Reuters Science News Summary

The latest uncrewed launch of Starship - designed to enable more frequent Starlink satellite launches and ‌to send future NASA missions to the moon - achieved a key milestone for the ‌vehicle following months of testing delays.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX's ​Starship flight hits most targets in ​pre-IPO test

SpaceX completed a largely ‌successful test ​flight of its next-generation Starship rocket on Friday, deploying a clutch of mock satellites and executing a controlled splashdown in the Indian ‌Ocean in a high-stakes debut of the newly upgraded vehicle as Elon Musk's company prepares to go public. The latest uncrewed launch of Starship - designed to enable more frequent Starlink satellite launches and ‌to send future NASA missions to the moon - achieved a key milestone for the ‌vehicle following months of testing delays. The outcome could also boost investor confidence ahead of SpaceX's initial public offering next month, expected to be the largest in history.

Climate change threatens global plant species as habitats shrink

Some of the ⁠plants ​that make familiar landscapes recognizable ⁠may not survive by century's end as climate change becomes an increasingly important driver of species loss, according to ⁠scientists, reshaping and often shrinking suitable habitats that the plants need to survive. Researchers modelled future ranges for ​numerous species of vascular plants, a category that accounts for almost all the world's ⁠plants - those with water- and nutrient-carrying tissues. They looked at more than 67,000 species, meaning about 18% of the ⁠world's ​known vascular plants.

China sends astronaut on year-long space mission as it eyes 2030 moon landing

China sent three astronauts to its space station on Sunday, one of whom will stay for ⁠a year, a record length for the country, enabling the study of long-duration human physiology ⁠in space as Beijing works ⁠towards its ambition of a crewed moon landing by 2030. The Shenzhou-23 vessel launched at 11:08 p.m. (1508 GMT) using the Long March-2F Y23 carrier ‌rocket from Jiuquan ‌Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, with ​three Chinese astronauts on board.