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NASA Cargo Successfully Delivered To ISS Via SpaceX Dragon, Announces 7 Earth-Size Planets Around Nearby Star: Is This The Next Space Frontier?

SpaceX.SpaceX/Flickr

SpaceX’s the Dragon cargo ship containing over 2 tons of NASA supplies was finally captured by the robotic arm of the International Space Station (ISS). Astronauts Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency finally captured the cargo ship after a one-day delay due to a glitch in the navigational software, Space.com reported.

Pesquet told NASA Mission Control center in Houston, "With that capture, a Dragon has now officially arrived to ISS. We're very happy indeed to have it on board and very much looking forward to putting to good use the two-and a half tons of science it carries."

Astronaut Mike Hopkins of NASA radioed to the crew from Mission Control. "Now the real work starts. Great job with Dragon capture and sorry about the delay."

The success of the Dragon cargo ship by NASA and Elon Musk’s company is complemented with another great news, as NASA revealed that at least seven Earth-sized planets circling a cool dwarf star has been discovered. The star, which is known as TRAPPIST-1, is located in the constellation Aquarius.

The Mirror said at least three planets live in the “habitual zone,” and could have high signs of water. Cambridge astronomer Dr Amaury Triaud believed that the discovery could trigger more long-term space missions.

"Here we have the right target to start the search for life. Within the next decade we could know if we are alone in the universe. And that is quite incredible. We've made a crucial step toward finding if there is life out there," he said.

The Telegraph agrees, as scientists has expressed the need to study the plants’ atmospheres before determining whether these could support some sort of life.

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