Science News Roundup: Micrometeoroid strike could be cause of Russian spacecraft leak - official; NASA to conduct first global water survey from space and more

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. 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.

Micrometeoroid strike could be cause of Russian spacecraft leak - official

A coolant leak lasting for at least three hours Wednesday night aboard a Russian Soyuz space capsule docked to the International Space Station could have been caused by a tiny meteoroid strike, a senior Russian space official said Thursday.

NASA and Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said no astronauts were endangered by the leak, which forced mission control officers in Moscow to call off a planned spacewalk by two cosmonauts as fluid sprayed outward into space, as seen on live video during a NASA webcast.

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.

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.