TEHRAN, Feb. 3 — Iran on Friday launched an observation satellite into orbit under a presidential decree, said the country's Press TV.

The spacecraft, named Navid (Herald), weighs 50 kilograms and can take pictures in low attitudes of about 250 to 375 km from the Earth, it said.

The satellite was completely designed and built by Iranian experts at the Science and Technology University in Tehran, Mohammadsaeid Jabalameli, head of the university, was quoted as saying.

Iran, a founding member of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, launched its first domestically-made data-processing satellite, the Omid (Hope) into space in 2009. (PNA/Xinhua) scs/hbc/utb

ILOILO CITY, Feb. 3 – The Western Visayas region is leading in terms of renewable energy development, according to Engr. Eduardo L. Amante, chief of the Energy Resource Development and Utilization Division of the DOE-Visayas.

Engr. Amante said that there are a number of service contracts that are up for implementation in Panay and Negros Occidental.

He cited that Villa Siga Hydropower Project in Antique with Sun West as proponent could probably be operational within the year.

The project could generate 8-megawatt power that will be supplied to the grid.

On the other hand, Negros Occidental is more in biomass projects using bagasse from sugar.

“Region 6 is advanced in terms of renewable energy development except for geothermal,” he affirmed.

The DOE as of January 2011 has signed 31 hydropower service contracts and from the four provinces of Western Visayas which currently on the pre-development stage. The highest number of service contract was in Antique with 12; followed by Negros Occidental with seven and Aklan and Iloilo with six approved service contracts each.

Specifically the service contracts in Aklan are situated in Malinao, Libacao and Madalag towns while in Iloilo are in Igbaras, Maasin and Calinog.

In Negros Occidental, the approved service contracts are located in Murcia, Kabankalan, Silay, Minapasoc and Sagay and San Remegio, Sebaste, Bugasong, Laua-an, Barbaza, Culasi and Anini-y in Negros Occidental.

Amante said that currently, they are reviewing the approved service contracts to determine whether or not they meet their commitments.

Upon approval of their contracts, proponents are given two years for pre-development and another two years for completion of their project.

If they failed, then the contract will be relinquished and will be open to other investors. (PNA)

LAP/ajp/PGLena/vlo

TEHRAN, Feb. 3 – Iran’s newest domestically manufactured satellite was launched into space on Friday morning.

The research satellite, called Navid-e Elm and San’at (Promise of Science and Technology), was manufactured by Iran University of Science and Technology. It was sent into space aboard the Safir rocket.

The satellite was launched on the Space Technology Day and the third day of the Ten-Day Dawn (Feb. 1-Feb. 11), which is a national celebration of the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Iran launched its first domestically manufactured satellite, called Omid (hope), into orbit on Feb. 2, 2009. (PNA/MNA) RMA/hbc/utb

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 — An international team of scientists has discovered a potentially habitable super-Earth orbiting a nearby star, according to a study published Thursday in Astrophysical Journal Letters.

With an orbital period of about 28 days and a minimum mass 4.5 times that of the Earth, the planet orbits within the star's " habitable zone," where temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold for liquid water to exist on the planet's surface. The researchers found evidence of at least one and possibly two or three additional planets orbiting the star, which is about 22 light-years from Earth.

The team includes University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) astronomers Steven Vogt and Eugenio Rivera and was led by Guillem Anglada-Escud and Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution for Science.

The host star is a member of a triple-star system and has a different makeup than our Sun, with a much lower abundance of elements heavier than helium, such as iron, carbon, and silicon. This discovery indicates that potentially habitable planets can occur in a greater variety of environment than previously believed.

The host star, called GJ 667C, is an M-class dwarf star. The other two stars in the triple-star system (GJ 667AB) are a pair of orange K dwarfs, with a concentration of heavy elements only 25 percent that of our Sun's. Such elements are the building blocks of terrestrial planets, so it was thought to be less likely for metal-depleted star systems to have an abundance of low-mass planets.

"This was expected to be a rather unlikely star to host planets. Yet there they are, around a very nearby, metal-poor example of the most common type of star in our galaxy," said Vogt, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UCSC. "The detection of this planet, this nearby and this soon, implies that our galaxy must be teeming with billions of potentially habitable rocky planets." (PNA/Xinhua) scs/ebp

MOSCOW, Feb. 2 — The European Space Agency has approved Russia's involvement in a joint Mars exploration project, the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos said on Thursday.

The ESA has been developing the Exo-Mars project that envisages two separate missions to Mars in 2016 and 2018, Roscosmos said.

"Europe gave its principal consent to Russia's participation in the project and the negotiations are underway," Roscosmos chief Vladimir Popovkin told a Moscow radio station.

Although Russia was capable of independently achieving all the tasks, including manned travel to the moon, the international projects were more advantageous and appealing for the Russian space program, Popovkin said.

"International cooperation allows us to select the most advanced scientific equipment in the world. The efficiency of these missions is much higher," he said. (PNA/Xinhua) FPV/utb

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 — During the next five years, NASA 's technology development efforts should focus on 16 high-priority technologies and their associated top technical challenges, says a new report released Wednesday from the National Research Council.

In addition, the report recommends emphasis on flight demonstrations for technologies that are nearly ready and a 10- percent allocation from the existing program budget to advance and refine early emerging technologies.

