Other worlds aren’t the only difficult terrain personnel will have to traverse in humanity’s exploration of the solar system. There are some parts of our own planet that are inhospitable and hard to travel over. Inner Mongolia, a northern province of China, would certainly classify as one of those areas, especially in winter. But that’s exactly the terrain team members from…
Tag: Samples
Samples from Ryugu Asteroid Revealed After Delivery to Earth
Mashable reports: The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency showed off a collection of samples from the asteroid Ryugu on Thursday following the return of the Hayabusa2 probe. The black, gravelly samples from Ryugu contain a whole bunch of small chips collected from the asteroid’s subsurface… Normally, space rocks like these are collected after they enter Earth’s atmosphere at surface-scorching speeds. These samples…
Discovery of ‘Cryptic Species’ Shows Earth is Even More Biologically Diverse
A growing number of “cryptic species” hiding in plain sight have been unmasked in the past year, driven in part by the rise of DNA barcoding, a technique that can identify and differentiate between animal and plant species using their genetic divergence. From a report: The discovery of new species of aloe, African leaf-nosed bats and chameleons that appear similar to…
Japanese spacecraft’s gifts: Asteroid chips like charcoal
They resemble small fragments of charcoal, but the soil samples collected from an asteroid and returned to Earth by a Japanese spacecraft were hardly disappointing. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-japanese-spacecraft-gifts-asteroid-chips.html…
New strain of Covid-19 explained
A new strain of the virus that causes Covid-19 appears to be spreading fast in the the UK. Why it matters that the coronavirus is changing, and what it means for vaccine effectiveness. Source: https://earthsky.org/human-world/new-strain-of-covid-19-explained…
After 44 Years, China Becomes the Third Country To Return Moon Samples To Earth
Long-time Slashdot reader cusco writes:
In the first return of a lunar sample since the Soviets in 1976, the Chang’e 5 spacecraft landed Thursday in Inner Mongolia with 2 kilograms of material drilled from as much as two meters below the surface… On December 3, the ascent stage took off from the moon with the sample, docking with the orbiter three days…
WHO-led Team Expected in China in January To Probe COVID-19 Origins
An international mission led by the World Health Organization (WHO) is expected to go to China in the first week of January to
investigate the origins of the virus that sparked the COVID-19 pandemic, a member and diplomats told Reuters this week. From a report: The United States, which has accused China of having hidden the outbreak’s extent, has called for a…
China’s Chang’e 5 capsule lands on Earth with the 1st new moon samples in 44 years
China’s Chang’e 5 moon sample-return capsule landed in Inner Mongolia on Wednesday (Dec. 16), returning lunar rocks for the first time since 1976. Source: https://www.livescience.com/china-chang-e-5-moon-samples-capsule-landing.html
Chinese capsule returns to Earth carrying moon rocks
A Chinese lunar capsule returned to Earth on Thursday with the first fresh rock samples from the moon in more than 40 years, offering the possibility of new insights into the history of the solar system and marking a new landmark for China’s rapidly advancing space program. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-12-chinese-capsule-earth-moon.html…
China’s Chang’e 5 mission has returned samples from the moon to Earth
The Chang’e 5 spacecraft, which spent just two days on the moon, has returned its lunar samples to Earth – the first moon rocks brought back in 44 years Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2263352-chinas-change-5-mission-has-returned-samples-from-the-moon-to-earth/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…