With Opposition support, the Australian Government has rushed through new laws to force device makers and software companies to enable law enforcement and intelligence organisations to access encrypted communications.

A virtual reality driving simulator for the aged is being trialed in Invernell in NSW. It aims to assess and enhance driving skills to improve road safety and give those who've stopped driving a taste of the real thing.

An Australian/Israeli start up has developed a clean, efficient and cost effective new fuel comprising a stable mix of hydrogen and water. We talk to Michael Simonetti, the digital marketing expert entrusted with spreading the story of this intriguing new technology which he says will change the world.

Finally, after technical issues delayed the mission by 2 years, NASA's latest outpost on the red planet is safely established at Elysium Planitia. InSight will use a crane to deploy surface instruments to study Mars' interior, listen for marsquakes and drill several meters beneath the landing site with a heat probe.

Victoria is following in the footsteps of the world's biggest battery at the Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, building new battery sites in Ballarat and Gannawarra. Australia is one of nine countries leading the big battery charge and is tipped to be a global leader in grid-scale battery storage.

Australia's national science agency is spending up on space technology and AI. Objectives include improved food security and quality, health and well being, better security for Australia and our region, improved response to drought and management of food resources and better genome and climate data to help with crops and livestock performance.

After 11 years in space and historic orbits of 2 separate objects in the main asteroid belt, the Dawn mission is over. Part of NASA's Discovery Program, Dawn was a huge success, demonstrating cutting-edge ion propulsion and vastly improving our knowledge of the origins of the solar system, the large asteroid Vesta and the dwarf planet Ceres, a startling and exotic world believed to once have an ocean.

Kids are amazing: energised and enthusiastic about science, tech and how to take best advantage of the internet of things. Three young winners of Australia's 'Little Big Ideas Competition' will go on an all-expenses-paid innovation adventure to the US, including a visit to NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Simon Mulvany of Save The Bees Australia has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Capilano Honey for years. Here he provides startling revelations about the leadership of Capilano in the person of Ben McKee, the company's CEO. He says his battle is partly about free speech and reckons in future there'll be benefits from his case for other activists.

The China Academy of Space Technology is aiming high, with an orbiter, lander and rover mission to Mars scheduled for 2020. Thirteen payloads will be carried, including ground-penetrating radar and a methane-sensitive spectrometer to look for hints of biological processes. But getting there aint easy, with more than half of all Mars missions ending in failure.