(CNN) — Rocket launches are like opening a box of chocolates, only riskier — you never know what you’re going to get.
And there is always a chance that things can explode.
As humans, we can’t help but be drawn to spectacles. When a rocket is set to leap off the launchpad, there’s a good chance of seeing a stunning liftoff or a spectacular failure.
The lead-up to this week’s launch of SpaceX’s Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, was a dramatic roller coaster.
Years of explosive tests, increasing hype and a multitude of hurdles culminated in what SpaceX CEO Elon Musk called “an exciting test launch” on Thursday morning — but not everything went according to plan.
Defying gravity
Initially, the historic first test flight of Starship appeared to be going smoothly. The rocket blasted off from the launchpad in South Texas and roared 24.2 miles (39 kilometers) over the Gulf of Mexico.
When it was time for the rocket boosters to separate from the spacecraft, the entire stack lost some of its engines and began to tumble before the flight termination system triggered a midair explosion.
Musk and SpaceX regard the test as successful because it completed a number of objectives for a vehicle that could carry astronauts to the moon or Mars one day.
But the company will have to work through challenges to achieve significant milestones before Musk’s vision becomes a reality.
A long time ago
Analysis of ancient DNA is bringing a powerful empire out of the shadows of history.
There are few written records of the Xiongnu, a dynasty of nomadic people who conquered distant places on horseback and pushed China to build its Great Wall.
Now, a genetic investigation of two cemeteries in present-day Mongolia has revealed new insights about the rival of imperial China that rose to power in the second century BC. The empire’s population was likely multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual, given how genetically diverse its people were.
Chinese rulers regarded the Xiongnu as barbarians. But among the graves, researchers found elaborate tombs, including one of an elite woman buried with golden artifacts and the remains of six horses and a chariot.
Once upon a planet
Happy Earth Day to the “Blue Marble” we call home.
Our world supports about 8.7 million species, but some of them are dwindling. Award-winning conservation photographer Anthony Ochieng Onyango devotes his time to capturing images of decreasing populations, such as the roan antelope.
Onyango said he hopes his photos of rare animals will inspire action to protect wildlife and their habitats from destruction before some species reach the tipping point of extinction.
If you would also like to help protect hubs of diverse animal life, including the ocean, try to avoid single-use plastics, shop smarter for personal care products and choose sustainable fish at the market.
Want more ideas on how to help the planet and reduce your eco-anxiety? Sign up for CNN’s limited newsletter series Life, But Greener.
Fantastic creatures
Northern elephant seals look cozy as they take 10-hour naps on the beach during breeding season. But these marine mammals have to work hard just to catch two hours of sleep per day during monthslong foraging trips at sea.
Researchers arrived at a surprising finding after strapping caps to some of the seals and analyzing their brain waves.
The seals adapted to catch short naps during 30-minute deep dives to the bottom of the ocean, holding their breath all the while.
Once safely out of reach of predators, the seals experience sleep paralysis and spiral down in a corkscrew pattern like falling leaves — and wake up in time to keep from drowning.
Climate changed
The sudden disappearance of the Vikings from Greenland and why they abandoned a successful settlement there after 400 years has long intrigued historians.
Now, researchers have a new theory about why the Vikings abruptly departed in the mid-15th century: rising sea levels.
The sea levels rose up to 9.8 feet (3 meters), likely flooding some of the fertile lowland and creating increasingly difficult conditions for the Norse settlement.
Centuries later, global sea levels are on the rise due to the human-driven climate crisis — and Earth’s ice sheets lost enough ice over the past 30 years to create an ice cube 12 miles high.
Discoveries
Bookmark these findings for your next water cooler conversation:
— A brilliant starburst captured in a new image by the James Webb Space Telescope reveals what happened when two spiral galaxies crashed into each other.
— The natural world is a wild place, where carnivorous plants might lure prey using specific scents and worms get the munchies when exposed to cannabinoids.
— A lavish 2,000-year-old winery discovered among ruins might have doubled as an entertainment venue that turned winemaking into a theatrical show for wealthy Romans.
And before you go, here’s everything you need to know about observing the Lyrids meteor shower this weekend!
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
