for clean power and more

The scientists focused a laser on a target of fuel to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing the energy. NASA to conduct first global water survey from space A NASA-led international satellite mission was set for blastoff from Southern California early on Thursday on a major Earth science project to conduct a comprehensive survey of the world's oceans, lakes and rivers for the first time.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Unexplained leak from docked Soyuz spacecraft cancels Russian ISS spacewalk

A routine spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) was called off as it was about to begin after flight controllers noticed a stream of liquid spewing from a docked Soyuz spacecraft, a NASA webcast showed. The spray of fluid, which was visible in NASA's live video feed as a torrent of snowflake-like particles emanating from the rear section of the Soyuz MS-22 capsule, was described by a NASA commentator as a coolant leak.

Japan's ispace launches commercial moon lander, in potential world first

A Japanese space startup launched a spacecraft to the moon on Sunday after several delays, a step toward what would be a first for the nation and for a private company. ispace Inc's HAKUTO-R mission took off without incident from Cape Canaveral, Florida, after two postponements caused by inspections of its SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

U.S. lab hits fusion milestone raising hopes for clean power

U.S. scientists on Tuesday revealed a breakthrough on fusion energy that could one day help curb climate change if companies can scale up the technology to a commercial level in the coming decades. Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Lab in California on Dec. 5 for the first time briefly achieved a net energy gain in a fusion experiment using lasers, the U.S. Energy Department said. The scientists focused a laser on a target of fuel to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing the energy.

NASA to conduct first global water survey from space

A NASA-led international satellite mission was set for blastoff from Southern California early on Thursday on a major Earth science project to conduct a comprehensive survey of the world's oceans, lakes and rivers for the first time. Dubbed SWOT, short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography, the advanced radar satellite is designed to give scientists an unprecedented view of the life-giving fluid covering 70% of the planet, shedding new light on the mechanics and consequences of climate change.

(With inputs from agencies.)