Eileen Collins, a name synonymous with breaking barriers in space exploration, has etched her legacy as the first woman to pilot and command a spacecraft. Her journey, chronicled in the documentary *Spacewoman*, reveals the determination and resilience that propelled her to the stars. From a young age, Collins dreamt of becoming an astronaut, inspired by the Gemini astronauts. Despite the absence of female astronauts at the time, she vowed to become a ‘lady astronaut.’ Her path to NASA was unconventional: she joined the military, became a test pilot, and eventually earned her place in the astronaut program. Collins made history in 1995 as the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle, a role she embraced with the weight of representing future generations of women in space. Her career was marked by groundbreaking achievements, including becoming the first female shuttle commander. Collins also navigated the challenges of balancing her career with motherhood, often highlighting that parenting was tougher than commanding a shuttle. Her leadership was tested during the aftermath of the Columbia disaster, where she took charge of the subsequent mission, demonstrating unwavering bravery. In 2005, during her final flight, Collins executed a daring maneuver to inspect and repair shuttle damage, ensuring her crew’s safe return. Now retired, Collins reflects on her career with pride, offering advice to aspiring astronauts: focus on education and determination. While she has no regrets about retiring, she admits she would seize the chance to return to space, even as an ‘old lady.’ Eileen Collins’ story is not just about space exploration but about shattering ceilings and inspiring generations to reach for the stars.
分类： science
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US soliciting new bids for Moon mission amid SpaceX delays: NASA chief
NASA is intensifying its efforts to return humans to the Moon by soliciting new bids for its Artemis program, as SpaceX, Elon Musk’s aerospace company, faces delays. NASA Administrator Sean Duffy announced the move on Monday, emphasizing the urgency to compete against China’s advancing lunar ambitions. ‘We’re going to have a space race among American companies to see who can get us back to the Moon first,’ Duffy stated during an interview on Fox News. He revealed plans to open the contract to other competitors, including Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, to accelerate progress. SpaceX currently holds the contract for the fifth Artemis mission, but delays have prompted NASA to seek alternatives. Duffy, who also serves as the US Transportation Secretary, stressed the importance of innovation and competition in maintaining US dominance in space exploration. The Artemis program, initiated during President Donald Trump’s first term, aims to return astronauts to the Moon and eventually voyage to Mars. Despite setbacks, NASA remains committed to its timeline, with the Artemis 2 mission, featuring a crew of three US astronauts and one Canadian, scheduled for April 2026. This mission will mark the first crewed lunar flyby in over 50 years. NASA officials, including Lakiesha Hawkins, have reaffirmed their dedication to meeting these ambitious goals, even as they navigate challenges and rising global competition.
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Chinese researchers make breakthrough in scanning the universe
Chinese researchers have achieved a groundbreaking advancement in spectroscopic imaging, developing a technique that combines exceptional resolution with a panoramic view, revolutionizing the way the universe is scanned. Named RAFAEL (Yuheng in Chinese), this innovative technology, created by a team from Tsinghua University, is compact enough to fit on a chip the size of a mobile phone SIM card. The study, published in the prestigious journal Nature, highlights the chip’s ability to capture full spectral data with sub-angstrom resolution for approximately 10,000 stars per second. Professor Fang Lu, the lead researcher, emphasized that this technology could reduce the time required to compile complete spectra for all stars in the Milky Way from thousands of years to under a decade. The chip’s miniaturized design also makes it suitable for mounting on satellites or deep-space probes, paving the way for unprecedented spectral maps of the universe. The core innovation lies in resolving the long-standing trade-off between resolution and field breadth in spectral imaging. By employing advanced computational imaging methods and reconfigurable integrated photonics based on lithium niobate, the team achieved snapshot spectroscopy with ten-megapixel-level spatial resolution and sub-angstrom spectral resolution across visible and near-infrared wavelengths. This breakthrough significantly surpasses existing international counterparts, improving spectral resolution by two orders of magnitude. The technology’s practical applications extend beyond astronomy to fields such as material identification, plant health, autonomous driving, and atomic spectroscopy. Efforts are underway to implement the technique on giant telescopes at observatories in China and Spain. Professor Fang described the study as a beginning, showcasing how intelligent photonics can continue to push the boundaries of what light can reveal.
