Reuters Science News Summary
Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Private company wins U.S. clearance to fly to the moon
A Florida-based company won U.S. government permission on Wednesday to send a robotic lander to the moon next year, the firm's founder said, marking the first time the United States has cleared a private space mission to fly beyond Earth's orbit. The Federal Aviation Administration's unprecedented go-ahead for the Moon Express mission also sets a legal and regulatory framework for a host of other commercial expeditions to the moon, asteroids and Mars.
Hear! Hear! Exquisite fossils preserve ear of prehistoric whale
Fossils unearthed in a South Carolina drainage ditch are providing insight into the development of ultrasonic hearing in prehistoric whales, a trait closely linked to their uncanny ability to hunt and navigate using sound waves and echoes. Scientists on Thursday described fossils of a newly identified dolphin, called Echovenator sandersi, that thrived in shallow, warm seas about 27 million years ago, with one of the
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