NASA and Chinese officials are in talks to allow American scientists to analyze moon rocks retrieved by China, as the US seeks improved communication with Beijing on space issues. China became the third country to collect rocks from the lunar surface with its Chang'e-5 mission in 2020. Its subsequent Chang'e-6 mission made China the first country to bring back rocks from the far side of the moon. China's state security ministry has accused foreign spy intelligence agencies of trying to steal secrets from its space program, as space becomes a new 'battlefield for military struggle.' Chinese startup Deep Blue Aerospace plans to sell tickets for space tourism flights in 2027, with the first two tickets priced at $211,000. The company will offer more tickets next month for a suborbital flight. Archaeologists have discovered two lost cities in Uzbekistan that thrived along the Silk Road trade route from the 6th to 11th centuries AD. The cities are among the largest known from the mountainous sections of the Silk Road.