The Real First Man In Space

"Talk about one giant leap for mankind!

Few people know it, but the first man in space wasn't an astronaut. It was test pilot Joe Kittinger.

In 1960, the little-known pioneer was part of an U.S. Air Force project called Excelsior, which was designed to test the effects of space on human beings -- and, more important, to determine whether an astronaut could survive an aborted mission, even at 20 miles above the earth.

Kittinger had the right stuff. He traveled all the way into space via balloon -- then jumped out.

'I turned over and I looked, and I could see the balloon flying into space. And then I realized the balloon was standing still and that was me that was flying straight down. Going very fast!' Kittinger told The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

What was his last thought before he leaped?

'Well,' Kittinger said, 'I just said a prayer. I said: 'Lord, take care of me now.' It was the most fervent prayer I ever said in my life.'

Kittinger's historic leaps were big news back in 1960. Life magazine did a huge spread. But Kittinger's death-defying acts soon were eclipsed by rocket-propelled space flight. He quickly became a footnote in the space race.

'Remember,' Kittinger pointed out. 'We didn't have the PR that NASA had.'

A trained fighter and test pilot, Kittinger later volunteered for combat missions in Vietnam. He flew a mind-boggling 483 combat missions during three tours."

Click the title to read more, and click here to read about the man trying to break Kittinger's 46 year old record.

Autopsy Links Policeman Death to Sept. 11

"The death of a 34-year-old police detective who developed respiratory disease after working at ground zero is 'directly related' to Sept. 11, 2001, a New Jersey coroner said in the first known ruling positively linking a death to cleanup work at the World Trade Center site.

James Zadroga's family and union released his autopsy results Tuesday, saying they were proof of the first death of a city police officer related to recovery work after the terrorist attacks.

'It is felt with a reasonable degree of medical certainty that the cause of death in this case was directly related to the 9/11 incident,' wrote Gerard Breton, a pathologist at the Ocean County (N.J.) medical examiner's office in the Feb. 28 autopsy.

Zadroga died on Jan. 6 of respiratory failure and had inflammation in his lung tissue due to 'a history of exposure to toxic fumes and dust,' Breton wrote."

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10th Planet Slightly Larger Than Pluto

"An icy ball discovered last year in the outer solar system is only slightly larger than Pluto, casting doubt on previous estimates that the so-called 10th planet was significantly larger, scientists reported Tuesday.

Previous estimates by ground-based telescopes suggested the object known as 2003 UB313 was 30 percent bigger than Pluto.

But the latest measurement by the Hubble Space Telescope has a smaller margin of error and is probably a more accurate estimate, said lead researcher Michael Brown of the California Institute of Technology.

According to Hubble, UB313's diameter measures 1,490 miles, give or take 60 miles. Pluto is about 1,422 miles across.

Brown previously reported that UB313 could be up to 2,175 miles in diameter based on its brightness. He said he was surprised by Hubble's findings, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Astrophysical Journal.

The discovery of UB313, which Brown nicknamed Xena, reinvigorated the debate about what is considered a planet. Some astronomers have questioned whether Pluto should keep its planetary status, while others say UB313 should be the 10th planet because it is bigger than Pluto.

The International Astronomical Union, which oversees the naming of planets, has not taken a stance on the issue.

If it is determined to be the 10th planet, UB313 would be the farthest-known body in the solar system."

Why the ground is brown

"From space, Earth looks blue and green. But put your nose to the ground, and you'll probably see just brown.

Where does the brown ground come from? Green plants, a new study reveals.

As plants wilt and die, their leaves and limbs drop off, bringing carbon that they've stored for a living to the soil.

Tiny microbes in the earth rip the dead plants apart with specialized enzymes, which break the chemical bonds in the plant material, cutting meals into the perfect size for microbes.

The hungry microbes process a large amount of the carbon in the soil, even incorporating some of the element into their own cells.

As busy as they are, microbes can't get all the work done.

"They're not quite a hundred percent efficient," said Steven Allison, an ecologist at the University of California, Irvine. "There's carbon that doesn't get eaten by a microbe and there's carbon in their biomass. Then they die. That carbon then goes into the soil. It's a cycle, there's always carbon left over. This small bit of inefficiency accumulates over time."

