Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Milky Way melded with smaller galaxy in long-ago cosmic crash
The Milky Way, home to our sun and billions of other stars, merged with another smaller galaxy in a colossal cosmic collision roughly 10 billion years ago, scientists said on Monday based on data from the Gaia space observatory. The union of the Milky Way and the so-called dwarf galaxy Gaia-Enceladus increased our galaxy's mass by about a quarter and triggered a period of accelerated star formation lasting about 2 to 4 billion years, the scientists said.
Shaken or stirred: robotic bartender serves up cocktails for Prague clubbers
For revelers at one Prague megaclub, gone are the days of being squashed at the bar waiting to get a watered-down cocktail. Two years after becoming the first to try a robot DJ, the five-story Karlovy Lazne Music Club has gone a step further with the launch of a robotic bartender to mix up cocktails, after its manager was inspired by seeing one in Las Vegas.
India to buy Russian rocket engines for its space program: RIA
India plans to buy rocket engines from Russia for its national space program, RIA news agency cited Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov as saying during a visit to New Delhi on Monday. India launched a rocket into space on Monday in an attempt to safely land a rover on the moon, its most ambitious mission yet in the effort to establish itself as a low-cost space power.
India's moon mission lifts off, hopes to probe lunar south pole
India launched a rocket into space on Monday in an attempt to safely land a rover on the moon, its most ambitious mission yet in the effort to establish itself as a low-cost space power. If successful, the $146 million mission will allow Indian scientists to carry out studies on the presence of water at the moon's south pole, unexplored by any other nation before.
