Science News Roundup: Mysteries of universe in focus for South African mega telescope; Prehistoric 'wonderfully weird beast' Whatcheeria grew big quickly and more

The three astronauts - commander Chen Dong and teammates Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe - who had been overseeing the final, pivotal period of construction at the space station, which was completed in November, all said they were feeling well after landing in audio aired on CCTV. Bezos' space company teams with Lockheed, Boeing for NASA moon lander pitch Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin is partnering with Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp to pitch a lunar lander to NASA as the agency seeks to send humans to the moon again, the companies announced on Tuesday.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 07-12-2022 10:36 IST | Created: 07-12-2022 10:30 IST
Science News Roundup: Mysteries of universe in focus for South African mega telescope; Prehistoric 'wonderfully weird beast' Whatcheeria grew big quickly and more
Representative image Image Credit: Wikipedia

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Mysteries of universe in focus for South African mega telescope

South African officials and scientists on Monday celebrated a milestone towards building the world's largest radio astronomy instrument, which is co-hosted with Australia and aims to unlock mysteries of the universe. The construction launch outside the remote town of Carnarvon, Northern Cape, marks the next phase of developing a complex instrument aimed at revealing events since the cosmic dawn, when the first stars and galaxies were formed.

Prehistoric 'wonderfully weird beast' Whatcheeria grew big quickly

It looked like a cross between a crocodile and a salamander - and definitely was not an animal to be messed with. Long before the dinosaurs or even the advent of the earliest true amphibians and reptiles, a unique creature called Whatcheeria was a genuine apex predator. New research is providing a deeper understanding of Whatcheeria, which lived roughly 330 million years ago during the Carboniferous period and arose during a time of evolutionary experimentation and innovation that unfolded in the tens of millions of years after vertebrates first conquered the land.

Japanese billionaire to make ‘big announcement’ on space after Musk meeting

Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa tweeted on Monday that he plans to make a "big announcement" related to space after a meeting with SpaceX owner Elon Musk. Yusaku Maezawa, founder of online fashion site Zozo Inc, completed a tourist trip to the International Space Station (ISS) on a Soyuz spacecraft in December last year and plans to journey around the moon with Musk's rocket and satellite company SpaceX in 2023.

Sony says it has technology for humanoid robots, just looking for use

Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate Sony Group Corp said on Tuesday it has the technology to make humanoid robots quickly once it has identified how they could be effectively used. "In terms of technology, several companies in the world including this one have enough technology accumulated to make them swiftly once it becomes clear which usage is promising," Sony Chief Technology Officer Hiroaki Kitano told Reuters in an interview.

Chinese astronauts return to earth after 'successful' six-month mission

Three Chinese astronauts landed back on earth on Sunday on board the re-entry capsule of the Shenzhou-14 spacecraft, state broadcaster CCTV reported, bringing to an end a six-month mission on China's space station. The three astronauts - commander Chen Dong and teammates Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe - who had been overseeing the final, pivotal period of construction at the space station, which was completed in November, all said they were feeling well after landing in audio aired on CCTV.

Bezos' space company teams with Lockheed, Boeing for NASA moon lander pitch

Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin is partnering with Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp to pitch a lunar lander to NASA as the agency seeks to send humans to the moon again, the companies announced on Tuesday. The joint moon lander proposal, led by Blue Origin, marks the companies' second attempt to win a coveted moon lander contract as NASA seeks more options for getting astronauts to the lunar surface under its multibillion-dollar Artemis program.

NASA's Orion capsule makes its closest approach to moon

The uncrewed Orion capsule of NASA's Artemis I mission sailed within 80 miles (130 km) of the lunar surface on Monday, achieving the closest approach to the moon for a spacecraft built to carry humans since Apollo 17 flew half a century ago. The capsule's lunar flyby, on the return leg of its debut voyage, came a week after Orion reached its farthest point in space, nearly 270,000 miles from Earth while midway through its 25-day mission, the U.S. space agency said on its website.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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