Science News Roundup: SpaceX rocket sends first global water survey mission into orbit; Scientists discover hammerhead shark nursery in Ecuador's Galapagos and more

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.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX rocket sends first global water survey mission into orbit

A SpaceX rocket blasted off early on Friday carrying a U.S.-French satellite designed to conduct an unprecedented global survey of Earth's surface waters, a mission expected to shed new light on the mechanics and consequences of climate change. The Falcon 9 booster owned and operated by Elon Musk's commercial rocket company lit up the predawn sky along California's coast as it roared off its launch pad at the Vandenberg U.S. Space Force Base, about 160 miles (260 km) northwest of Los Angeles.

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.

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.

No evidence of space aliens so far in the Pentagon's UFO deep-dive

The Pentagon's new push to investigate reports of UFOs has so far not yielded any evidence to suggest that aliens have visited Earth or crash-landed here, senior military leaders said on Friday. However, the Pentagon's effort to investigate anomalous, unidentified objects -- whether they are in space, the skies or even underwater -- led to hundreds of new reports that are now being investigated, they say.

Scientists discover hammerhead shark nursery in Ecuador's Galapagos

A team of researchers has discovered a nursery of baby hammerhead sharks off an island in Ecuador's Galapagos archipelago, a finding that could help protect the species from the threat of extinction. The so-called haven for hammerhead hatchlings, who are less than a year old, was discovered near Isabela Island, the Galapagos' largest island, and offers refuge for the sharks during mating and early development stages.

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.