Science News Roundup: NASA names chief of UFO research; panel sees no alien evidence; In San Francisco Bay, ecologists work to protect sevengill sharks and more

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is currently training four astronauts and looking to expand the cohort as it aims for more future manned missions, Hutton said. NASA names chief of UFO research; panel sees no alien evidence NASA on Thursday said it has named a new director of research into what the government calls "unidentified anomalous phenomenon," or UAP, while the U.S. space agency's chief said an expert panel that urged deeper fact-finding on the matter found no evidence of an extraterrestrial origin for these objects.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

India plans crucial test in crewed space mission by October

India is set to conduct a key test in its ambitious crewed space mission Gaganyaan as early as next month, the project director of the mission R. Hutton told Reuters. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is currently training four astronauts and looking to expand the cohort as it aims for more future manned missions, Hutton said.

NASA names chief of UFO research; panel sees no alien evidence

NASA on Thursday said it has named a new director of research into what the government calls "unidentified anomalous phenomenon," or UAP, while the U.S. space agency's chief said an expert panel that urged deeper fact-finding on the matter found no evidence of an extraterrestrial origin for these objects. Administrator Bill Nelson made the announcement about the new research chief - without disclosing the person's identity - after the independent panel of experts recommended in a new report that NASA increase its efforts to gather information on UAP and play a larger role in helping the Pentagon detect them.

In San Francisco Bay, ecologists work to protect sevengill sharks

Meghan Holst studies the broadnose sevengill shark, so she was naturally concerned when record-setting rain this year altered the shark's nursery grounds in San Francisco Bay. But the species appears to have withstood the challenge, based on initial observations from a recent outing on the water by Holst, a 31-year-old doctoral student in conservation ecology at the University of California, Davis.

Soyuz spacecraft with US astronaut, two Russian cosmonauts docks at ISS

A Russian spacecraft blasted off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome on Friday carrying two Russian cosmonauts and a U.S. astronaut to join the crew of the International Space Station (ISS), live TV images showed. At 1853 GMT the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft with American Loral O'Hara and Russians Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub on board docked at the ISS, Russia's Roscosmos space agency said.

Germany signs U.S.-led space norms pact Artemis Accords

Germany on Thursday became the 29th country to sign the Artemis Accords, a U.S.-led multilateral agreement meant to establish norms of behavior in space and on the lunar surface. The signing marks a key addition to a growing slate of countries aligning their space policies and standards of cooperation with the United States, as nations including China and India eye the moon as stage for technological advances and national prestige.

(With inputs from agencies.)