Brad Pitt enquires about lander Vikram

Washington: The fate of Chandrayaan 2 Vikram lander found a surprise mention during Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt’s question-answer session with a NASA astronaut. Pitt was at NASA’s Washington headquarters and he called the International Space Station (ISS) to converse with astronaut Nick Hague. The actor asked many questions to get an idea about how life on board the ISS was. He also asked Hague whether the astronaut had managed to get a glimpse of India’s Chandrayaan 2 Vikram lander. Pitt’s call to Hague was part of the actor’s promotional tour for his new film “Ad Astra”. IANS

Climber set for final push in record 14-peak bid

Kathmandu: The current record for climbing the world’s 14 tallest peaks is almost eight years. Nepali climber, Nirmal Purja, who served in the British special forces, has a target of seven months. Only a teenager when he joined the British Gurkhas, Purja or “Nims dai” climbed both the 8,848-m Everest and Lhotse at 8,516 m in a record 10 hours and 15 minutes in 2017. This inspired the 36-year-old to start “Project Possible”, scaling the 14 peaks in seven months. Purja arrived at the advance base camp of the 8,201-metre Cho Oyu on Monday. He is ready for the final phase of the last three peaks in his feat of astonishing endurance. AFP