Although few details are known, and no images have been released, the Chinese did apparently launch a reusable spacecraft on September 4, 2020. It appears to have deployed a satellite to orbit and then returned to Earth safely 2 days later. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/china-reusable-spacecraft-mission-sept-2020…
Tag: Soviet Union
Results of Russia’s COVID-19 Vaccine Produced Antibody Response
Russia’s “Sputnik-V” COVID-19 vaccine produced an antibody response in all participants in early-stage trials, according to results published on Friday by The Lancet medical journal that were hailed by Moscow as an answer to its critics. Reuters reports: The results of the two trials, conducted in June-July this year and involving 76 participants, showed 100% of participants developing antibodies to the…
‘The Largest Nuclear Bomb Ever Detonated’ Explored in Declassified Russian Footage
“The blast was over 3,000 times bigger than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima,” reports Smithsonian magazine: Hydrogen bombs are so destructive, their impact has been described as unthinkable throughout history. Recently declassified Russian footage of the 1961 Tsar Bomba hydrogen bomb test shows why. The 40-minute documentary, which was posted on YouTube on August 20, shows footage of the largest bomb…
NASA announces Venus rover challenge winners
The Venus rover challenge – called “Exploring Hell” – received a great response from countries around the world. NASA said the design ideas submitted will help advance the final design of a mechanical rover that might one day explore the hellish surface of Venus. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/nasas-venus-rover-challenge-winners-announced…
Who was the 1st woman in space?
On June 16, 1963, cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched solo aboard a Soviet Vostok 6 rocket, becoming the first-ever woman in space. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-first-woman-in-space…
Cold War Satellites Inadvertently Tracked Species Declines
sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit in 1957, the United States responded with its own spy satellites. The espionage program, known as Corona, sought to locate Soviet missile sites, but its Google Earth-like photography captured something unintended: snapshots of animals and their habitats frozen in time. Now, by comparing these images with…
Can Nuclear Fallout Make It Rain?
sciencehabit writes:
Radioactive fallout is rarely a good thing. But new research suggests charged particles emitted from Cold War-era nuclear tests may have boosted rainfall thousands of kilometers away from the testing sites, by triggering electrical charges in the air that caused water droplets to coalesce. The United States, Soviet Union, and other nations often tested nuclear weapons above ground in the…
How Did Covid-19 Begin? WaPo OpEd Calls Its Origin Story ‘Shaky’
The story of how the novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, has produced a nasty propaganda battle between the United States and China. Columnist David Ignatius writes in an opinion piece for The Washington Post: The two sides have traded some of the sharpest charges made between two nations since the Soviet Union in 1985 falsely accused the CIA of manufacturing…
Happy birthday, Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin was a Russian pilot who became the first human to travel to space, in 1961. His story … plus links to a Yuri’s Night celebration near you. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/this-date-in-science-yuri-gagarins-birthday…
NASA issues a Venus rover design challenge
NASA has issued a public challenge where you can help design a critical sensor that would be needed for a future rover on Venus. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/venus-aree-rover-sensor-public-challenge…