First Drive

The Astronomy, Technology and Space Science News Podcast.<br />SpaceTime with Stuart Gary Series 24 Episode 29<br />*First drive for the new Mars Perseverance rover<br />NASA’s new Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has undertaken its first tentative test drive across the red planet’s surface.<br />*A new map of binary star systems near the Sun<br />Astronomers have developed the most comprehensive map ever achieved of binary star systems within the Sun’s local neighbourhood -- covering some 1.3 million binary star systems within three thousand light-years from the Sun.<br />*New satellite to monitor Russia’s northern frontier<br />Russia has launched its first Arctic climate satellite. The Arktika-M spacecraft was launched aboard Soyuz 2.1b rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan.<br />*The Science Report<br />The South African Variant of COVID-19 even stronger than thought.<br />Mushrooms found to boost antioxidants and control sugar levels.<br />Neandertals found to perceive and produce human speech.<br />The International Atomic Energy Agency is deeply concerned with nuclear material in Iran.<br />Alex on Tech looks at the problem with Zoom<br />Help SpaceTime become a completely listener-supported podcast.<br />SpaceTime is an independently produced podcast (we are not funded by any government grants, big organisations or companies), and we’re working towards becoming a completely listener supported show...meaning we can do away with the commercials and sponsors. We figure the time can be much better spent on researching and producing stories for you, rather than having to chase sponsors to help us pay the bills.<br />That's where you come in....help us reach our first 1,000 subscribers...at that level the show becomes financially viable and bills can be paid without us breaking into a sweat every month. Every little bit helps...even if you could contribute just $1 per month. It all adds up.<br />By signing up and becoming a supporter at the $5 or more level, you get immedia