Our Planet

Video: Ingenuity the Mars helicopter performs its first flight

Great news – NASA’s Ingenuity the Mars helicopter performs its first flight. It is the first powered, controlled flight on another planet.

How many Tyrannosaurus rex walked the Earth?

Tyrannosaurus rex (rex meaning “king” in Latin) lived throughout what is now western North America 68 to 66 million years ago, during the Upper Cretaceous period. Back then, there was a big island (an island continent) called “Laramidia” there. But, how many Tyrannosaurus rex walked the Earth? At the same time, and in total?

Ashley Poust, University of California, Berkeley and Daniel Varajão de Latorre, University of California, Berkeley

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

10 Amazing Moon Facts

Earth has got only one moon – a rocky, cratered place, about a quarter the size of Earth and an average of 384,400 kilometers (238,855 miles) away. It is simply called – well, “the Moon” because people didn’t know other moons around other planets existed until Galileo Galilei discovered four moons orbiting Jupiter in 1610. Here are 10 amazing moon facts.

Here’s how scientists planning to deflect asteroids that might damage Earth

Asteroids – the bits and pieces leftover from the formation of the inner planets – are a source of great curiosity for those keen to learn about the building blocks of our solar system, and to probe the chemistry of life.

Humans are also considering mining asteroids for metals, but one of the crucial reasons scientists study this ancient space rubble is planetary defense, given the potential for space debris to cause Earth harm.

What is the impact of the Urban Heat Island Effect?

With summer around the corner, city dwellers are planning their shoreline retreats to escape unbearable heat. Urban regions typically stay warmer during this season due to their structure. What if there were ways to reduce this effect by making minimal changes to metropolitan lifestyles?

Cities can effectively preserve natural land by permitting one region to house many individuals. When we build up rather than out, we allow many areas to remain untouched by humans.

However, although cities can conserve organic areas, they also contribute to a dangerous warming phenomenon known as urban heat islands.

Astronomers image the magnetic field of a black hole for the first time – here’s what it reveals

There was a lot of excitement when the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration showed the world the first ever image of a black hole back in April 2019. Weighing in at 6.5 million times the mass of our Sun, this supermassive black hole is located in the galaxy Messier 87, or M87, some 55 million light years away from Earth.

Ziri Younsi, UCL

Creating Power Foods with Gene Technology

At least 820 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition globally and human population growth is likely to exacerbate this problem in the future. It is becoming increasingly important to develop sustainable and efficient methods to meet food demands. To address this global issue, Dr. Sanju A. Sanjaya and Bagyalakshmi Muthan from West Virginia State University and their colleagues from Michigan State University have developed genetic technologies to improve the nutritional and energy content of crops. Their technology could increase production and improve profitability and sustainability across a range of important crop plants.

Helping Children Thrive With Fun Science Activities

The Coronavirus has bound us to our homes. It has been over a year since the beginning of lockdowns, social distancing, and homeschooling.

It is essential for parents to keep their kids learning and involve them in projects that will help them learn in a fun way. It is not surprising that children are not engaged with learning as they are in school. Therefore, fun science activities are a great way to hold their attention.

Ingenuity the Mars helicopter carries a swatch from Wright Brothers’ first aircraft

An illustration of NASA Ingenuity Helicopter flying on Mars

In April 2021, Ingenuity (the small helicopter stored in NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover) will perform the first powered, controlled flight on another planet. And NASA put a small piece of fabric on the Mars helicopter from the wing of Wright Brothers’ first aircraft, the “Flyer 1”, which performed the first powered, controlled flight here on Earth on December 17, 1903. The swatch is bound in insulating tape to a wire under Ingenuity’s solar panel.

Regrowing a tropical forest – is it better to plant trees or leave it to nature?

David Burslem, University of Aberdeen; Christopher Philipson, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Mark Cutler, University of Dundee

The destruction of tropical forests is a major contributor to biodiversity loss and the climate crisis. In response, conservationists and scientists like us are debating how to best catalyze the recovery of these forests. How do you take a patch of earth littered with tree stumps, or even a grassy pasture or palm oil plantation, and turn it back into a thriving forest filled with its original species?