The microbes' abundant leftovers, called humic materials, have piled up over thousands of years. The hoard of microbes' carbon scraps gives earth its dirty brown color. Carbon absorbs most colors in sunlight's spectrum, reflecting back only brown light."

China to build reserve for rare dolphin - Science - MSNBC.com

"China plans to set up its first reserve for the endangered white dolphin off the coast of the southern city of Zhuhai in the southern Guangdong province, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.



The city has allocated 460 square kilometers (178 square miles) for the reserve, to be located near Qiao Island in the Pearl River estuary, Xinhua quoted Chen Jialin, director of the reserve, as saying.

Construction on the reserve will begin this year and will focus first on establishing an emergency rescue center for the dolphins, Chen said."

Putting pen to paper

"You would think that the pen, with the advent of the computer, was going the way of the quill-no way! There still is an aura around writing instruments, with clubs and magazines and societies devoting much passion to these instruments.

There continue to be pens with legendary names, which, to the aficionado, are as renowned as Rolls Royce, Aston Martin or Lamborghini. And for pens of this kind, connoisseurs will go to truly extraordinary lengths."

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"Monster rabbit" targets vegetable patch

"It sounds like a job for Wallace and Gromit. A 'monster' rabbit has apparently been rampaging through vegetable patches in a small village in northern England, ripping up leeks, munching turnips and infuriating local gardeners.

In an uncanny resemblance to the plot of the hit animated film 'Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit,' angry horticulturists in Felton, near Newcastle, have now mounted an armed guard to protect their prized cabbages and parsnips.

'They call it the monster. It's very big -- it's nearly the size of a dog,' said Joan Smith, whose son Jeff owns one of the plots under attack.

'It's eating everything, all the vegetables,' she told Reuters. 'They are trying to shoot it. They go along hoping to catch it but I think it's too crafty.'

In the "Wallace" film, which topped both the U.S. and UK box office charts and in March won an Oscar for best animated feature film, the plasticine heroes battle a mutant rabbit bent on destroying their home town's annual Giant Vegetable Contest.

Those who say they have witnessed Felton's black and brown monster describe it as a cross between a rabbit and a hare with one ear bigger than the other.

Its antics came to public attention when Jeff Smith, 63, raised it as an issue with the local parish council.

"He came along to pay the annual fee for the allotment (vegetable patch) and he said 'ooh we've got this big cross between a hare and a rabbit,'" the council's clerk Lisa Hamlin told Reuters.

Smith himself has described it as a "brute" which had left huge pawprints.

"This is no ordinary rabbit. We are dealing with a monster," he was quoted by newspapers as saying.

"It is absolutely massive. The first time I saw it I thought to myself 'What the hell is that?'

'We have two lads here with guns who are trying to shoot it, but it is very clever.'"

Everest trek uncovers exotic species

"Mount Everest and the Himalayan mountain range conjure images of yaks and Sherpas loaded with heavy packs. But tucked into the cold shadows of the world's tallest mountain are biologically diverse hotspots filled with poorly known plants and animals found nowhere else on the globe.



Scientists from Conservation International and Disney's Animal Kingdom recently launched a two-month scientific expedition into six regions of the Tibetan 'Sacred Lands' in the mountains of southwest China and Nepal. "

Teen takes car on 300-mile test drive

"A test drive meant more than just a spin around the block for a New Zealand teen-ager who took a car he was considering buying on a 312-mile drive.

Police in Timaru, about 62 miles southwest of Christchurch, said the 16-year-old boy returned the car after taking it on the lengthy test drive over the weekend.

The boy will not face any charges as the owner did not stipulate any conditions for the test drive, police said on Wednesday."

Austrians build snow town hall

"Residents of an Austrian community have created a replica of their town hall out of snow and ice.



Volunteers in Arlberg, Austria, carved out the almost full-size replica 2,000 metres above sea level on the side of a mountain.

The 46ft high and 65ft long sculpture took dozens of volunteers under the leadership of sculptor Christoph Strolz hundreds of hours to make.

Skiers in the region can visit the town hall, but instead of red tape only red wine is on offer, in a replica wine cellar built underneath the town hall.

There are also copious amounts of ice wine available as well, the sweet wine served cold and made from grapes only harvested after they are shrivelled to a sixth of their size by the first frost of winter.

The town hall will remain on the mountain until the 5,000 cubic metres of snow and ice have melted."