Shanti Ramchand learned quickly what was expected when she began campaigning in Jakarta for Indonesia’s national parliament – distribute envelopes of cash at a small campaign event, and gift a motorcycle or an airconditioning unit to the community leader. Ramchand, an aspiring politician from the National Democrat Party, part of President Joko Widodo’s coalition, is […]
Mars
Grapes on Mars? Georgia winemakers aiming high
Georgia is immensely proud of its ancient wine-making tradition, claiming to have been the first nation to make wine. Now it wants to be the first to grow grapes on Mars. Nestling between the Great Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Georgia has a mild climate that is perfect for vineyards and has developed a […]
Clues to alien life discovered by Nasa rover in Chilean desert
A Nasa robot being tested in the most Mars-like environment on Earth has found samples that could help humanity find alien life, scientists say. The rover pulled up soil samples from beneath the Earth that contained strange and highly specialised microbes that were spread out in patches. The unusual discoveries appear to have developed to […]
NASA to make final attempt to contact Mars Opportunity Rover
A giant dust storm blocked sunlight from Mars in 2018, stopping Opportunity’s solar-powered batteries from being able to recharge US space agency NASA will make one final attempt to contact its Opportunity Rover on Mars late Tuesday, eight months after it last made contact. The agency also said it would hold a briefing Wednesday, during […]
NASA plans to send mini-helicopter to Mars
The US space agency said Friday it plans to launch the first-ever helicopter to Mars in 2020, a miniature, unmanned drone-like chopper that could boost our understanding of the Red Planet. Known simply as “The Mars Helicopter,” the device weighs less than four pounds (1.8 kilograms), and its main body section, or fuselage, is about […]