|  China launches lunar probe carrying 'Jade Rabbit' buggy  | China launched its first ever extraterrestrial landing craft into orbit en route for the moon in the small hours of Monday, in a major milestone for its space program. The Chang'e-3 lunar probe, which includes the Yutu or Jade Rabbit buggy, blasted off on board an enhanced Long March-3B carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China's southwestern Sichuan province at 1:30 a.m. (12.30 p.m. EDT). President Xi Jinping has said he wants China to establish itself as a space superpower, and the mission has inspired pride in China's growing technological prowess. If all goes smoothly, the rover will conduct geological surveys and search for natural resources after the probe touches down on the moon in mid-December as China's first spacecraft to make a soft landing beyond Earth.
| Read More » A Universe Made of Stories: Why We Need a Science and Technology Dialogue  | A Universe Made of Stories: Why We Need a Science and Technology Dialogue
| Read More » Found! First Known Predator To Lure Prey By Mimicking Flowers  | The orchid mantis, which resembles a flower, takes on this appearance in order to lure in prey, researchers say. In fact, orchid mantises are even better at drawing in insects than some actual blossoms;
| Read More » High Chairs Help Toddlers Learn Messy Words  | "If you expose them to these things when they're in a high chair, they do better," study researcher Larissa Samuelson, a psychologist at the University of Iowa, said in a statement. "They're familiar with the setting and that helps them remember and use what they already know about nonsolids." [That's Incredible! 9 Brainy Baby Abilities]
| Read More » SpaceX plans third launch attempt on Monday  | By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies, also known as SpaceX, plans to try again on Monday to launch its first commercial communications satellite after its Falcon 9 rocket was twice sidelined by technical issues, officials said. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket and a 3.5-ton (3,175 kg) communications satellite owned by Luxembourg-based SES S.A. was targeted for 5:41 p.m. EST (2241 GMT) on Monday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
| Read More » Robotic Mars Landing Module Named 'Schiaparelli' to Honor 19th-Century Astronomer  | A future Mars landing module tasked with mapping the Red Planet will bear the name of the Earthling that did it first. It was Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli who first mapped the surface of Mars in the late 19th century, and when the European Space Agency's ExoMars module begins to map the Martian surface in 2016, it will be named in honor of its famed namesake. "Considering the importance of Giovanni Schiaparelli's pioneering observations of Mars, it was an easy decision to give his name to the ExoMars module that is paving the way to the further exploration of the Red Planet," Alvaro Giménez, ESA's Director of Science and Robotic Exploration, said in a statement.
| Read More » 'Secret' Labyrinth of Tunnels Under Rome Mapped  | Deep under the streets and buildings of Rome is a maze of tunnels and quarries that dates back to the very beginning of this ancient city. Now, geologists are venturing beneath Rome to map these underground passageways, hoping to prevent modern structures from crumbling into the voids below.
| Read More » Weird Organ Makes Koalas Sound Like Frogs Vomiting Simple calculations suggest koalas should have high-pitched voices. That's because the pitch generated by an object is linked to its size, and usually animals' vocal chords tend to be large or small according to the mass of their bodies. The animals actually have an extra "organ" outside the larynx, which contains the vocal chords that mammals and other animals use. In the koala's case, the vocal chords consist of long fleshy folds of tissue in the soft pallet between the upper throat, or pharynx, and the nasal cavities. When the koalas breathe in, they can push air through these "velar vocal folds," as the authors call them, to make low-pitched sounds, according to the study. Read More » How to Preserve Historic Moon Landing Sites for Posterity  | On Sunday (Dec. 1), China launched a spacecraft designed to land safely on the lunar surface, and some private companies hope to stage launches to the moon as well. If industry and other nations aren't careful, the uptick in lunar traffic might disturb the landing sites from the Apollo era, as well as Russia's landing sites on the lunar surface. In order to protect the United States' lunar heritage, U.S. legislators have recently proposed a "moon bill" that would qualify the Apollo landing sites as a national park. the United States, Russia and 126 other nations have ratified the treaty.
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