19 July 2017
China's first X-ray astronomical satellite, launched in mid June, is expected to start regular observation in November and its data will be open to scientists all over the world, say the main designers of the satellite's data system. The 2.5-tonne Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT), dubbed Insight, transmitted to a ground station its first data on its second day in orbit. The data proved to be of good quality, and the telescope detected a gamma-ray burst 10 days after its launch. "We will finish calibrating all instruments within the first five months in orbit before Insight starts regular observation," said Song Liming, deputy chief designer of the HXMT science ground segment and a scientist with the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Song and his team solicited observation proposals from scientists around the country last year, and drew up a one-year observation plan after evaluating 90 proposals from six CAS institutes and 10 universities.
MORE...

20 July 2017
Grinding wheat from scratch, eating veggies grown in your own waste, and fried worms for dinner: Life in space is no picnic. At Beihang University, formerly known as Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, four students on 9 July entered a capsule meant to simulate space living and will remain in it for more than six months, sustaining themselves on what they grow inside.
MORE...

21 July 2017
Peruvian Sebastian Cueva Obando claimed first place at APSCO Youth Space Contest 2017 held in Beijing, China. Cueva, 16, is one of the five Peruvian high-school students that entered the space science and technology competition hosted by Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization (APSCO). His work "Amazing life chances in Mars" won the contest, which was free form, including but not limited to video, painting, handcraft, model, essay, etc.
MORE...

25 July 2017
Chinese scientists have made another breakthrough in quantum communication, demonstrating long-distance free-space quantum key distribution during daylight. A team from the University of Science and Technology of China led by Pan Jianwei, has overcome the sunlight noise issue and demonstrated free-space quantum key distribution over 53 km during the day. Pan's team chose a wavelength of 1,550 nanometers and developed free-space single-mode fibre-coupling technology and ultra-low-noise upconversion single-photon detectors to achieve the daytime distribution.
MORE...