Mars helicopter takes off on first flight
spaceNASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet
New Aussie high jump record hits 2m mark
sportAustralian Olympic team member Nicola McDermott has set a new national high jump record, becoming the first Aussie woman to break the two-metre barrier
Meet the Bee’s perfect score kids
spelling beeAs top scoring students nationally advance to the state and territory round, Kids News speaks to 10 of Australia’s perfect score kids. Discover their spelling secrets and how they are tackling the next stage of the competition.
Robot Sophia’s artwork sells for $900,000
artsArtwork created by a robot called Sophia has sold at auction for an amount equivalent to more than $900,000, paid in the form of a non-fungible token, or NFT
Mars helicopter takes off on first flight
spaceNASA’s experimental helicopter Ingenuity rose into the thin air above the dusty red surface of Mars on Monday, achieving the first powered flight by an aircraft on another planet
New Aussie high jump record hits 2m mark
sportAustralian Olympic team member Nicola McDermott has set a new national high jump record, becoming the first Aussie woman to break the two-metre barrier
Meet the Bee’s perfect score kids
spelling beeAs top scoring students nationally advance to the state and territory round, Kids News speaks to 10 of Australia’s perfect score kids. Discover their spelling secrets and how they are tackling the next stage of the competition.
Robot Sophia’s artwork sells for $900,000
artsArtwork created by a robot called Sophia has sold at auction for an amount equivalent to more than $900,000, paid in the form of a non-fungible token, or NFT
The school round of the Spelling Bee is now closed. Congratulations to all the students who took part and to those who will progress to the State/Territory finals.
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Volcanic eruption photo wins top prize
artsA photo titled The Landscape of Fear and showing a volcano erupting within an incredible electrical storm has won first prize in a global photography contest. See some of our favourite photos
Call for money lessons in schools
moneyThe Barefoot Investor, Scott Pape, believes schools should teach kids about earning, saving and spending money. Tell us what you think
Aussie 15-year-old breaks halfpipe world record
sportSnowboarder Valentino Guseli from Narooma, NSW, has jumped 7.3m and broken an 11-year world record for the highest halfpipe jump at the Halfpipe World Cup in Switzerland
Hi-tech mouthguards to help tackle concussion
healthJunior footballers could soon be wearing new hi-tech mouthguards fitted with data chips to monitor head knocks and concussions
Earth safe from asteroid hit
spaceAn asteroid that had threatened to crash into Earth has been removed from NASA’s ‘risk list’ for at least the next 100 years
Australia’s women’s cricket team triumph again
sportOur women cricketers have achieved a level of excellence that places them at least alongside famous sporting teams such as the Invincibles. But are they the best of the best?
Aussie athletes dressing for Olympic success
sportMembers of the Australian Olympic Team have revealed the Tokyo 2021 Games uniform. Meanwhile, FIFA has announced nine Australian cities will host Women’s World Cup matches in 2023
Captain Underpants author sorry for spin-off book
humanitiesA graphic novel spin-off of the Captain Underpants series is being pulled from libraries and bookstores after its publisher and author apologise
Leeches invade NSW homes after floods
animalsThe recent floods in NSW have brought more than just record rainfall – and bloodthirsty leeches are loving it
State and territory finalists announced
spelling beeA big congratulations to the students who have qualified for the next round of the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee. See the names of the spellers who are headed to the State/Territory Finals here
Aussie 100m sprinter breaks Olympics drought
sportRohan Browning is set to light up the track in Tokyo after running 10.05 seconds and becoming the first male Australian sprinter to qualify for the 100m at an Olympics in 17 years
Supermoon helps free stuck ship
geographyThe stars, sun, Earth and moon all aligned in Egypt this week, with the year’s first supermoon bringing the high tide needed to shift the massive ship blocking the Suez Canal
Boy in boat rescues people and pets from floods
humanitiesArchie Cross has displayed courage beyond his 13 years, rescuing about 10 residents and a handful of pets from their flooded homes in NSW with his little fishing boat
Surprise just-in-time find of tiny native fish
animalsThe future looks bright for the southern purple spotted gudgeon fish, a tiny native species twice declared regionally extinct and this time found in a lake just two days before it was to be drained
