Science News Roundup: NASA's Orion spacecraft; S. Africans make bricks from human urine

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

To the Moon and beyond: Airbus delivers powerhouse for NASA's Orion spacecraft

Europe's Airbus on Friday delivered the "powerhouse" for NASA's new Orion Spaceship that will take astronauts to the Moon and beyond in coming years, hitting a key milestone that should lead to hundreds of millions of euros in future orders. Engineers at the Airbus plant in Bremen, Germany on Thursday carefully packed the spacecraft into a special container that will fly aboard a huge Antonov cargo plane to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first step on its way to deep space.

South Africans make bricks from human urine

South African researchers say they have made bricks using human urine in a natural process involving colonies of bacteria, which could one day help reduce global warming emissions by finding a productive use for the ultimate waste product. The grey bricks are produced in a lab over eight days using urine, calcium, sand and bacteria. Fertilizers are also produced during the processes. And no, the bricks do not smell.

(With inputs from Reuters)