1 . You look up at the sky on a clear and dark night, you’ll see more stars than your eyes can count. Most of these stars have planets, similar to our own, orbiting them. With so many celestial bodies floating out in space, you can’t help but question whether other forms of life exist in the universe. And if that’s the case, is it possible to contact them?

Science is still somewhat divided on this issue. Currently, no evidence exists to suggest that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. Yet with an estimated one trillion planets in our galaxy alone, it seems highly likely that Earthlings aren’t the only intelligent creatures out there. Some claim that life can only develop under perfect circumstances, and Earth is perhaps the only example of this. Other scientists object to this claim, and point out that even on Earth, life can find a way under the most extreme circumstances.

Some people believe that aliens have already visited our planet, but this information is being kept secret by governments. The most famous incident of this kind occurred in Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. On that date, many residents reported seeing an unusual flying disc streak through the sky, before it crashed in a field. When the military heard about the crash, they quickly sealed off the area. A few hours later, the army base announced that it had recovered a flying disk. Shortly after, this statement was retracted and it was said that it was a weather balloon that crashed. However, years later one local mortician even claimed that the military had him secretly perform an autopsy on a dead alien body.

Others believe that there certainly are other life forms out there, but the distance between us is too great. Even if we could somehow create a spaceship that travels at the speed of light, it would still probably take several lifetimes to reach them. Then again, we might never have to do this if aliens reach us first.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with the development of production, astronomy attained many achievements. The Ganshi Star Classic,     1    (write) between 375-350 BC, is the earliest astronomical work in the world. 

Gan De and Shi Shen respectively conducted astronomical observations in their own aspects     2     published their works to the world. They had     3     (systematic) observed the movements of the five planets, namely, gold, wood, water, fire and earth, and had     4     grasp of the laws of the movements of these planets for the first time. They recorded the names of 800 stars, and determined the positions of 121. Later     5    (generation)called the records of Gan De and Shi Shen’s determination of stars ”Ganshi Star Classic“. The Ganshi Star Classic is the earliest star table in the world, about 200 years earlier than the first     6     (Europe) star table created by a Greek astronomer. To date, their achievements     7     (recognise) internationally. Shi Shen was referred to     8    one of the outstanding contributors to world astronomy, after     9     the largest crater (环形山) on the back of the moon was named. Many later astronomers use the data in the ”Ganshi Star Classic“ when     10     (measure) the position and motion of the sun, moon and planets. Therefore, the ”Ganshi Star Classic“ occupies an important position in the history of astronomy in China and the world.

3 . A planet that suffers 475 C beneath a thick acid atmosphere may be the last place you'd expect alien (外星的) life in our solar system. But one NASA scientist claims that extraterrestrials (天外来客) are most likely hiding on Venus amid conditions that are unbearable for humans. The new theory was put forward by the research scientist Dr Michelle Thaller. She says that possible signs of life have already been seen within the carbon-dioxide filled atmosphere, adding that she was absolutely certain that life exists somewhere.

Venus is often described as Earth's twin due to its similar size and structure. But their conditions couldn't be further apart, as astronomers believe it would be impossible for humans to exist on Venus. Positioned 67 million miles from the Sun, Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system, suffering temperatures that can even melt lead. Its atmosphere also adds to the uninhabitable situation.

Despite this, scientists have long debated whether Venus' clouds may host microbial (微生物的) life forms that can survive. Many scientists think that photosynthesis (光合作用) is possible on the planet's surface as Venus receives enough solar energy to pass through its thick clouds.

However, Professor Dominic Papineau, a biologist at the University College of London, believes Dr Thaller's views are “difficult to realistically assume”. He explained, “For life-related chemical reactions to take place, liquid water is necessary. Hence, to find extraterrestrial life, we need to find liquid water, and to find extraterrestrial fossils requires looking for special rocks that were associated with liquid water in the past.”

