China successfully lands rover on Mars after ‘seven minutes of terror’ in new space race with US
Sarah Grealish
Updated: May 16 2021, 13:44 ET
Sarah Grealish
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CHINA S Mars rover has landed on the Red Planet after a treacherous descent through the Martian atmosphere using a parachute in seven minutes of terror .
Zhurong, named after a Chinese mythical fire god, arrives a few months behind America s latest probe to Mars - Perseverance - sparking a new space race with the US.
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The six-wheeled solar-powered rover is on a quest to collect and analyse rock samples from Mars surface.
The landing was a nail-biter for the China National Space Administration (CNSA), with state media describing the process of using a parachute to slow descent and buffer legs as the most challenging part of the mission .
Charlotte Edwards, Digital Technology and Science Reporter
May 6 2021, 8:38 ET
THE grave of a three-year-old child who was buried around 78,000 year ago has been labelled as Africa’s ‘oldest human burial’.
The remains of the young child were found in a cave on the Kenyan coast and revealed “astonishingly preserved” deliberate bone arrangements.
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An artists impression of how the child was placed in the shallow graveCredit: Reuters
It s thought the child was buried in a certain position at the Panga ya Saidi cave for ritual reasons.
Researchers working on the project have published their findings in the journal Nature.
They think this is the earliest evidence of a ceremonial burial by modern humans in Africa.
Charlotte Edwards, Digital Technology and Science Reporter
May 6 2021, 6:50 ET
Updated: May 6 2021, 8:45 ET
GENETICALLY modified mosquitoes have been released for the first time ever in the US.
Biotech firm Oxitec released the insects in Florida with the aim of tackling disease-carrying mosquitoes in the region.
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The mosquitos have been released at six sitesCredit: Oxitec
According to Nature, genetically modified mosquito eggs were placed at six locations in Florida in April and 12,000 newly hatched male mosquitoes should emerge over the next 12 weeks.
The exact locations of the eggs have not been revealed.
If all goes well, 20 million more mosquitoes will be released later this year.