Science News Roundup: Forecasts for cloudy skies cast shadow over North American solar eclipse; SpaceX launches South Korea's second spy satellite amid race with North and more

They returned to Earth on Saturday along with U.S. astronaut Loral O'Hara, who had been aboard the orbital station since September. Forecasts for cloudy skies cast shadow over North American solar eclipse Cloudy skies forecast for Monday could spell disappointment for many of the millions of North Americans hoping to glimpse the continent's first total solar eclipse since 2017, possibly turning this spellbinding celestial phenomenon into a dud.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX launches South Korea's second spy satellite amid race with North

South Korea's defence ministry said on Monday the country's second homegrown spy satellite had entered orbit after its launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch, which comes after Seoul's first spy satellite was put into orbit from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base in December, was livestreamed on social media platforms X and YouTube.

Russian descent vehicle lands in Kazakhstan with three astronauts

A Russian descent vehicle landed safely in Kazakhstan on Saturday, returning from the International Space Station with astronauts from Russia, Belarus, and the United States, live footage broadcast by Russia's Roscosmos space agency showed. Russian Oleg Novitsky and Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya departed for the ISS last month on a Soyuz spacecraft. They returned to Earth on Saturday along with U.S. astronaut Loral O'Hara, who had been aboard the orbital station since September.

Forecasts for cloudy skies cast shadow over North American solar eclipse

Cloudy skies forecast for Monday could spell disappointment for many of the millions of North Americans hoping to glimpse the continent's first total solar eclipse since 2017, possibly turning this spellbinding celestial phenomenon into a dud. Some regions that more typically experience fair skies in April within the "path of totality" - the narrow corridor where the moon can be seen obscuring the entire face of the sun - appear to have the gloomiest weather outlook for Monday.

(With inputs from agencies.)