Chris Hadfield and fellow astronauts return from ISS

The astronaut who has become an internet hit - Chris Hadfield - has returned safely to Earth after spending five months on the International Space Station.

The Canadian landed in Kazakhstan with fellow astronauts American Tom Marshburn and Russian Roman Romanenko.

Chris Hadfield had posted messages and videos from space, showing how he goes about his day-to-day life.

Before leaving the ISS he even recorded a song!

'Amazing experience'

The capsule carrying the three astronauts landed safely at 08:31am on Tuesday.

The crew were said to be in good health and will now start to re-adjust to life on Earth after 146 days in zero gravity.

Find out how space travel affects your body

"The crew are feeling well," Mission Control said. Later, they were shown smiling as they waited for medical tests.

Before leaving the ISS, Mr Hadfield said: "It's just been an extremely fulfilling and amazing experience."

From CBBC News

Smiler rollercoaster breaks record for the most loops

A new rollercoaster has broken the Guinness World Record for the most loops.

The Smiler which will open at Alton Towers on May 23, has 14 loops: that's four more than the previous world record.

It's the size of 10 football pitches and took eight months to build, costing £18million.

The maximum speed is 85kph (over 50mph); and a ride on it will last 165 seconds - nearly three minutes!

Katherine Duckworth from Alton Towers Resort said:

"The combination of 14 loops with a variety of elements such as optical illusions, designed to mess with your mind make The Smiler a truly unique rollercoaster."

From CBBC

Who invented Velcro?

Apparently velcro is a very simple invention but it is no doubt a great invention as it has had multiple uses.

Velcro was created in 1948 by Swiss engineer George de Mestral.

He came up with the idea while out walking his dog and his clothes became covered in small sticky seeds from the burdock plant.

Under a microscope, he saw the seeds had tiny hooks to grip on to his clothes - and that's what he based Velcro on.

It's now used on loads of different things, such as coats and shoes. Nasa even used it on their space shuttles!

From CBBC News

Additional information

The first Velcro sample was made of cotton, which proved impractical and was replaced by Nylon and polyester. Velcro fasteners made of Teflon loops, polyester hooks, and glass backing are used in aerospace applications, e.g. on space shuttles.

Variations on the standard Velcro hook and loop fasteners include hooks on both faces, buttons, zippers, laces, and buckles.

The term Velcro is commonly used to mean any type of hook and loop fastener, but remains a registered trademark in many countries used by the Velcro company to distinguish their brand of fasteners from their competitors. The Velcro company headquarters is in Manchester, New Hampshire, USA.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velcro

Maldon Mud Race runners get mucky in Essex!

The annual Maldon Mud Race has taken place at Promenade Park in Maldon, Essex.This year it took place yesterday 5th May on a gorgeous sunny day

The English really enjoy this race and seem to have great fun on this day

Each year competitors attempt to dash across the bed of the River Blackwater, and luckily this year the sun was out to keep the mud-racers warm.

The crazy competitors crawl through metres of sticky mud to reach the finish line before the tide comes in.

The event sees a number of competitors dressed in wacky costumes, which makes the task of crossing the finish line somewhat harder.

This year’s race saw 300 entrants competing for charities.

This famous event was originally held after Christmas but extremely cold weather in 2010 caused it to be postponed until the following spring. 

This change of date was such a great success with over 12,000 spectators turning out that the organisers decided to make the change permanent.

Entry into the event is by donation and the team has invested in two huge screens to capture every moment, plus there are stalls and entertainment during the day – with all the fun kicking off from 12 noon with Duck Race at 2.30 and the main event around 3 pm.

From CBBC News / Total Essex / Metro News