Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
India to launch second lunar mission on July 22 after delay
India's space agency said on Thursday it would launch the country's second lunar mission on July 22, after the original launch was called off due to a 'technical snag' earlier this week. Chandrayaan-2, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is now scheduled to be launched at 0913 GMT (1443 IST) on July 22, ISRO said in a tweet (https://twitter.com/isro/status/1151727440667893760).
Gulp! Jurassic mammal was the first one able to eat politely
A shrew-like primitive mammal that inhabited China 165 million years ago represents a milestone in mammalian evolution, scientists said on Thursday, boasting a key anatomical trait in its throat that helped usher in the era of polite table manners. Scientists described an exquisitely preserved Jurassic Period fossil from Inner Mongolia of a furry critter called Microdocodon gracilis. It was a lightly built, long-tailed, insect-eating tree-dweller roughly 5 inches (14 cm) in length that lived in a warm lakeshore environment alongside feathered dinosaurs and flying reptiles called pterosaurs.
Shaken or stirred: robotic bartender serves up cocktails for Prague clubbers
For revelers at one Prague megaclub, gone are the days of being squashed at the bar waiting to get a watered-down cocktail. Two years after becoming the first to try a robot DJ, the five-story Karlovy Lazne Music Club has gone a step further with the launch of a robotic bartender to mix up cocktails, after its manager was inspired by seeing one in Las Vegas.
Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin complains about current U.S. lunar ability
When President Donald Trump asked Buzz Aldrin, the second human ever to walk on the moon, what he thought about the United States' current ability to operate in space 50 years after the Apollo 11 mission, the ex-astronaut had a ready response. "Actually, I've been a little disappointed over the last 10 or 15 years," Aldrin told Trump on Friday.
Explainer: NASA aims to build on moon as a way station for Mars
Unlike the Apollo program that put astronauts on the moon 50 years ago, NASA is gearing up for a long term presence on Earth's satellite that the agency says will eventually enable humans to reach Mars. "Now, NASA is working to build a sustainable, open architecture that returns humanity to our nearest neighbor," Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of the U.S. space agency, said in a statement to a Senate committee on Wednesday.
