Science and Technology News | China National Space Administration releases the latest Mars exploration images

【Today’s cover】

On January 1, the lake area of ​​the Chengde Mountain Resort in Hebei Province, a world cultural heritage site, was shrouded in mist, looking like a fairyland. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Liu Huanyu)

News Station

CCTV video screenshot

●On January 1, the Chinese Space Station held a special exhibition - the "Youth and Starry Sky Dialogue" Tiangong Art Exhibition. This is the first Tiangong Art Exhibition held in the Chinese Space Station. A total of more than 20 space-themed paintings created by young people in the central and western regions were displayed in China's "Tiangong". The Shenzhou 13 astronaut crew conducted on-site demonstrations and introductions during the "New Year's Day Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Tiangong Dialogue" event. (Source: Science and Technology Daily)

Image source: CCTV News Client

●On January 1, the daily natural gas production of PetroChina Tarim Oilfield exceeded 100 million cubic meters for the first time, and the daily oil and gas equivalent exceeded 100,000 tons, accounting for nearly one-tenth of the current daily gas supply in China. (Source: CCTV News Client)

Image source: China National Space Administration

●On January 1, the National Space Administration released a set of beautiful images sent back from the distant Mars by the Tianwen-1 probe, my country's first Mars exploration mission, to report the safety of Tianwen-1 to the people of the country and extend holiday greetings. This set of images includes photos of the orbiter and Mars, a close-up of the orbiter, the Martian Arctic ice cap, and the Zhurong Mars rover taking photos of the Martian surface, showing the working status of the orbiter and the Zhurong Mars rover and the acquired Martian surface morphology. At present, Tianwen-1 is carrying out exploration and related tests as planned, and is in good condition and operating normally. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

New findings

Pollen in the air and other "dust" shed by plants is a rich repository for DNA surveys. Image credit: RALF GEITHE/ISTOCK

●Recently, researchers at Texas Tech University in the United States found through research that capturing and analyzing DNA released into the air by plants can help track how climate change changes the composition of plant communities and provide early warnings of invasive species. The relevant research results were published in BMC Ecology and Evolution. (Source: China Science Daily)

See the world

Image source: Nikkei Chinese website

● According to a recent report by Kyodo News, Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry Corporation are advancing a plan to launch the world's first wooden artificial satellite in 2023. Its characteristic is that it can burn up in the atmosphere after use, which has a relatively small burden on the environment. (Source: Guancha.com)

●On December 31, 2021, local time, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced that the Biden administration has pledged to extend the operation of the International Space Station by six years to 2030, and will continue to cooperate with the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the Canadian Space Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency. It is reported that the United States originally planned to operate the International Space Station until 2024, by which time NASA is ready to hand over the daily operations of the space station to commercial entities in order to free up funds for the "Artemis" moon landing program. (Source: CCTV News Client)

Grand View Garden

●The National Film Administration released data on January 1, showing that the total box office of Chinese films in 2021 reached 47.258 billion yuan, of which the box office of domestic films was 39.927 billion yuan, accounting for 84.49% of the total box office. 6,667 new screens were added throughout the year, bringing the total number of screens to 82,248. China's film industry has recovered rapidly, and the total box office and total number of screens throughout the year continue to rank first in the world. (Source: Xinhua News Agency)

●In January, the Quadrantid meteor shower, Jupiter-Moon conjunction, and Mercury's greatest eastern elongation will take turns to appear. The Quadrantid meteor shower will reach its maximum value in the early morning of the 4th. The best observation time is from the night of the 3rd to the early morning of the 4th, with up to 120 meteors per hour. (Source: People's Daily)

Editor: Zhang Shuang

Review: Julie

Final review: Liu Haiying

Science and Technology Daily