technology

History was made yesterday as Austrian adventurer Felix Baumgartner jumped from a greater height and reached faster speeds than any other human ever has before. In a specially made helium balloon he rose to a height of 39km, on the edge of space, before jumping off.

The stunt was the culmination of seven years work and had already been put off several times in the past week after adverse weather conditions. Even when Baumgartner finally did get the chance to get off the ground the mission didn't go completely smoothly.

As the balloon made its slow ascent higher and higher above New Mexico the tension was palpable. Finally, after over two hours and at 128,100 foot above sea level, it reached its peak and Baumgartner was led through a number of pre-jump checks. It was only then that he discovered that a heater in his helmet wasn't working and his visor kept steaming up. Despite emphasising "this is very serious" over his radio, the team as a whole decided to continue with the jump.

You can't help but of heard of Gangnam Style in the last few weeks. First of all it flooded the internet and now it has broken free in to the real world. But what is it?

Gangnam Style is a song and dance from South Korean rapper Psy. Though well-known in his home country, the song only went worldwide after racking up millions of views on YouTube. It broke in to the UK top 40 singles chart two weeks ago and has been climbing ever since, reaching number 1 on Sunday. Along the way, it has broken all sorts of records:

• Psy is the first musician from South Korea to get a UK number 1
• The original YouTube video of the single is currently approaching 350 million views
• With almost 3.3 million ‘Likes' the single is the most ‘Liked' YouTube video of all time

Indeed, such has been the success of the song, that Psy has been signed by Justin Beiber's management team in America. If you haven't already seen it, here is the video in question:

One giant leap was made in the exploration of Mars today, as Nasa landed a one-tonne vehicle on the Red Planet. The robot is named Curiosity and will spend at least the next two years exploring the planet and sending back photos.

The landing this morning marked the completion of the first stage after 10 years of hard work, and the facts and figures are pretty remarkable. The project and 10-foot long robot will cost an estimated $2.5billion in total. Mars is 570 million km from Earth and Curiosity had to slow from 20,000km/h to just 0.6m/s in the space of seven minutes when entering Mars' atmosphere.

Barack Obama's chief science advisor, John Hodren made it clear quite how important the mission is when he explained:

"Landing the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity on the Red Planet was by any measure the most challenging mission ever attempted in the history of planetary exploration."

Within minutes of landing, Nasa were receiving the first low-resolution images from the robot (below), with much more detailed, colour images expected in the next few days. As well as sending back photos, Curiosity will be investigating an area called the Gale Crater. It will be taking samples and exploring rocks as it goes along, hoping to find evidence that very basic life may once have lived on Mars.

Surely seeing the ruins of Pompeii, or Stonehenge, or maybe the Palace of Versailles is a life ambition for most people? However, chances are, you haven't seen as many of the world's historic monuments that you would like to. To play on this, Google have introduced a new initiative called the World Wonders Project.

It allows people to see 132 historic sites from 18 different countries, using Google StreetView. As well as being able to explore each site online, the project also includes 3D models, pictures and YouTube videos of the sites. Google are hoping that not only will it be a quick new way to see sites you're interested in, but that it will also act as a learning resource.

Whilst the sites may not be quite as impressive as they are in real life, it is quite interesting and certainly a worthy 10 minute distraction from revision. You can find out more about the project in the video below, or start exploring at www.google.com/worldwonders.

You know those images that appear on your Facebook every now and then? You know, the funny ones of cats doing a dance or a student tricking their drunk friend. Everyone enjoys them right? Well, we've collected some of the best together for your pleasure below, so sit back, relax and enjoy. Which is your favourite?