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China’s AIMS telescope in mid-infrared band operational
China has officially commissioned the world’s first mid-infrared solar magnetic-field telescope, marking a significant leap in astronomical research. The Accurate Infrared Magnetic Field Measurements of the Sun (AIMS), developed by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), has successfully passed its final acceptance review. Located in Lenghu township, Qinghai province, at an altitude of 4,000 meters, the telescope benefits from optimal viewing conditions despite the harsh environment. AIMS addresses a critical gap in mid-infrared solar magnetic-field observations, transitioning from indirect inference to direct detection, thereby enhancing measurement precision. The telescope’s domestically designed components, including the infrared spectrograph and imaging camera, have improved the accuracy of direct solar magnetic-field measurements to over 10 gauss. During its trial phase, AIMS captured mid-infrared flare data across multiple bands, offering new insights into solar eruptions and magnetic energy dynamics. Now operational, AIMS is poised to support advanced solar-physics research in China, bolstering the nation’s capabilities in solar-activity monitoring and space-weather forecasting.
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A seed bank in England marks 25 years of preserving the world’s plant diversity
Nestled deep beneath the Sussex countryside in southern England lies the Millennium Seed Bank, a state-of-the-art facility designed to withstand disasters and preserve the world’s plant diversity. Operated by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, this underground vault houses over 2.5 billion seeds from approximately 40,000 wild plant species. Stored in sealed glass jars and foil packets at a chilling minus 20 degrees Celsius, these seeds are safeguarded against extinction and climate change. Opened in 2000 by King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, the facility recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, marking a quarter-century of global conservation efforts. The seed bank’s mission extends beyond preservation; it aims to restore ecosystems worldwide, combat biodiversity loss, and support agricultural resilience in the face of a growing global population. The process begins with field collectors gathering seeds from diverse regions, including Madagascar, Thailand, and Arctic Sweden. These seeds undergo meticulous drying, cleaning, and germination testing to ensure viability before being stored. Kew’s researchers are also pioneering cryopreservation techniques for tropical plants that cannot survive freezing. The Millennium Seed Bank has become a global hub, partnering with 279 organizations in over 100 countries and training more than 3,000 scientists. With nearly half of all flowering plants at risk of extinction, the seed bank serves as a vital insurance policy for global biodiversity, offering hope for a sustainable future.
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Global study shows intensifying drought may wreck grasslands
A groundbreaking international study led by Chinese researchers has unveiled alarming evidence that prolonged and intensified droughts are pushing global grassland ecosystems toward collapse. Published in the prestigious journal Science, the research involved collaboration among scientists from Beijing Forestry University and over 120 institutions, including Colorado State University in the United States. The study meticulously tracked plant growth across 74 grasslands and shrublands spanning six continents during periods of drought. The findings reveal that the combined impact of drought intensity and duration significantly exacerbates productivity losses in these ecosystems. Notably, after four consecutive years of extreme drought, productivity losses surged by approximately 2.5 times compared to the initial year. This suggests that ecosystems may transition from a state of low yield to a rapid and irreversible decline if climate change continues to worsen drought conditions. The study underscores the growing concern that future climate extremes will increasingly disrupt ecosystems in unprecedented and troubling ways. According to Bianca Lopez, an editor at Science, the research provides a critical benchmark for understanding the relationship between drought severity, duration, and ecosystem health. The study’s peer reviewers also emphasized its importance in establishing a foundation for future investigations into the impacts of climate change on global ecosystems.
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Revolutionary Chinese chip to pioneer search for dark matter, black holes
A groundbreaking spectroscopic imaging chip, RAFAEL, developed by a research team from Tsinghua University in China, has been unveiled, promising to transform humanity’s approach to observing the universe. Published in the prestigious journal Nature, this innovation resolves the long-standing challenge of balancing spectral resolution and throughput, enabling high-performance snapshot spectroscopy. Spectroscopy, a critical tool for analyzing the physical and chemical properties of matter, has traditionally struggled to achieve both ultra-high resolution and high efficiency simultaneously. RAFAEL, also known by its Chinese name “Yuheng,” overcomes this limitation through advanced lithium-niobate photonics, allowing each pixel in the sensor to capture complete spectral data with exceptional optical transmittance. The chip boasts a 10-megapixel spatial resolution and a spectral precision of 0.05 nanometers across visible to near-infrared wavelengths. In a recent demonstration, RAFAEL captured spectra of up to 5,600 stars in a single exposure, marking a hundredfold improvement in observational efficiency compared to leading astronomical spectrometers. Compact yet powerful, RAFAEL is poised to unlock new insights into cosmic phenomena such as dark matter and black holes, while advancing research in fields ranging from materials science to astrophysics. Professor Fang Lu, the corresponding author of the study, highlighted the chip’s potential to establish a new benchmark for astronomical observation. The name “Yuheng,” derived from the fifth star of the Big Dipper, symbolizes precision and balance, reflecting the chip’s mission to enhance humanity’s understanding of the universe.
