Science Unveiled: Mammoth Mysteries, Spacecraft Setbacks, and Ancient Discoveries

This summary covers the latest in science news including a deepened mystery about the extinction of the last woolly mammoths, Boeing's ongoing issues with its Starliner spacecraft, a Russian satellite breaking up in space, and the autopsy of a 44,000-year-old permafrost wolf. Also, NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate Starliner's propulsion system.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Genome study deepens mystery of what doomed Earth's last mammoths

About 4,000 years ago, the last of Earth's woolly mammoths died out on a lonely Arctic Ocean island off the coast of Siberia, a melancholy end to one of the world's charismatic Ice Age animals. But what doomed this last mammoth population on Wrangel Island? A new genomic analysis deepens the mystery. The study offers the fullest account to date of the inbreeding, deleterious mutations and low genetic diversity experienced by this population during 6,000 years of isolation on the island but concluded that, despite previous suggestions, these factors are unlikely to have doomed the Wrangel mammoths.

Boeing Starliner's return from space to hinge on weeks of more testing

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft will not return its two astronauts from the International Space Station until after engineers spend "a couple weeks" testing to investigate the spacecraft's thruster issues, a NASA official said on Friday. Starliner, which has been docked to the ISS since June 6 after ferrying its first crew of astronauts there, has had its test mission drawn out after a series of issues involving its thrusters and leaks of helium, which is used to pressurize the thrusters.

Russian satellite breaks up in space, forces ISS astronauts to shelter

A defunct Russian satellite has broken up into more than 100 pieces of debris in orbit, forcing astronauts on the International Space Station to take shelter for about an hour and adding to the mass of space junk already in orbit, U.S. space agencies said. There were no immediate details on what caused the break-up of the RESURS-P1 Russian Earth observation satellite, which Russia declared dead in 2022.

Russian scientists conduct autopsy on 44,000-year-old permafrost wolf carcass

In Russia's far northeastern Yakutia region, local scientists are performing an autopsy on a wolf frozen in permafrost for around 44,000 years, a find they said was the first of its kind. Found by chance by locals in Yakutia's Abyyskiy district in 2021, the wolf's body is only now being properly examined by scientists.

NASA, Boeing continue evaluating Starliner's propulsion system performance

NASA said on Thursday that it would continue to evaluate Starliner's propulsion system performance along with Boeing before the shuttle returns from the International Space Station (ISS). NASA and Boeing did not provide a new date on the return, which had been set for June 26 after a pushback from the first potential date of June 14.

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