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The latest news, analysis and opinion on Space. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
LATEST China Science NEWS

China’s biggest 2024 advances hold new promise for quantum tech, healthcare

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A Long March-5 rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 spacecraft blasts off from its launchpad in Hainan province, southern China, last May, bound for the far side of the moon. Photo: China National Space Administration

More rice, less gas: Chinese-Swedish team makes hybrid to cut methane emissions

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Scientists say their new low-methane hybrid rice could address a rise in rice-related emissions because of global warming and an increasing global population. Photo: Xinhua

How China’s humanoid robot innovations fuel cutthroat competition with US

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Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

China’s Jiaolong deep-sea vessel set for sea trials after major upgrades

Shenhai Yihao, the mother ship of Jiaolong, made a port of call in Hong Kong last September after a deep-sea expedition in the western Pacific. Photo: Eugene Lee

As DeepSeek’s open-source model stuns world, will it push Russia’s tech drive?

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DeepSeek’s code forms the basis of a new AI model unveiled by Russian lender SberBank in November. Photo: AFP
MORE China Science NEWS
Much of the moon’s water evaporates due to solar radiation, and only the dark craters at the lunar poles are able to preserve significant ice deposits. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

China to send flying robot to moon’s south pole to look for water

‘Extremely smart’ explorer will search for ice on lunar surface and help carry out detailed survey of polar region, space experts say.

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Science

Power unit for China’s future space missions passes key orbital tests

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Malaysia

Space dreams: Malaysia’s Sabah makes bold bid to become rocket launch site

Science

Chinese scientist duo recognised for work in search for space-time ripples

Liu Kuo and Chen Siyuan were part of multinational group that won Royal Astronomical Society award for work on nanohertz gravitational waves.

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Nanohertz gravitational waves are extremely low-frequency, with wavelengths spanning several light years. These waves are thought to originate from supermassive black hole binaries, cosmic phase transitions in the early universe, and oscillations of cosmic strings. Photo: NANOGrav
Video gaming

3 of the best space exploration and adventure games around

X4: Foundations, No Man’s Sky and Elite Dangerous offer everything space adventurers could want, on PC and other platforms.

China's space programme

China’s race to the moon to take private sector robots on Chang’e-8 mission

Two AI-controlled lunar rovers in 2028 launch set to mark the first time a Chinese tech subcontractor plays a key role in a space mission.

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Timepieces

Why meteorite dials are taking off … from Rolex to Omega

There’s growing fascination with these naturally patterned dials that offer a touch of cosmic elegance and exclusivity … Wimbledon champ Carlos Alcaraz is a fan too.

Meteorite dials during electroplating. Photo: Rolex
American cinema

Michelle Yeoh on her ‘liberating’ role in Star Trek: Section 31

Star Trek: Discovery spin-off film sees Oscar winner reprise her dual role as the virtuous Captain Georgiou and ruthless Empress Georgiou.

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US-China relations

Opinion | Will Trump succeed in containing China – or fuel its rise?

Years of sanctions and blacklists have only forced China to adapt and even thrive, from making tech breakthroughs to expanding diplomatic clout.

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Donald Trump’s 2025 inauguration

China is ‘ready to work’ with Trump. Will Mars, military aims get in the way?

President’s vow to plant US flag on Mars and build the world’s ‘strongest military’ likely to heighten rivalry with China, analysts say.

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Donald Trump takes the oath of office for his second term as US president, in Washington on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Science

China names lunar crater after Manhattan Project physicist Chien-Shiung Wu

Chinese-American scientist was dubbed the ‘first lady of physics’, but her contributions to her native land remain shrouded in mystery.

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Chien-Shiung Wu visited China many times from the 1970s onwards to lecture and promote physics research and education. Photo: Wikipedia
Hong Kong society

Stargazers can expect to see rare comet appear in Hong Kong skies

Hong Kong Space Museum says Comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) will gradually pass by Earth after coming to its closest point on Tuesday.

SpaceX

SpaceX repeats stunning ‘chopsticks’ catch, but Starship explodes in test flight

Super Heavy booster successfully returns to launch pad, but top section of rocket experiences a ‘rapid unscheduled disassembly’.

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SpaceX

Blue Origin reaches orbit in first New Glenn launch, misses booster landing

The New Glenn rocket, named after the first US astronaut to orbit Earth, has been in development for about a decade.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket lifts off. Photo: AP
SpaceX

Private US, Japanese lunar landers head to moon on a single rocket

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost expected to touch down in March, ispace’s Resilience in May or June.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off on Wednesday. Photo: AP
United States

Bezos’ Blue Origin scrubs launch of rocket poised to challenge Musk’s SpaceX

Blue Origin’s first orbital flight of the New Glenn rocket was cancelled due to technical issues, delaying its challenge to SpaceX’s dominance in the launch market.

Science

Chinese scientists simulate ‘hunting’ Starlink satellites in orbit

Taking inspiration from whales, Chinese researchers have created their own method for targeting satellite constellations.

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Science

China plans to build ‘Three Gorges dam in space’ to harness solar power

Chinese rocket scientist reveals blueprint for ‘incredible project’ to build solar power station in space using super heavy rockets.

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A Long March-5 rocket is seen at the Wenchang Space Launch Centre in southern China. The much larger Long March-9, a reusable heavy-lift rocket, will be used to realise plans for the solar power station in space. Photo: Xinhua via AP
Science

‘Gift from heaven’: China astronauts develop super niobium alloy for aerospace

An experiment conducted in space has helped Chinese scientists do the impossible – and it could revolutionise aerospace technology.

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United States

Bezos’s Blue Origin poised for first orbital launch in days

The Amazon founder is hoping his new rocket will ignite a fresh challenge to Musk’s SpaceX dominance.

Science

Moon’s magnetic pull lasted much longer than thought: Chinese study

Lunar rocks collected by China’s Chang’e-5 mission reveal new details that may offer key insights into planetary habitability and evolution.

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Samples collected by China’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission have shown that the moon’s magnetic field lasted much longer than previously thought. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

China beats Starlink to hi-res space-ground laser transmission at 6G standard

Commercial satellite company sets 100Gbps speed record – 10 times faster than its previous feat less than a year earlier.

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A Chinese company said it has achieved the equivalent of sending 10 full-length films from a satellite to Earth in just one second. Photo: Shutterstock
Science

China’s Tiangong space station research aims to ‘break technology choke points’

Thousands of experiments to be conducted over the next 10-15 years intended to serve the country’s crewed exploration programme.

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SpaceX

Musk’s Starlink to bring satellite-powered mobile service to Ukraine

Customers of Ukraine’s largest mobile operator will be able to use space-based connectivity when terrestrial network service is unavailable.

Science

China’s final 2024 rocket fails but it’s still a record year for launches

Four-stage Kinetica-1 Y6 suffers ‘attitude instability’ three stages in, with makers CAS Space investigating causes.

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All five previous Kinetica-1 launches have been successful, and delivered 57 satellites into orbit in total. Photo: Xinhua
United States

Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe survives close brush with sun’s scorching surface

Space agency confirmed probe had successfully made closest approach to sun. Craft is expected to circle sun until at least September.

An artist’s impression of Nasa’s Parker Solar Probe. Photo: Nasa /Johns Hopkins APL / AFP / Handout
US-China relations

China warns ‘dangerous’ US actions are raising risk of space arms race

Defence ministry in Beijing issues warning after the US Space Force extended its operations to Japan for the first time this month.

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United States

Nasa probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun on Christmas Eve

This daring mission aims to unlock the Sun’s mysteries, and improve space-weather forecasts.

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