Meet Nemo, the peacock spider
animalsA newly discovered species of peacock spider with a bright orange face has been named after the clownfish from hit animated movie Finding Nemo
Aussie Dish to support Moon landings
spaceAustralia’s Parkes telescope will be part of one of the first commercial lunar landings, probably this year. The 64m telescope is valuable for spacecraft tracking due to its large dish surface
Thunder Birds, Australia’s big ugly ducklings
animalsAustralia was once home to the world’s biggest-ever bird, which weighed as much as a cow. Scientists have called Dromornis stirtoni an “extreme evolutionary experiment”
![CORRECTION / A handout picture released by the Suez Canal Authority on March 24, 2021 shows a part of the Taiwan-owned MV Ever Given (Evergreen), a 400-metre- (1,300-foot-)long and 59-metre wide vessel, lodged sideways and impeding all traffic across the waterway of Egypt's Suez Canal. - A giant container ship ran aground in the Suez Canal after a gust of wind blew it off course, the vessel's operator said on March 24, 2021, bringing marine traffic to a halt along one of the world's busiest trade routes. (Photo by - / Suez CANAL / AFP) / âThe erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by Marina PASSOS has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [STR] instead of [Marina Passos]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.â](https://content.api.news/v3/images/bin/a5ce0d188d3cc15ceeecabf71470c515?width=316)
Huge ship stuck sideways in Suez Canal
geographyA skyscraper-sized container ship 400m long has become wedged sideways across Egypt’s Suez Canal, blocking all traffic and threatening to disrupt global shipping
Of droughts and flooding rains
artsAustralian poet Dorothea MacKellar surely nailed it when she wrote her classic poem My Country in 1904. Mark Knight reflects on how it sums up this land of amazing contrasts
Mars helicopter ready to take flight
spaceNASA’s mini helicopter, Ingenuity, is set to make history on Mars by taking the first powered flight on another planet
Erupting volcano becomes tourist attraction
geographyThousands of curious onlookers are flocking to an erupting volcano in Iceland for a rare up-close look at its flowing red lava
Alice Springs students ready to take on Spelling Bee
spelling beeMore than 20,000 students from all corners of Australia have signed up to sit the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee, including these kids from the Northern Territory’s Ross Park Primary School. The school round of the competition closes on Friday
‘Lunar ark’ plan to store species’ DNA on the Moon
spaceScientists have mapped out a plan to store the DNA of 6.7 million species in a “lunar ark” on the Moon in case of a disaster on Earth
Photos to celebrate the spirit of adventure
artsA new photography competition named for famous Australian photographer, adventurer and explorer Frank Hurley has attracted more than 1200 entries from 26 countries
Kids’ screen time Aussie parents’ biggest worry
healthExcessive screen time is the number one health concern of Australian parents, according to The Royal Children’s Hospital National Child Health Poll of almost 2000 parents
The mystery of Mars’ missing oceans
spaceScientists have a new idea to test out about how Mars went from being a wet world to the desert it is today. Instead of escaping into space, they now believe water was absorbed into the surface
Spelling Bee has students in a buzz
spelling beeWith about 250 spellers ready to test their talent, Brentwood Park Primary School has one of the biggest groups of students sitting the Prime Minister’s Spelling Bee. Has your school signed up yet?
Sydney Swans change their song
sportAFL team the Sydney Swans have announced a more inclusive team song – part of a growing movement that includes the recent change to Australia’s national anthem
Great news in fight for handfish survival
animalsExperts are one step closer to saving the critically endangered spotted handfish, a cartoon-like creature that only lives in Tasmania’s Derwent Estuary and looks like it walks on its hands
Teaching honeyeaters to sing the right song
animalsMale songbirds usually learn their tunes from adult mentors, but when young birds lack proper role models, they hit all the wrong notes — and have less success attracting mates
Cyber bullies still a big problem for kids
safe kidsOne in two young people say they have been the target of cyber bullying with a quarter threatened with harm, according to new research that suggests the situation isn’t improving
Being fed to the Tigers at the home of footy
sportCartoonist Mark Knight celebrates the return of AFL to Victoria and the MCG and draws comparisons with the gladiatorial battles of Ancient Rome