Yesterday NASA reported that an ammonia leak had been discovered on the ISS. Astronauts Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy are embarking on an emergency spacewalk to fix the problem. NASA TV is broadcasting the walk live, and you can follow along on the somewhat safer journey past the break.

Update (3:54PM ET): Nasa has reported within the last or so that the faulty pump has been successfully replaced. The entire spacewalk took about six and half hours to complete, according to NASA's Twitter.

Filed under: Science

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Source: Space.com, NASA (Twitter)

The International Space Station has been a font of good news and scientific progress since it received its first human residents at the start of the millennium, but now it may be starting to show its age. The current crew reported seeing damage to the vessel's truss structure yesterday and NASA has since confirmed there's been a leak of ammonia from the station's cooling system. The Agency says the problem isn't dangerous and that regular ISS-style activities are continuing as normal while earth-bound helpers figure out a way of re-routing power channels before part of the cooling system shuts down. If you want to hear what unflustered voices sound like at an altitude of over 200 miles, check out the audio of Commander Hadfield's initial report of the leak at the source link below.

Update: Commander Hadfield has also confirmed on Twitter that there's been a "big change in plans," and that astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will perform a spacewalk today to fix the leak.

Filed under: Transportation, Science

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Via: SlashGear, Spaceflight Now, CBC News

Source: NASA

Americans like to tease Canadians about their colorful (and often animal-themed) money, but we think the tables might just have turned. When the Bank of Canada issues a new $5 polymer bill this November, one side will include both the Canadarm2 and Dextre manipulator robots in tribute to the nation's work on both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. Let that sink in for a moment: a country's currency will reference space robots alongside the usual politicians. The only thing dampening the awesomeness is the irony of it all, as it's an ode to technology in a format that's being destroyed by technology. Still, we'll consider the $5 note a victory for geeks everywhere when we're buying a box of Timbits.

Filed under: Robots, Transportation

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Source: Bank of Canada