Europe wants a decision in 2010 on an extension to the life of the International Space Station (ISS). At the moment, no programme for its use nor any funding has been put in place to support the platform beyond 2015. But the European Space Agency's (Esa) Director General, Jean-Jacques Dordain, told the BBC the uncertainty was undermining best use of the ISS. He said he was persuaded of its worth, and expressed the desire to keep flying the station until at least 2020.

Many recent earthquakes may have been the aftershocks of large quakes that occurred hundreds of years ago, according to scientists. In the journal Nature, researchers described a new pattern in the frequency of aftershocks that could explain some major quakes. They found that, away from plate boundaries, echoes of past earthquakes can continue for several hundred years.