CNN news 2014-03-15 加文本

cnn news 2014-03-15

CARL AZUZ, cnn ANCHOR: New information in the search for a missing passenger plane, but still no closure for families. This is cnn STUDENT NEWS. There`s little hope and a lot of grief for the families of 239 people. That was the number onboard Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared early Saturday morning. Word came out yesterday from Malaysia`s government that somehow the plane`s transponder was turned off. That`s an instrument that transmits altitude, location and direction. Malaysia`s air force was still able to track the flight as it apparently turned, and flew over the Straits of Malacca, hundreds of miles off course. Unfortunately, that`s where the answers end.

As of last night, there was still no sign of the plane. We can show you what it`s like to search the area near the plane`s last known location.

SAIMA MOHSIN, cnn CORRESPONDENT: This is no easy task. This C-130 plane has been carrying out regular search and rescue missions since flight MH- 370 disappeared. It`s the first time the minister for defense and transportation and the chief of defense force have been out to survey this massive operation. They invited cnn to join them.

(on camera): I have to put this life jacket on because we are now descending to just 500 feet above sea level. Lying low, the doors are opened for the search to begin. We flew past the number of ships, scouring the sea for the plane, those on board or any clues at all to what`s happened.

DATUK SERI HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN, MALAYSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER: I just want to find the plane, you know, at all costs and as long as we are still standing and as long as people are out there, praying for us, we will continue to (INAUDIBLE), and this is something that I will not stop. This is what I promised to families.

MOHSIN (voice over): We flew to the Malacca Straits to the west of Malaysia.

(on camera): For 16 ships surveilling this area, that`s more than 12,000 nautical square miles. They are joined in the air by 14 air crafts.

(voice over): And that`s just the area to the west of Malaysia. There are more than 30 aircraft and more than 40 ships in the entire operation. As we look how to cross these vast expense of water, far into the horizon, holding his hat in his hands, the minister tells me he`s over overwhelmed.

HISHAMMUDDIN HUSSEIN: When you are looking for something, this - sea, it`s a reality check. I have to find, what a huge craft like a triple seven, but we must never, never give up hope.

AZUZ: What`s next today, their countries may be at odds politically, but cooperation is strong in the space program. After five months on the international space station, an American, a Russian, and a native of Crimea made it safely back to Earth together on Tuesday. There is no space shuttle program, so you might be wondering how they got here. Well, here we go -they got onboard the Soyuz, a Russian space capsule, and rode it back toward the Earth. The Soyuz has a shield that protects it from the heat of re-entering Earth atmosphere. Once it`s there, a small parachute deploys, slowing the capsule down, then a larger one slows it further. And about two seconds before touchdown, some engines fire making the landing as soft as possible. NASA pays Russia`s space agency to transport American astronauts two and from the space station. Each trip costs the U.S. $71 million.

You might not be familiar with the name Tim Berners-Lee, but you probably can`t imagine life without his invention. You used it to view the show: The World Wide Web appeared on the scene 25 years ago today, and it made accessing the Internet a lot easier for untold numbers of people. But even in the mid-1990s, when there were some actual pages on it, they were sparse, think black or gray text on a white background, maybe a couple of low resolution pictures. It was slow. You want to visit a web page, be patient, it would load minute or two, or five.

Even six years after the Web was introduced, only 14 percent of American adults had Internet access. Now, it`s more than 77 percent of all Americans.