French lawmakers were set to vote Wednesday on whether to endorse a contact-tracing app designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus amid sharp debate over privacy concerns. If approved, France’s StopCovid app will be made available to users on a voluntary basis starting Monday. The government committed to honoring …

Farhad Karimi’s eyes fill with tears as he recalls the events of August 1, 2017. It was a warm Tuesday evening and he was attending prayers in the Jawadia mosque in Herat, Afghanistan, along with his 18-year-old brother and a college friend. Suddenly, a large explosion forced him to the …

When NASA’s Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, few thought it would take more than eight years for U.S. astronauts to launch back into orbit from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. But as VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, hopes ride high on a new “space race” of privately developed launch systems ushering in …

NASA and SpaceX are set to launch a crewed mission Wednesday to the International Space Station from U.S. soil for the first time since 2011. Two NASA astronauts will be on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft in what is the final part of the testing phase of NASA’s work with private companies to …

Even by using the tools at his disposal at the Adler Planetarium situated along the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Director of Astronomy Geza Gyuk acknowledges there is a limit to what he can see and do in understanding the cosmos.“We’ve got a 24-inch telescope in the back of …

A U.S. judge has dealt another blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to increase domestic oil and gas output from public lands, saying officials failed to protect habitat for a declining bird species when it issued energy leases on hundreds of square miles. Judge Brian Morris said the Interior Department did …

Officials with the U.S. space agency say the weather is looking favorable for the scheduled launch Wednesday of the first manned space craft from U.S. soil in nine years. During a briefing from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said the forecast is currently at 60% favorable for …

Merck & Co Inc, which has largely kept to the sidelines of the race for COVID-19 treatments, said it was buying Austrian vaccine maker Themis Bioscience and would collaborate with research nonprofit IAVI to develop two separate vaccines.   It also announced a partnership with privately held Ridgeback Biotherapeutics to …

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit failed Monday on its first attempt to launch a test satellite into space aboard a rocket carried aloft by a Boeing 747 and released over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California. The inaugural launch had appeared to be going well until moments after the …

Countries should levy an “orbit congestion charge” on satellite operators to tackle the growing concentration of space junk cluttering the skies, researchers said on Monday, but with some doubting the practicalities of such a fee. From dead satellites to bits of rockets, the amount of debris orbiting the planet is already …

The World Health Organization said Monday that it will temporarily drop hydroxychloroquine — the malaria drug U.S. President Trump says he is taking — from its global study into experimental COVID-19 treatments, saying that its experts need to review all available evidence to date. In a press briefing, WHO director-general …

When President Donald Trump doesn’t like the message, he shoots the messenger. So it was this past week when he took very personally a scientific study that should give pause to anyone thinking of following Trump’s lead and ingesting a potentially risky drug for the coronavirus. He branded the study’s …

Several snow leopards, including a mother and her cub, have been spotted near the Kazakh city of Almaty wandering through a usually popular hiking destination that is now mostly off limits due to the coronavirus lockdown.   There are only around 150 snow leopards left in Kazakhstan, out of a …

The newest branch of the U.S. military began a mostly-classified mission in public view while Japan launched a rocket to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, astronauts scheduled to make history next week reported for duty.  VOA’s Arash Arabasadi transports us through This Week in Space. …

Nearly 80 million children under age 1 are at higher risk of preventable diseases such as measles, cholera and polio because of the disruption of routine vaccination programs, according to a report released Friday by the World Health Organization and other global organizations.  Immunization campaigns have been disrupted in half …

In ordinary times, the beaches and roads along Florida’s Space Coast would be packed with hundreds of thousands of spectators, eager to witness the first astronaut launch from Florida in nine years.   In the age of coronavirus, local officials and NASA are split on whether that’s a good idea. …

NASA and the Kennedy Space Center in Florida have welcomed the two astronauts who, next Wednesday, are scheduled to head to space, becoming the first humans to do so from U.S. soil in nine years.  NASA test pilots Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken arrived from their home base in Houston aboard one of the space agency’s jets Wednesday. They will also make history as …

Healthcare workers at British hospitals will be the first participants in a global study testing the anti-malarial drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine to see if they can be used to treat or prevent COVID-19. The University of Oxford-led study, kicking off Thursday, will test over 40,0000 frontline health workers in Europe, Africa, …

How should I clean and store my face mask?   Cloth face masks worn during the coronavirus pandemic should be washed regularly, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   Public health experts recommend wearing a mask made from cotton fabric, such as T-shirts, or scarves and …

Health investigator Mackenzie Bray smiles and chuckles as she chats by phone with a retired Utah man who just tested positive for the coronavirus.  She’s trying to keep the mood light because she needs to find out where he’s been and who he’s been around for the past seven days. …

Russia continues to pose “serious” and “growing” threats to U.S. interests in space, according to the top military officer for space defense. “They’re real, they’re serious and they’re concerning,” Gen. John Raymond, chief of the newly established U.S. Space Force and head of U.S. Space Command, told reporters Wednesday. “Our advantage has been diminished, and that’s why the …

NASA announced Wednesday it will name its next-generation space telescope in honor of Nancy Grace Roman, the space agency’s first chief astronomer. In a release posted on its website, the space agency calls Roman the “mother” of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which was launched 30 years ago, this year. NASA says Roman tirelessly advocated for new tools that would allow scientists to study …

Evidence of the formation of a new planet has been collected by scientists working at the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile.     The discovery is the first of its kind, says lead scientist Anthony Boccaletti, from Observatoire de Paris.     “Thousands of exoplanets have …

 Thousands of Nigerians are receiving free mental health care through a program to help people cope with stress and isolation from COVID-19.  The program, Mentally Aware Nigeria, or MANI, was formed by psychologists and medical experts to create an environment where people can seek mental health care without fear of …

Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday it will stop selling one of its flagship products — talc-based baby powder — in the United States and Canada.The pharmaceutical company said its decision is part of a “portfolio reassessment related to COVID-19.”But J&J is facing more than 16,000 lawsuits from consumers who claim …