Pentagon releases new batch of UFO files, China's Tianwen-2 reaches asteroid, and more science news

Trailblazing aviator Wally Funk, known for being part of the Mercury 13, the first female FAA inspector, and briefly holding the record as the oldest person in space, has died at age 87. Her remarkable career spanned decades.

The US Department of Defense continued its transparency efforts by releasing the fourth batch of declassified UFO documents on a public database. This batch includes reports from NASA, the Department of Energy, the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the FBI, spanning decades. The documents contain firsthand accounts, illustrations, photos, and videos. Additionally, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence announced the formation of a new panel to study UAPs, led by physicist Avi Loeb.

China's Tianwen-2 spacecraft has successfully reached its target, the near-Earth asteroid 2016HO3, also known as Kamo'oalewa. The China National Space Administration released an image taken from 20 kilometers away. The probe will spend several months in the asteroid's vicinity before landing to collect a sample, which is expected to return to Earth in late 2027. The asteroid is a quasi-satellite, about 100 feet in diameter, and will remain near Earth for a few hundred years. After its asteroid mission, Tianwen-2 will head to comet 311P.

Other science news this week include the appearance of space metal balls on Australian beaches, a DIY tutorial for photographing Jupiter with a Game Boy Camera, China becoming the second country to recover a rocket booster, FCC approval of a controversial sun-reflecting space mirror, and NASA transferring Maryland woodland to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.