Science & Technology

Chinese spacecraft makes first landing on moon’s far side

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese spacecraft on Thursday made the first-ever landing on the far side of the moon, state media said.

The lunar explorer Chang’e 4 touched down at 10:26 a.m., China Central Television said in a brief announcement at the top of its noon news broadcast.

The far side of the moon faces away from Earth and is relatively unexplored. It is also known as the dark side of the moon.

China vies for smart city building

BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- China is striving to gain a lead in the global race toward building an intelligent and data-driven society, as the country has the highest number of smart city pilot projects in the world, the China Daily reported Wednesday.

The world's second-largest economy has more than 500 smart city pilot projects ready or under construction, accounting for about half of the world's total, the newspaper cited a recent report by consulting company Deloitte.

NASA probe performs most distant flyby of spacerock

01 Jan 2019; DW:The NASA spacecraft that studied Pluto will zip past an icy rock in the outer solar system. Scientists hope Ultima Thule will help them understand how planets were formed.A NASA spacecraft buzzed by an icy space rock in the distant reaches of the solar system on Tuesday on a mission to gather clues about how planets were formed.

Russian Aerospace Forces to equip S-350 Vityaz air defense system in 2019

MOSCOW, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- Russia's Aerospace Forces will get their first medium-range surface-to-air missile system S-350 Vityaz next year, the Defense Ministry said.

The troops will also be equipped with around a dozen Pantsir-S air defense missile-gun systems and S-400 Triumf long-range air defense weapons, the ministry said.

Russia has been modernizing its military equipment In recent years.

Russian troops stationed in the regions of Khabarovsk, Leningrad, Kaliningrad and Crimea were supplied with Pantsir-S and S-400 weapons earlier this year.

Part of Beijing-Shenyang high-speed rail starts operation

Beiging, Dec. 30 (Xinhua): China on Saturday opened a high-speed railway sector connecting Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province with Chengde, a popular summer resort about 230 km north of Beijing.

The new sector belongs to the Beijing-Harbin high-speed rail route that extends 1,250 km from the country's northeasternmost provincial capital Harbin to Beijing. The day-long trip from Harbin to Beijing will be cut to within five hours after the route is launched.

China's Chang'e-4 probe changes orbit to prepare for moon-landing

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- China's Chang'e-4 probe entered a planned orbit Sunday morning to prepare for the first-ever soft landing on the far side of the moon, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced.

The probe has entered an elliptical lunar orbit, with the perilune at about 15 km and the apolune at about 100 km, at 8:55 a.m. Beijing Time, said CNSA.

Russian scientists may send mice into 1st lunar orbit flight

MOSCOW, December 29. /TASS/. Russian scientists may send mice into the first flight around the Moon to study the influence of space factors on the human body, Director of the Institute of Medical and Biological Problems within the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Medical Sciences Oleg Orlov said on Saturday.

4 prehistoric migrations shaped India's population

New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) The Indian population is a result of four major migrations, including that of the Aryans, into the country in prehistoric times, says a new book.

"Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From" looks at how and when modern humans first arrived in India; what evidence they left behind; who their descendants are today; who else followed them as migrants to this land; how and when farming started and the world's largest civilisation of its time was built; when and why this civilisation declined; and what happened next.

Indian Cabinet approves 10,000 crore Gaganyaan project

New Delhi, Dec 28 (PTI) The Union Cabinet Friday approved the Gaganyaan project under which a three-member crew will be sent to space for at least seven days, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The project will cost Rs 10,000 crore, he said at a press conference here.

The Gaganyaan project was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech.

He had said the mission will be undertaken by 2022.

India has already inked agreements with Russia and France for assistance in the ambitious project.

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