Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Darwin family microscope to be sold at auction

A microscope Charles Darwin gave his son Leonard and which has remained in the family for nearly 200 years is headed for auction in December and is expected to fetch up to $480,000. The instrument was designed by Charles Gould for the firm Cary around 1825 and is one of six surviving microscopes associated with the British naturalist, according to auction house Christie’s.

NASA launches first space probe to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids

NASA launched a first-of-its kind mission on Saturday to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, two large clusters of space rocks that scientists believe are remnants of primordial material that formed the solar system’s outer planets. The space probe, dubbed Lucy and packed inside a special cargo capsule, lifted off on schedule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 5:34 a.m. EDT (0934 GMT), NASA said. It was carried aloft by an Atlas V rocket from United Launch Alliance (UAL), a joint venture of Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp.

Japanese billionaire Maezawa trains in Russia ahead of space trip

For Japanese fashion magnate Yusaku Maezawa, training in zero gravity ahead of his planned trip to space later this year was not always easy. “I’ve been alive for 45 years and have not experienced anything like that. I felt awkward at first,” he said via a translator at a news conference, where he appeared alongside his assistant and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.

China launches second crewed mission to build space station

China on Saturday launched a rocket carrying three astronauts – two men and one woman – to the core module of a future space station where they will live and work for six months, the longest orbit for Chinese astronauts. A Long March-2F rocket carrying the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft, which means “Divine Vessel”, blasted off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern province of Gansu at 12:23 a.m. (1623 GMT on Friday).

From spy satellites to mobile networks, S.Korea hopes new rocket gets space programme off ground

South Korea plans to test its first domestically produced space launch vehicle next week, a major step toward jumpstarting the country’s space programme and achieving ambitious goals in 6G networks, spy satellites, and even lunar probes. If all goes well, the three-stage NURI rocket, designed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) to eventually put 1.5-ton payloads into orbit 600 to 800km above the Earth, will carry a dummy satellite into space on Thursday.

Statins may slightly lower COVID-19 death risk; using a different vaccine as booster may offer more protection

The following is a summary of some recent studies on COVID-19. They include research that warrants further study to corroborate the findings and that have yet to be certified by peer review. Statins may protect slightly against COVID-19 death

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)