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From Hollywood to horticulture: Cate Blanchett on a mission to save seeds
Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett has taken a surprising detour from her Hollywood career to immerse herself in the world of botanical conservation. Partnering with Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst Botanic Garden in Sussex, Blanchett has become an ambassador for the project, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The MSB, home to over 2.5 billion seeds from 40,000 wild plant species worldwide, serves as a critical safeguard against biodiversity loss. Blanchett, who lives locally, expressed her awe at the seed bank’s mission, describing it as ‘inspiring’ and ‘uplifting.’
The seed bank, initially conceived as a ‘doomsday vault’ to protect plant species from extinction, has evolved into a hub for ecological restoration. Seeds are meticulously processed, dried, and stored at -20°C, ready to be reintroduced into threatened habitats. Dr. Elinor Breman of the MSB emphasized the importance of returning seeds to their natural environments, citing ongoing projects like the restoration of rare chalk grasslands on the South Downs in Sussex.
Blanchett, who hails from Australia, highlighted the significance of the MSB’s work in the wake of devastating wildfires that swept across her homeland in 2019. With nearly 9,000 Australian plant species stored at the MSB, she finds solace in knowing that these seeds serve as an ‘insurance policy’ against future ecological disasters. The actress has also embraced hands-on involvement, joking about her efforts to ‘turn her brown thumbs green’ and improve her seed management skills.
In a special episode of Kew’s podcast, ‘Unearthed: The Need for Seeds,’ Blanchett joined The King (formerly the Prince of Wales) to discuss the urgency of plant conservation. The King voiced concerns about rainforest destruction and species extinction, underscoring the critical role of initiatives like the MSB. Blanchett, meanwhile, described the seed bank as the UK’s ‘best-kept secret’ and expressed optimism about its growing importance in the face of global environmental challenges.
As the MSB looks to the future, its mission remains clear: to restore and protect the planet’s biodiversity. Blanchett’s involvement not only amplifies the project’s visibility but also serves as a reminder that positive change is possible. ‘You come here, you visit the seed bank, you walk through such a biodiverse landscape, and you leave uplifted,’ she said. ‘You know change is possible, and it’s happening.’
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Skeletons found in mass grave are ancient Roman soldiers, study finds
A groundbreaking archaeological discovery in Croatia has shed light on the lives and deaths of seven Roman soldiers who lived approximately 1,700 years ago. The remarkably well-preserved skeletons, unearthed in 2011 at the site of the ancient Roman city of Mursa (modern-day Osijek), were found in a mass grave that researchers believe was originally a water-well. The findings, detailed in a new research paper, suggest these men were likely victims of the tumultuous ‘Crisis of the Third Century,’ particularly the Battle of Mursa in 260 CE, a period marked by violent conflicts over imperial succession. The skeletons, belonging to men aged between 36 and 50, exhibited signs of robust physicality and a primarily vegetarian diet, though some had consumed meat and seafood. All bore evidence of both healed and unhealed injuries, including blunt force trauma and puncture wounds likely caused by arrows or spears. Additionally, DNA analysis revealed a diverse ancestry, indicating none were local to the region. The researchers noted that mass burials were uncommon in the Roman Empire, typically reserved for extreme circumstances such as large-scale battles. The discovery underscores Mursa’s historical significance as a hub of trade, craft, and conflict during the Roman era.
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China Focus: China achieves numerous breakthroughs in space exploration quest
China has made significant strides in space exploration during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), achieving numerous breakthroughs that have contributed to humanity’s understanding of space and technological advancements. The completion of China’s space station, the first-ever sampling of soil from the far side of the moon, and the exploration of Mars are among the key milestones. The space station, which became operational with the launch of the Tianhe core module in April 2021, now hosts a variety of scientific experiments and international collaborations. The Chang’e 6 mission successfully returned lunar samples from the moon’s far side, providing valuable insights into lunar geology. Additionally, the Tianwen 1 mission has expanded our knowledge of Mars, with the rover discovering evidence of an ancient ocean. Looking ahead, China plans to continue its space exploration efforts with missions like Chang’e 7, Chang’e 8, and Tianwen 3, aiming to further scientific research and international cooperation.