Global Science Updates: India Partners in Spaceflight, Rocket Mishap in China, Ancient Wolf Autopsy in Russia

The U.S.-based SERA names India as a partner for Blue Origin's human spaceflight. A Tianlong-3 rocket, under development by Beijing Tianbing Tech, crashed in central China without casualties. In Russia’s Yakutia region, scientists are conducting an autopsy on a 44,000-year-old permafrost wolf carcass, the first of its kind.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SERA names India as partner country for Blue Origin space flight

The U.S.-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA) on Monday announced India as a partner country in its human spaceflight programme, which will see six citizen astronauts from across the world launched into space. The programme, being executed in collaboration with Blue Origin, is meant for people from countries who have sent "few or no astronauts" to space, the agency said.

Space Pioneer says part of rocket crashed in central China

Beijing Tianbing Technology Co said on Sunday that the first stage of its Tianlong-3 rocket under development had detached from its launch pad during a test due to structural failure and landed in a hilly area of the city of Gongyi in central China. There were no reports of casualties after an initial investigation, Beijing Tianbing, also known as Space Pioneer, said in a statement on its official WeChat account.

Russian scientists conduct autopsy on 44,000-year-old permafrost wolf carcass

In Russia's far northeastern Yakutia region, local scientists are performing an autopsy on a wolf frozen in permafrost for around 44,000 years, a find they said was the first of its kind. Found by chance by locals in Yakutia's Abyyskiy district in 2021, the wolf's body is only now being properly examined by scientists.