Today’s physics news: Thursday, 1 July

Solar Impulse plane postpones record night flight bid
Pilot Andre Borschberg has announced he is postponing his attempt to make aviation history by flying through the night in a solar-powered plane because of a technical problem.

BBC 
 
Radiation fears stalk stellar mission
Europe’s €450m GAIA satellite is suffering serious technical problems that could hinder its ability to create the largest and most precise 3D chart of our galaxy.

Physics World 
 
Satellite spots soggy soil
The first satellite-derived map of global soil moisture has been unveiled today at the Living Planet Symposium, an Earth-observation conference being held this week in Bergen, Norway.
 
Nature 
 
Pledge to fully fund 10,000 places falls by the wayside
A Conservative plan to directly fund 10,000 extra university places for three years had to be abandoned by the coalition government because of the date of the general election and problems at the Student Loans Company, it has emerged.
 
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