Israeli-German Sci-Fi Series Set to Film at Space Center in Israel’s Negev Simulating Life on Mars

Shiryn Ghermezian

Scientists participate in a demonstration of an experiment led by Austrian and Israeli agencies simulating a mission to Mars near Mitzpe Ramon, Israel October 10, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israeli and German networks have given the green light to a new live-action series about a group of teens who attempt to fly to Mars, only to land in the wrong place and be cut off from communication with Earth, Deadline reported.

DreaMars is being filmed in the first space simulation center in Israel, which simulates life on the Red Planet. The facility is in the area of the Ramon Crater (Makhtesh Ramon) in the southern Negev desert.

The 20-part series for teenagers is set in 2045 and focuses on a group of eight teens who go on a critical mission to Mars but fail — having only a few hours left before the electricity in their space suits runs out. The lead character is Emma, whose older sister was killed in a prior, failed space mission. She goes on the trip under a false identity and, together with the space minister’s daughter, helps the rest of the crew discover the truth about the previously failed expedition.

The show will air in 2023 on Israeli network HOT’s kids channel Zoom and Germany’s KiKA, and is a co-production between STORYZ Productions, SKLAN&KA, SAMKA and German broadcasters NDR, HR, SWR and RBB, Deadline reported.

“This ground-breaking series strongly appeals to both teens and space enthusiasts. We know space missions are of interest to kids globally right now, and the production teams have created something to build intrigue around — and cultivate — that interest,” said Dominic Gardiner, CEO of Jetpack Distribution, which is handling international sales for the show. “The global space industry is in a race to get to Mars, but our viewers will get there before everyone else! [And] due to the spectacular filming location at the Ramon Crater, the series will accurately reflect life on Mars.”

Palestinians May Try to Damage Evidence Related to Reporter’s Death, Israeli Sources Warn

Algemeiner Staff

A photo of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed in the West Bank city of Jenin on May 11, 2022. Photo: Reuters

Israeli officials told American and international counterparts that there is a suspicion that Palestinian authorities are trying to destroy or damage evidence related to the death of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, in order to make it impossible to determine who shot her, Yedioth Achronot reported on Thursday.

Israel is seeking a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority into the death of the Palestinian-American journalist, who was killed while covering an Israeli counter-terrorism operation on Wednesday in the Palestinian city of Jenin, from which several Palestinian terrorist attacks have been launched in recent weeks.

Israel Slams Palestinian Authority for Rejecting Joint Probe Into Reporter’s Death

Algemeiner Staff

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a ceremony for Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed while covering an IDF raid, in Ramallah in the West Bank May 12, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday said the Palestinian Authority is “preventing any possibility of a joint investigation” to determine whether Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Palestinian or Israeli gunfire, and withholding “access to the basic findings that would be necessary in order to reach the truth.”

Abu Akleh, 51, was fatally shot while covering an Israeli counter-terrorism operation on Wednesday in Jenin. Several deadly attacks against Israeli civilians originated from the Palestinian city during the recent terror wave, which has killed 19 people since March.

The PA swiftly blamed Israeli forces for her death, calling it an “assassination,” though a Palestinian forensics expert said on Wednesday that it was not yet possible to assign culpability based on an initial autopsy. The emir of Qatar, which owns Al Jazeera, likewise accused Israel of killing the Palestinian-American journalist while speaking at a press conference in Iran on Thursday.

Israeli officials have, in turn, said dozens of Palestinian gunmen, including members of Islamic Jihad, opened “indiscriminate” fire at Israeli forces during the operation and may have killed Abu Akleh, though the evidence remains inconclusive without further investigation. Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said Wednesday night that the government is seeking to carry out a forensic exam of the bullet that was pulled from Abu Akleh’s body to get definitive answers, and to share findings with both PA and American authorities.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday “we rejected” Israel’s request for a joint investigation, however, “because they committed the crime and because we don’t trust them. The PA “will go immediately to the International Criminal Court in order to track down the criminals,” he said.

Officials in the Biden administration were continuing to press Palestinian officials on the matter, Israel’s Channel 11 reported Thursday, with Israeli officials telling American counterparts that without Palestinian cooperation and a review of the bullet, it would be near impossible to establish the truth of the incident.

In a video released Thursday, Keren Hajioff, a spokeswoman for Bennett, reiterated that Abu Akleh’s death was “a tragedy,” and took issue with the PA’s refusal to share evidence. “Why are they rejecting a joint investigation? What exactly are they trying to hide?” she asked.

“Without any concrete evidence, hasty accusations against Israel that are being made right now are misleading and irresponsible,” she added.

News From Israel- May 12, 2022

ILTV Israel News

Biological life may have existed earlier than assumed – study

JERUSALEM POST STAFF

An analysis of a rock dating back 4.28 billion years produced proof that bacteria may have resided within it, challenging how old biological was assumed to have been.

Bacteria as seen under a microscope / (photo credit: WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE)

Diverse life forms may have developed earlier than previously thought, according to a study conducted by University College London (UCL), the US Geological Survey, the Memorial University of Newfoundland Canada, the Carnegie Institution for Science, University of Leeds and the China University of Geoscience.

The study, which was published in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, re-examined a fist-sized rock from Canada that is estimated to date back 3.75 to 4.28 billion years.

A previous study conducted on this rock found that its form had been manipulated by bacteria, but some scientists disagreed because this would date biological life forms to 300 million years earlier than was commonly accepted, so the research team examined the rock further to prove their hypothesis and found that its structure was far more complex than originally thought.

One of the new discoveries was a “tree-like” stem in the rock that the scientists determined was most likely biological because there is no evidence of chemistry creating anything like it.

Furthermore, the chemical makeup of the rock led researchers to believe that the bacteria that lived in it lived off iron, sulfur and possibly, carbon dioxide.

Bacteria (illustrative) (credit: REUTERS)

These findings suggest that there may have been a variety of microbial life forms on Earth as soon as 300 million years after its formation.

“Using many different lines of evidence, our study strongly suggest a number of different types of bacteria existed on Earth between 3.75 and 4.28 billion years ago,” said lead author of the study Dr. Dominic Papineau.

“In geological terms, this is quick – about one spin of the Sun around the galaxy.”

News From Israel- May 10, 2022

ILTV Israel News