Science News Roundup: India calls off crucial test in crewed space mission; Scientists test Fukushima fish after nuclear plant water release and more

To recover the rocket from the sea was not a primary goal of the test, the company said. Japan provides up to $80 million subsidy to moonshot startup ispace Japan will provide a subsidy of up to 12 billion yen ($80 million) to moon exploration startup ispace as part of a grant programme for innovative ventures, industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

India calls off crucial test in crewed space mission

India on Saturday called off a key test in its ambitious crewed space mission Gaganyaan, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. "Vehicle is safe. Lift-off could not happen. We will come back later after investigating the reason," ISRO Chairman S. Somanath told news agency ANI.

Astronomers detect mysterious 8 billion-year-old energetic burst

Astronomers have detected an intense flash of radio waves coming from what looks like a merger of galaxies dating to about 8 billion years ago - the oldest-known instance of a phenomenon called a fast radio burst that continues to defy explanation. This burst in less than a millisecond unleashed the amount of energy our sun emits in three decades, researchers said. It was detected using the Australian SKA Pathfinder, a radio telescope in the state of Western Australia. Its location was pinpointed by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, one of the most powerful optical telescopes.

Scientists test Fukushima fish after nuclear plant water release

A team of international scientists collected fish samples from a port town near Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Thursday, seeking to assess the impact of the plant's recent release of treated radioactive water into the sea. The study by the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog is the first since the water release began in August, a move that drew criticism from local fisherman and prompted China to ban all imports of marine products from Japan over food safety fears.

Spain's PLD Space expects first orbital launch in Q1 2026 from French Guiana

Spanish rocket company PLD Space plans a first orbital launch from French Guiana in the first quarter of 2026, after it carried out the first fully private European rocket launch earlier this month, it said on Friday. The startup launched a recoverable suborbital Miura-1 rocket from a site in southwestern Spain which was a "complete success," the company said, even though it could not recover the rocket after it dived into the sea. To recover the rocket from the sea was not a primary goal of the test, the company said.

Japan provides up to $80 million subsidy to moonshot startup ispace

Japan will provide a subsidy of up to 12 billion yen ($80 million) to moon exploration startup ispace as part of a grant programme for innovative ventures, industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday. Tokyo-based ispace aims to launch its second moon lander next year and start a NASA-sponsored moonshot in 2026, following its failed first lunar landing attempt in April this year.

(With inputs from agencies.)