This makes life on Venus today difficult to realistically assume, because its surface is too hot, although Venus might have had liquid water in its past. Even still, both Professor Papineau and Dr Thaller agree that the icy moons of our solar system could also be sites of potential microbial life. NASA suggests there are 290 “traditional moons” in our solar system-excluding 462 smaller minor planets.

4 . Interesting Space Facts

As time goes by, technological advancements have made us learn more facts about space in the past century than in all time before that. We’ve already searched the universe for the most amazing space facts, including facts about the planets in our solar system, moons, the Milky Way and beyond!     1    

The highest mountain discovered is the Olympus Mons, which is located on Mars. It is 16 miles high, making it nearly 3 times higher than Mount Everest.    2     That’s the size of Arizona !

The sun weighs about 330,000 times more than Earth.    3     In fact, the sun is so huge that it contains 99.85% of all mass in our solar system.

Footprints left on the moon won’t disappear as there is no wind. But wait a minute.

    4     Well, it actually wasn’t blowing. That blowing you see is because of a telescopic horizontal rod (望远镜水平杆) that the astronauts were struggling to remove from the flag’s top.

    5     This is due to the lack of gravity in space causing the vertebrae (椎骨) to expand a little. However, this extra height is lost when they re-enter the earth’s atmosphere and are affected by the earth’s gravity again.

6 . Surprised scientists say they now have absolute proof that life exists on Jupiter (木星). They’re receiving SOS signals radioed from the destroyed planet! Off the record, NASA higher-ups are analyzing that the signals were caused by the recent strike of Jupiter by comet fragments (彗星碎片).

“Theses signals can only be coming from an intelligent (智慧的) life form,” says Dr. Lucas Mirsch, a highly respected planetary astronomer with close ties to NASA. “Contrary to what we’ve believed for years, we’re not alone in the solar system. And based on what we can tell from the mathematical pattern of these signals, the residents of the largest planet in our galaxy are asking Earth for help.” Dr. Mirsch says NASA officials have absolutely confirmed that Jupiter is the source of the strange signals, which began in late June—just weeks before the comet fragments began to hit the giant planet.

“NASA has investigated every possibility that this could be a hoax,” says Dr. Mirsch. That is, it may be a trick. “State-of-the-art sensors have traced the point of origin to the exact position of Jupiter’s orbit. There’s simply nowhere else they could be coming from.”

One of the specialists who has analyzed the mathematical pattern of the sounds says he and his staff are 99 percent sure the message is an SOS of some sort. “It’s difficult to explain to the public,” said the expert. “But the frequency with which certain numbers occur in a coded message gives us clues about its general content. Although we can’t give an exact word- for-word translation, we can say with reasonable certainty that life-and-death urgency is being communicated.”

NASA won’t officially comment but Dr. Mirsch says, “There’s not much the agency can do to help. All we can do now is pray that Jupiter survives this terrible strike and that our two worlds can make contact again soon.”

On 15 May, the China National Space Administration (CNSA)       1    (say) that its Zhurong rover（探测器）had landed on Mars.

Zhurong is named after the god of fire in ancient Chinese mythology (神话). The rover       2     was sent to Mars on board the Tianwen-1 spacecraft took off in July 2020. Tianwen-1 has been moving around Mars since February this year,       3    (take) pictures of the surface to find the safest place for the rover       4    (land).

Zhurong landed in a part of Mars       5    (know) as Utopia Planitia. It is thought there might once have been sea there. Over the course of 90 Martian days, Zhurong will study the planet's surface. A day on Mars lasts about 24 hours and 39 minutes. The rover, which       6    (power) by solar panels (太阳能电池板), has cameras, a laser (激光)     7     a radar (雷达)．The radar will look for signs of water and ice up to 100 meters under the surface and the laser can be used to study         8     (rock) to see what they’re made of.

China has received worldwide praise for the       9    (success) landing. Thomas Zurbuchen, head of science at the US space agency NASA, said, “I look forward       10     the important influence this task will have on people’s understanding of Mars.