TYB
Shamrocks out.
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
March 17, 2025
Thor's Helmet
Thor not only has his own day (Thursday), but a helmet in the heavens. Popularly called Thor's Helmet, NGC 2359 is a hat-shaped cosmic cloud with wing-like appendages. Heroically sized even for a Norse god, Thor's Helmet is about 30 light-years across. In fact, the cosmic head-covering is more like an interstellar bubble, blown by a fast wind from the bright, massive star near the bubble's center. Known as a Wolf-Rayet star, the central star is an extremely hot giant thought to be in a brief, pre-supernova stage of evolution. NGC 2359 is located about 15,000 light-years away toward the constellation of the Great Overdog. This sharp image is a mixed cocktail of data from narrowband filters, capturing not only natural looking stars but details of the nebula's filamentary structures. The star in the center of Thor's Helmet is expected to explode in a spectacular supernova sometime within the next few thousand years.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
‘Cockroaches, no chairs or desks, messy NASA: Employees describe offices as Trump’s work-from-office order resumes
Updated 17 Mar 2025, 11:32 AM IST
US federal government employees who were forced to return to working from office from January 20 have described chaotic workplace conditions in government buildings, including cockroach-infested offices, as they returned after years of working from home.
US President Donald Trump had ordered government employees to return to work full-time from their offices as part of efforts to reshape and reorient the 2.3 million strong federal workforce.
The administration seeks to cut “wasteful expenditure” and improve “efficiency” with the help of billionaire Elon Musk, the head of Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
‘Messy NASA’
At NASA headquarters in Washington, just a mile from the U.S. Capitol, employees returned to an infestation of cockroaches and some are working in chairs with no desks, according to two people familiar with conditions there, a Reuters report said.
"It's complete chaos at NASA headquarters," said Matt Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, a union that represents 8,000 federal NASA workers.
“If you don't have a desk or a computer you cannot do your job. People are much more unproductive.”
Biggs and a staff member at NASA headquarters said when employees returned to the building last month there were cockroaches on floors and bugs that came out of faucets.
Biggs and another NASA staff member said the noise and crush inside NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland has led some people to take meetings by phone inside their cars, using their personal hotspot to get internet access.
Some NASA workers ordered back to Goddard live up to 50 miles away, and are so worried about the commute time and traffic they are turning up before dawn and sleeping in their vehicles before it's time to start work, Biggs and the staff member said.
In a private chat, staffers at US Citizenship and Immigration Services likened the hunt for desks in some regional offices to "The Hunger Games," the popular series of novels and films where young people must fight to the death in a government-sanctioned contest.
Fights for chairs, desks
While most of the workers are returning to workplaces they left at the start of the 2020 pandemic, many others are teleworkers who had been working full-time from home or had a hybrid schedule that meant they worked only part of the time in an office.
Federal employees described fights for desks and chairs, internet outages, a lack of parking spaces, with some sitting on floors and others told to use their personal smartphone hotspots to gain computer access to government data.
And at an Internal Revenue Service office in Memphis, Tennessee, tax assessors sharing a training room are unable to discuss sensitive tax matters with clients over the phone out of fear of breaching privacy laws, according to one IRS manager who spoke to Reuters.
No internet, parking space
Reuters also viewed three back-to-work memos sent to staff, informing some of them that they won't have a workspace or internet access when they return.
The US Food and Drug Administration told staff it cannot guarantee desks or parking spots for the roughly 18,000 employees expected to report to offices.
To date more than 100,000 workers have left the federal government after being fired or taking a buyout, according to Trump administration figures and a Reuters tally of those fired. More large-scale cuts are under way.
Some labor unions say the chaotic execution of the return-to-work order is a deliberate ploy to force more federal workers to leave government by making workplaces stressful.
https://www.livemint.com/news/cockroaches-no-chairs-or-desks-messy-nasa-employees-describe-offices-as-trump-s-work-from-office-order-resumes-11742188718216.html
Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
“Stranded NASA astronauts thank Musk and Trump”
Mar 16, 2025, 10:49 PM
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114176199348948643
Rocket Lab launching 5 'Internet of Things' satellites tonight: Watch it live
March 17, 2025 9:31 p.m. EDT
Rocket Lab plans to launch five satellites for the French technology company Kinéis tonight (March 17), and you can watch the action live.
An Electron vehicle carrying five of Kinéis' "Internet of Things" spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 9:31 p.m. EDT (0131 GMT and 2:31 p.m. local New Zealand time on March 18).
Rocket Lab will stream the mission live, starting 30 minutes before launch. Space.com will carry the feed as well, if Rocket Lab makes it available.
If all goes according to plan tonight, the Electron will deploy the five satellites into a circular orbit 404 miles (650 kilometers) above Earth about 66.5 minutes after liftoff.
"High Five" will finish the assembly of Kinéis' 25-nanosatellite constellation. The other 20 spacecraft went up on four Electron launches, in June, September and November of 2024 and February of this year.
Thanks to this constellation, "Kinéis can connect any object from anywhere in the world and transmit useful data from these objects to users in near real time," Rocket Lab wrote in the "High Five" press kit, which you can find here.
"This data is a decision-making tool that can be used to optimize activities while reducing risks, thanks to three essential functions: tracking, monitoring and alerting," the company added.
"High Five" will be the fourth mission of 2025 for the 59-foot-tall (18-meter) Electron. The rocket's third launch of the year occurred just last Friday (March 14), when it sent a radar satellite for the Japan-based Earth-imaging company iQPS to orbit.
