Science News Roundup: NASA names woman, Black astronauts to Artemis II crew in lunar first; Former fighter pilot to be first Canadian to fly to the moon and more

Many started making satellites while others including Beijing Tianbing focused on developing reusable rockets that can significantly cut mission costs. Former fighter pilot to be first Canadian to fly to the moon NASA on Monday said Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will join a lunar flyby mission expected to take off for the moon in 2024 as part of an expedition that will make the former fighter pilot the first Canadian to explore beyond earth's orbit.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

Private Chinese firm scores first with liquid-propellant rocket launch

Beijing Tianbing Technology Co on Sunday successfully launched a kerosene-oxygen rocket, becoming the first private Chinese launch company to send a liquid-propellant rocket into space and taking another step towards developing reusable rockets. Chinese commercial space firms have rushed into the sector since 2014, when private investment in the industry was allowed by the state. Many started making satellites while others including Beijing Tianbing focused on developing reusable rockets that can significantly cut mission costs.

Former fighter pilot to be first Canadian to fly to the moon

NASA on Monday said Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will join a lunar flyby mission expected to take off for the moon in 2024 as part of an expedition that will make the former fighter pilot the first Canadian to explore beyond earth's orbit. Hansen, 47, will be joined by three U.S. astronauts for a historic crewed mission to the moon that will be the first since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago.

Deepest-ever fish caught and filmed off Japan by scientists

Fish have been caught more than 5 miles (8 kilometres) under the surface of the ocean for the first time ever - and filmed even deeper - by a joint Japanese-Australian scientific expedition. The expedition's chief scientist, Professor Alan Jamieson, said on Monday that two snailfish were caught in traps set 8,022 metres underwater in the Japan Trench, south of Japan, during a two-month voyage by a team from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Tokyo University of Marine Science.

NASA names woman, Black astronauts to Artemis II crew in lunar first

NASA on Monday named the first woman and the first African American ever assigned as astronauts to a lunar mission, introducing them as part of the four-member team chosen to fly on what would be the first crewed voyage around the moon in more than 50 years. Christina Koch, 44, an engineer who already holds the record for longest continuous spaceflight by a woman and was part of NASA's first three all-female spacewalks, was named as a mission specialist for the Artemis II lunar flyby expected as early as next year.

(With inputs from agencies.)