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China sends out probe to moon’s far side

Chang'e-4 liftoff
A Chinese Long March 3B rocket lifts off from Xichang Satellite Launch Center, sending the Chang’e-4 probe into space. (CASC via Weibo)

China’s space effort launched its most ambitious robotic lunar mission to date, taking aim at a crater near the south pole on the moon’s far side.

The Chang’e-4 combination lander and rover were sent into space atop a Long March 3B rocket at 2:22 a.m. local time Dec. 8 (10:22 a.m. PT Dec. 7) from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China’s Sichuan Province, according to Sina Tech and other Chinese sources.

Chang’e-4’s flight plan calls for the probe to trace a looping series of orbits for 26 days or so, eventually putting it into position for a landing in Von Karman Crater, part of the South Pole-Aitken Basin.

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Human gene-editing experiment put on hold

He Jiankui
Chinese researcher He Jiankui addresses the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing in Hong Kong. (National Academies via Twitter)

The Chinese researcher behind a controversial experiment to produce gene-edited children took the stage at a Hong Kong conference to explain his work, and acknowledged that the international outcry has brought a halt to the experiment.

“The clinical trial was paused due to the current situation,” He Jiankui, a biomedical researcher at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, said today at the Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing.

The university says He (pronounced “Heh”) has been on unpaid leave since January, and today Chinese news outlets reported that his lab on campus has been shut down and sealed off for investigation.

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Reports of gene-edited babies spawn investigations

CRISPR mechanism
CRISPR-Cas9 technology uses “molecular scissors” to cut and splice DNA. (UC-Berkeley Graphic)

Multiple investigations are being sought in the wake of reports that a Chinese laboratory facilitated the birth of twin girls whose genes had been edited to protect them against the HIV virus that causes AIDS.

The first-of-its-kind experiment, which took advantage of the CRISPR gene-editing technique, came to light in reports published late Sunday by MIT Technology Review and The Associated Press. The researcher in charge of the project, He Jiankui of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, also published a series of videos explaining the gene-editing project.

There has been no outside confirmation of He’s claims, but geneticists and health policymakers say such claims raise grave ethical issues — including the prospect of creating designer babies, enhancing traits and even introducing exotic new traits.

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First gene-edited babies reportedly born in China

He Jiankui
Chinese researcher He Jiankui discusses his lab’s effort to produce babies whose genes have been altered to protect them from future HIV infection. (The He Lab via YouTube)

A Chinese researcher says his lab facilitated the first birth of gene-edited children — twin girls who are said to possess genetic alterations that could protect them from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

“Two beautiful little Chinese girls, named Lulu and Nana, came crying into this world as healthy as any other babies a few weeks ago. The girls are home now,” He Jiankui, a researcher at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, said in a YouTube video.

If confirmed, the report is certain to bring the ethical issues surrounding human genetic engineering into sharp focus, and could lead either to rapid developments in the technology or regulatory limits.

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50 years after Apollo, will China spark space race?

Apollo 17 flag
NASA astronaut Harrison Schmitt stands next to the U.S. flag on the moon with Earth hanging in the black sky above during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. (NASA Photo)

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An American rivalry with China could stoke a new space race in the years ahead, prominent members of the space community said at a session marking the 50th anniversary of NASA’s Apollo missions.

But it may not play out the way the U.S.-Soviet space race did, said Scott Pace, executive secretary for the White House’s National Space Council.  Billionaire-backed space efforts such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin could play a leading role, he said.

“China has billionaires, too,” Pace said today at the ScienceWriters 2018 conference, held at George Washington University. “China has a growing commercial space sector that is not simply People’s Liberation Army guys in new suits, but a commercial industry also emerging out there. And so they are not merely national security competitors, but they’re also potential commercial competitors — as China is in many other areas.”

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China sends relay satellite toward moon’s far side

China today launched a satellite that will serve as the communications relay for a future probe on the moon’s far side. The satellite, dubbed Queqiao(Chinese for “Magpie Bridge”), lifted off from the Xichang Launch Center in southwest China atop a Long March 4C rocket at 5:28 a.m. local time May 21 (2:28 p.m. PT today).

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China hits back on tariffs, and Boeing weighs in

Air China 737
The first 737 MAX 8 jet delivered to Air China takes off from Boeing’s Seattle Delivery Center. (Boeing Photo / Craig Larsen)

China took less than 24 hours to respond to proposed U.S. tariffs with a 106-item list of its own that could affect $50 billion worth of U.S. imports, potentially including some of Boeing’s 737 airplanes.

The impact on Boeing isn’t yet clear, and the tit-for-tat trade sanctions on aerospace goods have not yet been implemented. Hours after China announced its move, Boeing issued a statement voicing hope that Washington and Beijing will be able to avoid a trade war.

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U.S. proposes tariffs on $50B in Chinese imports

Donald Trump
President Donald Trump speaks at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar during a visit last month. (DOD Photo)

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative today rolled out a list of $50 billion worth of Chinese-made goods that could be hit by import tariffs, marking the latest volley in what some fear could turn into a trade war.

The items range from components for spacecraft and aircraft, to robots and other industrial tools, to pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, to television sets, dishwashers and even sewing machine needles.

The 45-page, 1,300-item list was developed as a response to what the Trump administration says are China’s efforts to take unfair advantage of technologies and intellectual property developed in the U.S. Listed items could be subject to an added import duty of 25 percent.

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Tiangong-1 space lab burns up over the Pacific

Tiangong-1 destruction
An artist’s conception shows the fiery breakup of China’s Tiangong-1 space lab. (AGI Illustration)

China’s Tiangong-1 space lab is no more.

The 8.5-ton spacecraft re-entered the atmosphere at about 5:15 p.m. PT today (00:15 GMT on April 2) over the Pacific Ocean, and any pieces that survived the fiery plunge should have fallen into the central area of the South Pacific, Chinese space officials said.

The U.S. military’s Joint Force Space Component Command issued a similar report, setting the time of re-entry at about 5:16 p.m.

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Chinese space lab heads for a fall this weekend

Tiangong-1 space lab
An artist’s conception shows China’s Tiangong-1 space lab flying over the Gulf of Mexico. (The Aerospace Corp. via YouTube)china

After months of tracking China’s uncontrollable Tiangong-1 space lab, satellite watchers have narrowed down the time frame for its final, fiery plunge through the atmosphere — and it’s this weekend.

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