Saudi Arabia to Host International Chemistry Olympiad 2024

AAWSAT AR
AAWSAT AR
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Saudi Arabia to Host International Chemistry Olympiad 2024

AAWSAT AR
AAWSAT AR

The Saudi Chemistry Team achieved outstanding success at the 55th edition of the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO 2023) held in Switzerland from July 16 to July 25, 2023, winning four prestigious international awards.

Curing the event, the President of IChO handed over the competition's flag to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, designating it as the host for the 56th IChO, to be held in Riyadh from July 22 to July 31, 2024.

Among the winners, Mohammed Al-Hadlaq, a third-year secondary school student from Riyadh Education Department, earned a silver medal after an extensive journey of preparation and qualification, totalling 3,209 hours, at King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity "Mawhiba." Similarly, Ali Al-Saleh, also a third-year secondary school student from Riyadh Education Department, achieved a silver medal following the same rigorous 3,209 hours of training.

Furthermore, Ali Al Mousa, a second-year secondary school student from the Eastern Province Education Department, secured a silver medal with a total of 2,314 hours of training. Similarly, Hassan Al-Khalifa, a second-year secondary school student from the same educational department, was awarded the silver medal after completing the same 2,314 hours of training.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a remarkable record in the IChO, with a total of 14 silver medals, 25 bronze medals, and two certificates of appreciation, showcasing its excellence in the global competition, SPA reported.

The Secretary-General of Mawhiba, Dr. Amal Al Hazzaa, attributed this exceptional success to the unwavering support of the Saudi leadership in line with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. The vision aims to instil confidence in the abilities of young talents, enabling them to compete on the global stage and fostering a generation of innovators capable of engaging with scientific knowledge and envisioning the future.

 



Tech Billionaire Returns to Earth after First Private Spacewalk

This still image taken from a SpaceX and Polaris broadcast on September 12, 2024, shows US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman (EV1) peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. (Polaris Program / AFP)
This still image taken from a SpaceX and Polaris broadcast on September 12, 2024, shows US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman (EV1) peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. (Polaris Program / AFP)
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Tech Billionaire Returns to Earth after First Private Spacewalk

This still image taken from a SpaceX and Polaris broadcast on September 12, 2024, shows US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman (EV1) peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. (Polaris Program / AFP)
This still image taken from a SpaceX and Polaris broadcast on September 12, 2024, shows US fintech billionaire Jared Isaacman (EV1) peeking out to space from a hatch structure called "Skywalker", during the first private spacewalk performed by the crew of the SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission. (Polaris Program / AFP)

A billionaire spacewalker returned to Earth with his crew on Sunday, ending a five-day trip that lifted them higher than anyone has traveled since NASA’s moonwalkers.

SpaceX’s capsule splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico near Florida's Dry Tortugas in the predawn darkness, carrying tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, two SpaceX engineers and a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot.

They pulled off the first private spacewalk while orbiting nearly 460 miles (740 kilometers) above Earth, higher than the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope. Their spacecraft hit a peak altitude of 875 miles (1,408 kilometers) following Tuesday’s liftoff.

Isaacman became only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk since the former Soviet Union scored the first in 1965, and SpaceX’s Sarah Gillis the 265th. Until now, all spacewalks were done by professional astronauts.

During Thursday's commercial spacewalk, the Dragon capsule’s hatch was open barely a half-hour. Isaacman emerged only up to his waist to briefly test SpaceX’s brand new spacesuit followed by Gillis, who was knee high as she flexed her arms and legs for several minutes. Gillis, a classically trained violinist, also held a performance in orbit earlier in the week.

The spacewalk lasted less than two hours, considerably shorter than those at the International Space Station. Most of that time was needed to depressurize the entire capsule and then restore the cabin air. Even SpaceX's Anna Menon and Scott “Kidd” Poteet, who remained strapped in, wore spacesuits.

SpaceX considers the brief exercise a starting point to test spacesuit technology for future, longer missions to Mars.

This was Isaacman’s second chartered flight with SpaceX, with two more still ahead under his personally financed space exploration program named Polaris after the North Star. He paid an undisclosed sum for his first spaceflight in 2021, taking along contest winners and a pediatric cancer survivor while raising more than $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

For the just completed so-called Polaris Dawn mission, the founder and CEO of the Shift4 credit card-processing company shared the cost with SpaceX. Isaacman won’t divulge how much he spent.