Reuters Science News Summary

Two masks likely better than one, CDC says Uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully enters Mars orbit An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft on Wednesday successfully entered orbit around Mars after a 6-1/2-month journey from Earth, China's space agency said, in the country's first independent mission to the red planet.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. UAE's Hope Probe enters orbit in first Arab Mars mission

The United Arab Emirates' first mission to Mars reached the red planet and entered orbit on Tuesday after a seven-month, 494 million-km (307 million-mile) journey, allowing it to start sending data about the Martian atmosphere and climate. The Mars programme is part of the UAE's efforts to develop its scientific and technological capabilities and reduce its reliance on oil. The UAE Space Agency, the fifth globally to reach the planet, even has a plan for a Mars settlement by 2117. Turkey aims to reach moon in 2023, Erdogan says

Turkey aims to achieve first contact with the moon as part of its national space programme in 2023, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. "The first rough landing will be made on the moon with our national and authentic hybrid rocket that shall be launched into orbit in the end of 2023 through international cooperation," Erdogan said, detailing a two-phase mission. Two masks protect better than one; asthma, antiviral drugs show promise as treatments

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Two masks likely better than one, CDC says Uncrewed Chinese spacecraft successfully enters Mars orbit

An uncrewed Chinese spacecraft on Wednesday successfully entered orbit around Mars after a 6-1/2-month journey from Earth, China's space agency said, in the country's first independent mission to the red planet. The robotic probe carried out a 15-minute burn of its thrusters at 7:52 p.m. Beijing time (1152 GMT), the China National Space Administration said in a statement, slowing the spacecraft to a speed at which it could be captured by the pull of Mars' gravity. Telesat taps Thales Alenia Space for $3 billion deal to build low earth orbit satellites

Canadian satellite company Telesat on Tuesday tapped Thales Alenia Space to build 300 low earth orbit (LEO) telecommunications satellites in a contract worth about $3 billion, saying the first launch would be in about two years. LEO satellites operate 36 times closer to the earth than traditional ones so they take less time to send and receive information, leading to better and faster broadband service even in remote areas.