Science News Roundup: Private Chinese firm scores first with liquid-propellant rocket launch; NASA to announce astronauts chosen for Artemis II lunar flyby mission and more

Following is a summary of current science news briefs. Private Chinese firm scores first with liquid-propellant rocket launch Beijing Tianbing Technology Co on Sunday successfully launched a kerosene-oxygen rocket, becoming the first private Chinese launch company to send a liquid-propellant rocket into space and taking another step towards developing reusable rockets.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Private Chinese firm scores first with liquid-propellant rocket launch

Beijing Tianbing Technology Co on Sunday successfully launched a kerosene-oxygen rocket, becoming the first private Chinese launch company to send a liquid-propellant rocket into space and taking another step towards developing reusable rockets. Chinese commercial space firms have rushed into the sector since 2014, when private investment in the industry was allowed by the state. Many started making satellites while others including Beijing Tianbing focused on developing reusable rockets that can significantly cut mission costs.

NASA to announce astronauts chosen for Artemis II lunar flyby mission

NASA plans on Monday to introduce the four astronauts for its Artemis II lunar flyby mission, set for launch as early as next year in what would be the first crewed voyage around the moon since the end of the Apollo era more than 50 years ago. Officials from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), which is contributing an astronaut to the crew, will join their U.S. counterparts for the announcement in Houston at Johnson Space Center, NASA's mission control base.

Deepest-ever fish caught and filmed off Japan by scientists

Fish have been caught more than 5 miles (8 kilometres) under the surface of the ocean for the first time ever - and filmed even deeper - by a joint Japanese-Australian scientific expedition. The expedition's chief scientist, Professor Alan Jamieson, said on Monday that two snailfish were caught in traps set 8,022 metres underwater in the Japan Trench, south of Japan, during a two-month voyage by a team from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Tokyo University of Marine Science.