On this week’s news update...

Student Rocket

Students launch a rocket into space...

Arctic Landscapes

Dramatic changes to Arctic landscapes...

Comedy Wildlife

And the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards!

Space Track

First up… it’s Space Track.

Since 2005, members of the University of Southern California’s Rocket Propulsion Laboratory have been racing other students to design and build a rocket, and launch it into space!

Traveler IV

Their first three attempts failed, so let’s see if their new design, Traveler IV, is a success.

Five, four, three, two, one: ignition!

The liftoff goes well, but will the rocket make it into space?

The drogues have fired.

They’ve done it!

Traveler IV falls back to Earth.

It’s the first time a student-built rocket has reached space!

But with other students working on their own designs, it almost certainly won’t be the last.

Next up...

High Arctic

In a part of the world called the High Arctic, scientists have reported that the landscape is changing fast.

So what’s going on?

permafrost

The ground here is known as permafrost, meaning it’s always frozen.

Some of it has been frozen for thousands of years!

The permafrost here has lots of ice in it, which holds the ground together.

But as temperatures rise due to global warming, the ice is melting.

That makes the ground collapse, leaving huge craters.

Unlike at the ice caps, where rising temperatures are causing a steady increase in melting, in the High Arctic, just one unusually warm summer can cause big, sudden changes.

Permafrost collapse threatens wildlife, and destroys houses and roads, forcing people to move.

So it’s important to understand where and how fast it’s happening.

And finally…

Animals can be graceful, fierce, and, sometimes, very funny.

The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards is a competition celebrating those amusing moments!

Here are some of this year’s best entries.

A grumpy brown bear.

A well-hidden deer.

Some photographer squirrels.

And this icy monkey!

But it’s not all just for laughs.

One of the Awards’ goals is to encourage people to protect animals like these, by caring for the environment.

The competition is open till the end of June, so if you have a comedy wildlife photo, why not give it a try?

That’s all for this week. We’ll see you next time!