http://espresso.economist.com/b7e67bd1951c09018e6a851fb2e7d9ca
A simple model suggests that there’s no fast way to rid hands of virus-sized particles.
Intriguing rocks turned out to be too crumbly for Perseverance to drill successfully. It’s moving on to try elsewhere.
The International Space Station (ISS) was briefly pushed out of position when the engines of a newly arrived Russian module started firing inadvertently.
Governments and companies urgently need to share data on the mounting volume of satellites and debris orbiting Earth.
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR 05 AUGUST 2021
Squirrels show off multiple landing styles as they speed through the canopy.
Data from research flights through smoke plumes show that tiny particulates affect cloud droplet formation.
July
Propellers make a comeback on a new type of aircraft engine from TheEconomist
June 21, 2021
International
Africa is blasting its way into the space race. Disruptions to the space industry offer a rare opportunity to new entrants
28 May 2021
Under the hammer (and sickle): Ceausescu’s plane
Nicolae Ceausescu ruled Romania with an iron grip for almost a quarter-century before being overthrown in a bloody revolution and executed by firing squad on Christmas Day, 1989. Today those nostalgic for the communist dictator’s brutal reign had the chance to bid in an auction for one of his presidential aircraft.
Romania’s claim to fame as the second communist state in Europe to build a passenger jet, after the Soviet Union, is less impressive than it sounds. Produced under licence from the British Aircraft Corporation, the Rombac One-Eleven was the only commercial jet manufactured in communist Romania. Just nine were ever made.
The model under auction served as the president’s plane between 1986 and 1989. The plane eventually sold for €120,000 ($146,000). But anyone looking to fly off in Ceausescu’s old aircraft had to keep their ambitions grounded. It was added to a Romanian cultural-heritage list earlier this year and cannot leave the country.
15 May 2021
Debris from China’s Long March 5b rocket plunged into the Indian Ocean. The Chinese government announced that the “great majority” of the material had burned up before reaching the Earth’s surface. Nevertheless, nasa accused China of failing to “meet responsible standards” because of its failure to plan a “targeted re-entry” of the debris. China finally released details of its census, which showed that its population reached 1.41bn last year, up by 5.4% from a decade ago. The results contradicted media reports that suggested China’s population had fallen below 1.4bn, which would have marked the first decline in six decades.
Voyager 1
Data collected by the Voyager 1 spacecraft, which launched in 1977, has helped scientists to calculate the density of the interstellar plasma.
15 December 2020
1 December 2020
Autonomous balloons take flight with artificial intelligence
Materials: The Age of Wood: Our Most Useful Material and the Construction of Civilization
20 October 2020
13 October 2020
6 October 2020