BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhuanet) – The following is a summary of published science and technology news from China.
MOON SAMPLES
Researchers have examined the lunar samples brought back from the Chang’e-5 mission and found that they are likely to be around 1.96 billion years old, shedding new light on the evolution of the moon.
The first research article on the Chang’e-5 samples, entitled “Age and Composition of Young Basalts on the Moon as Measured on Samples Returned by Chang’e-5,” was published online in Science Friday magazine.
CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity protection has been made a national strategy in China as part of the country’s efforts to improve biodiversity governance. A white paper published by the Council of State Information Office on Friday said the country had organized nationwide biodiversity surveys and established robust biodiversity monitoring and observation networks.
China has also increased funding and technology research and development efforts to improve biodiversity conservation and governance capacities, the white paper said.
ROAD TESTS OF SELF-DRIVING CARS
According to the Beijing Innovation Center for Mobility Intelligent, 278 roads with a length of more than 1,027 km in Beijing had been opened for testing of self-driving vehicles by the end of September.
So far, Beijing has issued temporary license plates for road tests to 165 self-driving vehicles from 16 companies including domestic internet giant Baidu and Chinese autonomous vehicle startup Pony.ai. Three companies among them have received approval to test their driverless cars with passengers on board.
