Saudi Astronauts on Board ISS Conduct Interactive Experiment with School Students

Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni carry out an interactive scientific experiment on heat transfer with high school students in the Kingdom. (SPA)
Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni carry out an interactive scientific experiment on heat transfer with high school students in the Kingdom. (SPA)
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Saudi Astronauts on Board ISS Conduct Interactive Experiment with School Students

Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni carry out an interactive scientific experiment on heat transfer with high school students in the Kingdom. (SPA)
Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni carry out an interactive scientific experiment on heat transfer with high school students in the Kingdom. (SPA)

Saudi astronauts Rayyanah Barnawi and Ali Al-Qarni have conducted an interactive scientific experiment on heat transfer with high school students in the Kingdom via satellite from the International Space Station (ISS).

 

The experiment allowed students to communicate with the two astronauts for questions and to compare results in microgravity environment with results on Earth. The astronauts, along with the students, were able to measure the variation in the speed of heat transfer in the microgravity environment compared to that on Earth. The results showed that heat travels at a slower speed through space than on Earth.

 

The experiment aims to motivate a new generation of Saudi leaders, explorers and scientists and achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 by building human resources and promoting a culture of research, development and innovation.

 

Such experiments seek to heighten the students' interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and grow human capital by attracting talent and developing the necessary skills. This will boost the Kingdom's role in developing the space sector, become an important part of the global community in space science research and invest in research, in the service of humanity.

 

The experiments are being organized by the Saudi Space Commission (SSC) in partnership with the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba), and Riyadh and Misk schools.



Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
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Japan Births in 2024 Fell Below 700,000 for First Time 

People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)
People walk along a pedestrian crossing at a shopping street Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP)

The number of births in Japan last year fell below 700,000 for the first time on record, government data showed Wednesday.

The fast-ageing nation welcomed 686,061 newborns in 2024 -- 41,227 fewer than in 2023, the data showed. It was the lowest figure since records began in 1899.

Japan has the world's second-oldest population after tiny Monaco, according to the World Bank.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has called the situation a "quiet emergency", pledging family-friendly measures like more flexible working hours to try and reverse the trend.

Wednesday's health ministry data showed that Japan's total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman is expected to have -- also fell to a record low of 1.15.

The ministry said Japan saw 1.6 million deaths in 2024, up 1.9 percent from a year earlier.

Ishiba has called for the revitalization of rural regions, where shrinking elderly villages are becoming increasingly isolated.

In more than 20,000 communities in Japan, the majority of residents are aged 65 and above, according to the internal affairs ministry.

The country of 123 million people is also facing increasingly severe worker shortages as its population ages, not helped by relatively strict immigration rules.

In neighboring South Korea, the fertility rate in 2024 was even lower than Japan's, at 0.75 -- remaining one of the world's lowest but marking a small rise from the previous year on the back of a rise in marriages.