A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket, with a payload of 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network, lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 during a time exposure at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, May 23, 2019. (Photo by Malcolm Denemark/Florida Today via AP Photo)

Tiny pieces of space rocks, called meteorites, are seen burning in the atmosphere over the night sky near Salgótarján, some 109km northeast of Budapest, Hungary, 21 April 2018 (issued 22 April 2018). (Photo by Peter Komka/EPA/EFE)

Heartlyn Rae duo (Alexis Driscoll and Julia Frys) poses for a picture in Barbie's Space Center during the World of Barbie immersive experience preview in Santa Monica, California, U.S., April 12, 2023. (Photo by Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

U.S. Air Force Major Paul “Loco” Lopez performs in an F-22 Raptor during the AirPower Over Hampton Roads JBLE Air and Space Expo at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, U.S. May 18, 2018. (Photo by U.S. Air Force/Staff Sgt. Areca T. Bell/Handout via Reuters)

In this photo taken Saturday, June 20, 2015, Mahmoud Abdulnabi tries out an oud, an Arabic instrument related to the lute, at his workshop in Baghdad, Iraq. “The oud is different than other musical instruments”, said Abdulnabi, who has crafted ouds played by some of Iraq's best known musicians, many of whom look down from headshots on the walls. “If you feel joyful, it can play your joy. If the circumstances are sad it can play your sorrow and... help to empty whatever is in your chest”. (Photo by Hadi Mizban/AP Photo)

These sand-swept images show the ghostly remains of what was once a mineral-rich mining community. In its heyday, the town of Kolmanskop, Namibia, was home to about 700 families. Now all that remains are empty homes filled with sand, while cast-off items such as bathtubs are scattered about the surrounding area. Over time, the sand of the stunning dunes that encircle the town of Kolmanskop has been blown towards the abandoned residences, coating everything from streets to the interiors of houses and workshops. Here: Kolmankop, an abandoned mining town in Namibia. (Photo by David Ogden/Caters News)

Even the powerhouse of Europe has its fair share of abandoned properties and empty shop fronts as seen in these pictures of decaying buildings in Germany. Photographer Daniel Barter, 30, from London traveled Berlin and the surrounding countryside to capture buildings in need of work on film. Far from being resplendent in vintage glory, the deserted music venues and crumbling hospitals are a shadow of their former selves. German eagle motifs flake off ceilings and concert halls designed for hundreds have not seen a show for years. Photo: Lung sanatorium. (Photo by Daniel Barter/Caters News)

China has sent its first woman into space on a mission to dock with an orbiting station, the latest step in an ambitious programme to go to the moon and on to Mars.

Photo: China's first female astronaut Liu Yang, waves during a sending off ceremony before she departs for the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft rocket launch pad at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Jiuquan, China, Saturday, June 16, 2012. China will send its first woman and two other astronauts into space Saturday to work on a temporary space station for about a week, in a key step toward becoming only the third nation to set up a permanent base in orbit. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)