Obama sets sights on Mars by 2030 and other top stories.

• Obama sets sights on Mars by 2030

  

  US President Barack Obama said the nation is relying on private industry to find ways to make the "giant leap" to Mars, with human missions on the horizon by the 2030s. Picture: Jim Watson.US PRESIDENT Barack Obama said this week the nation is relying on private industry to find ways to make the “giant leap” to Mars, with human missions on the horizon by the 2030s.The US president’s announcement confirmed a longstanding agreement to partner with commercial companies on future missions to deep sp..

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• One million hectares burnt in WA fire

  

  One million hectares burnt in WA fire

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• Discoveries May Rewrite History of China's Terracotta Warriors

  

  In the four decades since mysterious terracotta statues first came to light in northern China, archaeologists have uncovered a whole lifelike army. But that wasn’t the only secret hidden underground there. Stunning revelations are now rewriting the history of the great ruler who created this army as part of his final resting place. And a radical new theory even suggests that foreign artists trained his craftsmen. Known today as the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di left a legacy that would make..

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• Hundreds of ancient human footprints have been discovered near an African volcano

  

  Researchers have dated an ancient and incredibly rare collection of footprints on the mudflats beyond the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania. There are more than 400 footprints at the site, thought to have been left between 5,800 and 19,100 years ago. By knowing more about when these ancient footprints were committed to the dirt near the village of Engare Sero, it gives scientists a unique opportunity to figure out how these early African Homo sapiens might have lived and travelled.  Some of ..

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• Cicada wings inspire antireflective surfaces

  

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• The ex-Commander of the International Space Station chats about all things space, environment and perspective

  

  Our lives are so intertwined with the digital world that it can often be quite difficult to step back and get some perspective. Terry Virts knows all about that. Former Commander of the International Space Station, Virts has spent more than 200 days in space, and he’s gained a helluva lot of perspective about daily life on Earth, environmental degradation, and the Earth’s beauty. He’s also had a lot of time to think about humans colonising the universe, which we’re sure Elon Musk would love to ..

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• Is Proxima B Habitable? Scientists Think This Earth-Sized Exoplanet Could Have Oceans Of Water

  

  Today in news that’s bigger than all of us: More information surrounding the existence of Proxima B, the Earth-sized exoplanet near our sun has come to light. In case you missed it in August, recent discoveries have suggested that this planet could support life. But is Proxima B habitable, really? Could we actually live there? Unsurprisingly it’s a complex issue, but the conversation sure has generated a lot of buzz. Proxima B — also known by its full name, Proxima Centauri b — is about 1.3 tim..

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• 1994 Nobel Prize won by John F. Nash (A Beautiful Mind) goes to auction

  

  In April 2013, a Nobel Prize medal won by Francis Crick for the discovery of the structure of DNA sold for $2,270,500 – fifty times more than any prior Nobel Prize medal. The high price immediately catalyzed a new marketplace with prices exceeding $500,000 now the norm. Now one of the most famous Nobel Prizes is going to auction and the sky is the limit.When the final 2016 Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences is announced tomorrow (13 October, 2016), there will have been 579 Nobel Prizes awarded si..

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• An 'extinct' dolphin has been spotted in the Yangtze river

  

  Conservationists in China are experiencing unparalleled levels of hope after a thought-to-be-extinct dolphin was spotted in the famous Yangtze river. The banji dolphin, nicknamed the "goddess of the Yangtze", was declared functionally extinct nearly ten years ago, after scientists studying the region in December 2006 could not spot a single one during a six-week expedition project.   "It's possible that we missed one or two animals [during the search], but we can say the baiji is functionally e..

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Waves of relief after launch of NBN Co's Sky Muster II satellite .	Dance competition keeps Indigenous culture alive at Sydney Opera ... .
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