Science News Roundup: Japan retrieves space probe; Bezos says Blue Origin will take the first woman and more

Japan retrieves space probe that may hold clues to origin of planets Japan has retrieved a space probe from Australia's remote outback after a six-year mission that may help reveal more about the origins of the planets, the Asian nation's space agency said on Sunday.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Japan retrieves space probe that may hold clues to origin of planets

Japan has retrieved a space probe from Australia's remote outback after a six-year mission that may help reveal more about the origins of the planets, the Asian nation's space agency said on Sunday. A capsule from the unmanned Hayabusa2, carrying the first extensive samples of dust from an asteroid, was flown by helicopter from the outback to a domestic research facility of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Bezos says Blue Origin will take the first woman to moon's surface

Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin will take the first woman to the moon's surface, the billionaire said on Friday as NASA nears a decision to pick its first privately built lunar landers capable of sending astronauts to the moon by 2024. "This (BE-7) is the engine that will take the first woman to the surface of the Moon," Bezos said in a post on Instagram with a video of the engine test this week at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Thai researchers unearth rare whale skeleton

Thai researchers have unearthed a rare partially fossilised skeleton belonging to a Bryde's whale believed to be around 5,000 years old at an inland site west of Bangkok. The 12.5-metre (41 ft) long skeleton was found by a cyclist, who spotted part of a vertebrae coming out of the ground, in early November. Excavation has been going on since then.