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SPACE: The Moon is Made of… Jelly?

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China’s Chang’e-4 lunar rover has discovered an unusually colored, ‘gel-like’ substance during its exploration activities on the far side of the moon. The mission’s rover, Yutu-2, stumbled on that surprise during lunar day 8. The discovery prompted scientists on the mission to postpone other driving plans for the rover, and instead focus its instruments on trying to figure out what the strange material is. Day 8 started on July 25; Yutu-2 began navigating a path through an area littered with various small impact craters, with the help and planning of drivers at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, according to a … Read more

China Plans to Build a Base on the Moon

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China plans to build a scientific research station on the moon in “about 10 years,” according to the state news agency Xinhua. The China National Space Administration (CSNA) intends to build the research station in the region of the moon’s south pole, Zhang Kejian, head of CSNA, said in a public statement, Xinhua reported. That’s a bit of a departure from the six successful NASA Apollo moon landings, which took place closer to the moon’s equator between 1969 and 1972. Details of China’s long-term lunar plans are still sketchy, but CSNA has made significant steps toward lunar exploration. Earlier this … Read more

There Are Animals On the Moon – Live Science

China’s Chang’e-4 lander touched down on the far side of the moon (Jan. 3 Beijing time, Jan. 2 US), and it’s got some living things on board. A small “tin” in the lander contains seeds of potatoes and rockcress (Arabidopsis thaliana, a flowering plant related to cabbage and mustard, as well as a model organism for plant biology), as well as silkworm eggs. The idea, according to a report in The Telegraph earlier this year, is that the plants will support the silkworms with oxygen, and the silkworms will in turn provide the plants with necessary carbon dioxide and nutrients … Read more

SPACE: A Second Moon Could Soon Hang Over China

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Moonlit skies over the Chinese city of Chengdu may soon get a boost from a second moon. City officials recently announced plans to build an artificial moon, launching it to hang over Sichuan province’s capital city by 2020, Chinese news site People’s Daily Online (PDO) reported. The illuminated orb is intended to complement the light of Earth’s existing moon, and will be eight times brighter than the natural satellite, Wu Chunfeng, chairman of Chengdu Aerospace Science and Technology Microelectronics System Research Institute Co. Ltd. (CASC) — the primary contractor for the Chinese space program — told PDO. In fact, light … Read more

More Tech to Fear – Hypersonic Nukes

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China successfully tested a hypersonic aircraft on Friday (Aug. 3), one that could one day be capable of firing nuclear missiles around the planet at up to six times the speed of sound, according to China’s state-run news site China Daily. The aircraft, known as Starry Sky-2, is reportedly capable of screaming across the sky at speeds of up to 4,563 mph (7,344 km/h) and rapidly switching direction mid-flight, China Daily reported, potentially allowing the rocket to blast right past existing missile defense systems. Video of the Starry Sky-2 test launch (which was conducted in an undisclosed location in northwestern … Read more

SCIENCE: One Step Closer to Cloning Humans

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For the first time, researchers have used the cloning method that produced Dolly the sheep to create two healthy monkeys, bringing science an important step closer to being able to do the same with humans. Since Dolly’s birth in 1996, scientists have cloned nearly two dozen kinds of mammals, including dogs, cats, pigs, cows and polo ponies, and have also created human embryos with this method. But until now, they have been unable to make babies this way in primates, the category that includes monkeys, apes and people. “The barrier of cloning primate species is now overcome,” declared Muming Poo … Read more

News: Behold! The Building That Looks Like Star Trek’s “U.S.S. Enterprise”

Enterprise Building

In a grand exhibition of geekery, the Chinese gaming company NetDragon Websoft has licensed and built an office building shaped like the U.S.S. Enterprise from Star Trek. It’s a little difficult to see it from the ground, but in the following drone-shot video, you can really see how cool looking this thing is. According to My Modern Met, the building is just as interesting inside. It contains a replica display of a T-Rex dinosaur, 30-foot tall metal slides allowing instant access from the third floor to ground level, plus automatic sliding doors between offices. (I can’t help but picture Shatner … Read more