NASA unveiled plans yesterday to put man back on the moon by 2018, at a cost of more than €100 billion.

ASTRONAUTS completed flight control checks aboard space shuttle Discovery and practiced landing on a computer simulator as they made final preparations to return to Earth.

DISCOVERY commander Eileen Collins said from orbit yesterday that she was surprised that a large piece of foam broke away despite years of work to prevent such shedding in the wake of the Columbia tragedy.

A FAULTY fuel gauge on Discovery’s external tank forced NASA to call off last night’s launch of the first shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster two-and-a-half years ago.

NASA yesterday delayed by another two months the first space shuttle flight since the Columbia disaster, saying it needs more time to ensure that the fuel tank does not shed dangerous pieces of ice at lift-off.

Pieces of an Israeli astronaut’s diary, which plunged to earth with the stricken Columbia space shuttle, have been found in a field, it emerged today.