Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore finally step outside ISS temporarily after eight months
After being stranded in space for eight months, NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore conducted their first joint spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday. The duo ventured out to carry out maintenance work and inspect the station’s exterior for any surviving Earth microbes.
As they exited the station, orbiting 420 kilometers above Earth, Wilmore remarked, “Here we go,” in a moment captured on NASA’s livestream on X.
Their extended stay aboard the ISS was the result of technical issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, which brought them to the station in June 2024 for what was initially planned as an eight-day mission. However, complications forced NASA to alter the return plan, with rival aerospace company SpaceX stepping in to handle their repatriation.
NASA announced on Wednesday that it was collaborating with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to bring the astronauts back "as soon as practical." The statement came a day after former U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that SpaceX would soon undertake a mission to bring them home.
The delay in their return was further extended due to SpaceX preparing a new spacecraft, pushing the timeline beyond the initially scheduled February window. Meanwhile, NASA is also finalizing plans for the launch of Crew-10, which will facilitate a handover between ISS expeditions.
LIVE: @NASA_Astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are taking a spacewalk to maintain @Space_Station hardware and collect samples. Today's spacewalk is scheduled to start at 8am ET (1300 UTC) and go for about 6.5 hours. https://t.co/6pvzcwPdgs
— NASA (@NASA) January 30, 2025
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Bus helper held for stealing USD 1,600 from Iranian woman's purse in Delhi; money recovered
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a bus helper and recovered USD 1,600 that was allegedly stolen from the purse of an Iranian woman who had forgotten it on a private bus at ISBT Kashmere Gate, an official said on Sunday.
The incident came to light on December 15, when a complaint was lodged at the ISBT Kashmere Gate police post by Dr Ali Akbar Shah, a professor at Delhi University and a resident of Mukherjee Nagar, the police said.
He informed police that his guest, Fareshteh Sayanjali, an Iranian national, had arrived in India on December 13 and was staying at his residence, they said.
The woman had travelled to Uttarakhand's Rishikesh and was returning to Delhi on December 15 in a bus. While de-boarding at ISBT Kashmere Gate around 1.45 pm, she inadvertently left her purse on the bus seat, the police officer said.
After some time, she received a phone call from the bus operator informing her that the purse had been found in the vehicle. However, when the purse was handed back to her, she discovered that USD 1,600 in cash kept inside was missing," the officer added.
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Based on Dr Shah's statement, an FIR was registered at Kashmere Gate police station on December 16, and an investigation was taken up, police said.
During the investigation, the team questioned the driver and conductor of the bus in which the woman had travelled, police said.
During questioning, the conductor told police that Monish, the bus helper, found the purse lying abandoned on a seat and handed it over to him, police said.
Monish initially attempted to mislead the investigators, but later confessed to stealing the US dollars from the purse, police said
Following his disclosure, Monish was arrested on December 17 and recovered the entire stolen amount, police said.
The accused, Monish, 26, is a resident of Jahangirpuri in north Delhi.
He has studied up to Class 10 and has been working as a helper with the private bus service for the past year, they said.