"It has been years since NASA has had a vigorous, broad-based program in advanced space technology development," said Raymond Colladay, president of RC Space Enterprises Inc., and chair of the committee that wrote the report. "Success in executing future NASA space missions will depend on advanced developments that should already be under way."

The 16 high-priority technologies were selected with input from the external technical community as part of NASA's draft technology roadmaps and include items such as radiation mitigation; guidance, navigation, and control; nuclear systems for both power generation and transportation; and solar power generation. These priorities were chosen to align with three main facets of NASA's overall mission: extending and sustaining human activities beyond low Earth orbit; exploring the evolution of the solar system and the potential for life elsewhere; and expanding understanding of Earth and the universe.

The report recommends that NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist pursue cooperative development of high-priority technologies with other government agencies and the U.S. commercial space industry to leverage resources. (PNA/Xinhua)

DCT/ebp

HA NOI, Feb. 1 — Scientists from the Ha Noi-based Institute of Geophysics on Tuesdaydisclosed that they found signs that at least three tsunamis had struck the coastal province of Nghe An in ancient times.

The tsunamis were thought to have occurred 4,500-4,300, 4,100-3,900 and 900-600 years ago, according to a two-year study that was recently completed.

Associate Professor Cao Dinh Trieu said scientists found banks of placura placenta-arca granosa shells (a type of mollusc) in Quynh Van, Nghi Tien and Quynh Nghia communes and Dien Chau Town and along the seashore in Nghi Yen that were 4,000-4,600 years old.

Trieu said Viet Nam was situated near fault lines where tectonic plates meet in the Pacific, an area that accounts for 80 per cent of the world's earthquakes.

Scientists said the findings suggested another tsunami could strike the coast of Viet Nam again. Trieu added that an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter scale along the Manila fault could result in a 7m wave barrelling into the coast of Nghe An Province.

Viet Nam has not had any significant studies on the possible occurrence of ancient tsunamis, which Trieu said was critical to understand the country's vulnerability to earthquakes and tsunamis. Since 2005, Vietnamese scientists have been collaborating with experts from Russia on studying Viet Nam's vulnerability to quakes.

The United Nations estimated that in 2009, at least 270,000 people in Viet Nam lived in areas potentially affected by tsunamis. (PNA/VNS)

FPV/ebp

ILOILO CITY, Feb. 1 – The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) here has allotted P30 million for the technology upgrading of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Western Visayas this 2012.

Engr. Rowen Gelonga, DOST regional director, said they expect to serve some 40 to 50 MSMEs with the allocation, far higher compared with the 14 MSMEs that benefited last year out of their P7-million fund.

He said the fund is purely for the upgrading of their technology and cannot be used as working capital. This may cover technologies for their packaging, processing and similar activities.

Although not in a form of loan, recipients are obliged to repay the fund support with no added interest.

Gelonga said the program could aid in fast tracking the MSMEs adaption of technologies thereby allowing them to become more competitive in the market.

The upgrading, he added, could result to efficiency in their operation and productivity thus less expense is incurred. This also makes them compliant to product standard.

The provision of fund support is one of the components of the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) dubbed as Innovation System Support Fund (ISSF).

Since its inception in 2003, the DOST has already provided assistance to more than 100 MSMEs in Western Visaysa.

Gelonga said the P30 million earmarked for this region could go higher depending on the number of applicants. Their qualification for the project would be based on the evaluation of their project proposal.

The national government has allotted some P400 million to P500 million for the program to be implemented nationwide, he added.

Currently, some 40 MSMEs from this region have already signified their interest to avail of the support.

Meanwhile, under the SETUP, the DOST also continues to provide support to MSMEs such as training and consultancy services. (PNA)

LDV/ajp/PGLena/vlo

GENEVA, Feb. 1 — The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday launched a new international information system to boost data exchange for disaster risk reduction, forecasting, predictions and service delivery for food security and health.

According to WMO, the new WMO Information System (WIS) will improve and expand the current exchange of weather, climate and water data and cut the costs involved.

It was built on the proven success of the Global Telecommunication System of WMO's World Weather Watch, which has been the backbone of meteorological information exchange for the past 40 years, and is used for daily weather observations and forecasts, tropical cyclone warnings and Tsunami alerts.

According to WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud, the WIS will allow users outside the meteorological community to have free access to this information for the first time. "The WMO Information System is the pillar of our strategy for managing and moving weather, climate and water information in the 21st century," he said. (PNA/Xinhua)

RSV/ebp

MOSCOW, Jan. 31 — The crash of Russia's Mars probe Phobos-Grunt was caused by space radiation and engine failure, Russia's Federal Space Agency Roscosmos said Tuesday.

Roscosmos head Vladimir Popovkin said the interplanetary probe' computer system was influenced by heavy-charged space particles in its flight. The space radiation even caused the malfunction of the system.

Meanwhile, Popovkin also blamed the foreign-made hardware installed in the probe, saying the inferior microelectronic hardware was seen as another cause to the Mars mission's failure.

Roscosmos confirmed in November that the Phobos-Grunt probe carrying China's Yinghuo-1 satellite, which was launched on Nov. 9, failed to reach the intended orbit. The spacecraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean on Jan. 15. (PNA/Xinhua) scs/utb