Ling Xin

1 week ago | scmp.com | Ling Xin

China has completed its first overseas new-generation radio telescope in northern Thailand, bolstering a global scientific network that monitors deep space signals and tracks subtle shifts in the Earth’s rotation and tectonic plates. The 13-metre (43-foot) radio antenna, jointly developed by the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory and the National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, was officially inaugurated in Chiang Mai on May 16, according to the observatory’s WeChat account.

1 week ago | scmp.com | Ling Xin

China is developing a rapid-response space defence system to intercept suspicious spacecraft and push them away, according to a senior scientist. If an unidentified object approaches China’s Tiangong space station or other critical space infrastructure, a small robotic thruster could be deployed to latch onto the intruder and push it to a safer distance, said Sun Zhibin of the National Space Science Centre in Beijing.

1 week ago | scmp.com | Ling Xin

China has launched an ambitious mission to bring asteroid samples back to Earth – part of broader efforts to explore the solar system and make advances in planetary science, resource utilisation and defence. The Tianwen-2 spacecraft lifted off aboard a Long March 3B rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in southwest China at 1.30am Beijing time on Thursday, according to the China National Space Administration.

2 weeks ago | scmp.com | Ling Xin

Xiang Zhang, a professor of genomics at the University of Cincinnati, drove more than 1,000 miles over two days to oppose a proposed law that would force him to sell his home, even though he is a US permanent resident. “I never thought that one day, I would have to stand here in front of you to defend myself solely because of my nationality,” he told a packed hearing room in the Ohio Statehouse on Tuesday morning, after cutting short a trip to make it back and give his testimony.

2 weeks ago | scmp.com | Ling Xin |Zhang Tong

The world’s first direct 5G satellite-to-smartphone broadband video call by scientists in China has raised new questions about the effectiveness of US restrictions on apps like TikTok. The technology could theoretically enable streaming video content directly to phones via satellites, however a Chinese expert on 5G standards said that it faced major regulatory, technical, and practical barriers.