Electron flew 14 times in 2024, which was a new high for the vehicle. Rocket Lab also conducted two launches last year with HASTE, a modified suborbital version of Electron that serves as a testbed for hypersonic technology.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/rocket-lab-kineis-internet-of-things-high-five-launch
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/live-stream/
https://www.youtube.com/@RocketLabNZ/featured
NASA astronaut plays 100-year-old Irish flute while floating in outer space
17 March 2025, 11:44
A NASA astronaut with Irish heritage gave a musical ode to the Emerald Isle from the International Space Station, in celebration of St Patrick’s Day.
St Patrick’s Day is celebrated all around the world. But did you know it is literally celebrated around the earth?
On the International Space Station, which orbits Earth around 16 times a day, Irish American astronaut and Expedition 27 Flight Engineer Catherine Coleman played a pair of Irish melodies on a 100-year-old flute and a tin whistle while floating in the ISS on Saint Patrick’s Day in 2011.
The flute belonged to Matt Molloy and the tin whistle to Paddy Moloney, who are both members of the Irish music group The Chieftains.
“Happy St Patrick’s Day, and welcome to the International Space Station,” Coleman introduced the video, which was published by NASA.
“In my family we are a quarter Irish on each side, and somehow that adds up to much more than a half.
And I wanted to bring something up to space with me that would recognise my Irish heritage. And since I’m also a flute player, I thought, why not Irish flutes?
“I got to know the renowned band The Chieftains, and I asked them if they would mind if I borrowed some of their instruments and brought them on a little business trip.
I might not have mentioned that the trip would be six months long, and the flutes would have travelled several million miles before they came home….
“I’d like to reassure them that their treasures are just fine, they’re actually never far from home, because we fly over Ireland several times a day!”
“This lovely wooden flute belongs to Mr Matt Molloy of The Chieftains, and I’ve really loved having it up here. It’s just a beautiful instrument. And here in my pocket is a tin whistle from Paddy Moloney.
“Now even though I’m not a professional flute or whistle player, I’ve really felt privileged to have these instruments up in space with me. The penny whistle fits in my pocket and I can take it out whenever I have time to play.
And just looking at Matt’s flute floating around in the space station… it’s 100 years old, and I think the contrast of the old and the new, you wouldn’t think it but it’s exactly the right thing to float around in the middle of an orbiting space station.
“St Patrick’s Day is a day when people all over the earth recognise their Irish heritage, and now we’re doing that from space as well. Happy St Patrick’s Day from the International Space Station,” Coleman concluded.
Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is thought to have grown up in Britain in the fifth century and to have first come to Ireland as a slave kidnapped by the Romans.
Once set free, he became a priest and returned to the country as a missionary.
It is believed he would use shamrocks, now forever associated with St Patrick’s Day celebrations, to explain the idea of the Holy Trinity to pagans.
17 March marks the day St Patrick would have died around the year 461 AD. He is believed to have died in Downpatrick, where his grave now is, by the Down Cathedral.
St Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and an abundance of parades, street parties and céilis – traditional Irish gatherings involving dancing and music – take place all over the world, including this special musical moment from 250 miles overhead…
https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/instruments/flute/irish-nasa-astronaut-outer-space/
“The future of space is here” – Astroscale’s record-breaking mission tackles Earth’s space junk crisis with unprecedented success
March 17, 2025
In March 2025, a groundbreaking initiative took place in low-Earth orbit, marking a pivotal moment in space exploration and safety.
Astroscale, a pioneering company in space debris removal, embarked on a mission with its ADRAS-J spacecraft, aiming to tackle the growing problem of space junk.
This endeavor, the first of its kind, involved approaching a defunct rocket stage, signifying a major step forward in addressing the collision risks posed by accumulated space debris.
As space activities increase, the significance of such missions becomes ever more critical, promising a future where space remains a safe frontier for exploration and development.
Understanding the Space Junk Crisis
The accumulation of space debris has become a pressing issue in recent years, with a variety of spent rockets and defunct satellites orbiting Earth.
This debris poses a serious risk of collision with active satellites and spacecraft, potentially leading to catastrophic consequences.
The density of this orbital clutter has reached a point where it could severely impact current satellite operations and impede future space exploration initiatives.
Space agencies and commercial entities alike are increasingly concerned about the potential for these collisions to create further debris, in a phenomenon known as the Kessler Syndrome.
This scenario suggests that as more debris collides, it creates a cascade effect, generating even more debris and increasing the likelihood of future collisions.
Thus, the need for effective space debris removal systems is urgent and essential for maintaining the viability of space activities.
Astroscale’s Innovative Approach
Astroscale, a company headquartered in Japan, has taken a proactive stance in tackling the space debris issue.
Their mission, ADRAS-J, which stands for Active Debris Removal by Astroscale-Japan, is designed to test and demonstrate the technologies required to safely approach and potentially remove space debris from orbit.
The ADRAS-J mission represents a significant milestone as it is the first attempt to approach space junk in low-Earth orbit.
This mission utilized advanced guidance and navigation systems to maneuver close to a defunct rocket stage, showcasing the potential for future debris removal missions.
By successfully executing this maneuver, Astroscale has demonstrated the feasibility of their technology and paved the way for subsequent cleanup missions.
The Importance of Space Debris Removal
Removing space debris is critical for ensuring the continued safety and sustainability of space operations.
With thousands of satellites currently in orbit and more planned for the future, the risk of collisions increases exponentially.
Addressing the space junk issue is not just about protection but also about preserving the opportunity for future space exploration.
Effective debris removal can prevent potential disruptions to services reliant on satellites, such as weather forecasting, communications, and GPS navigation.
Moreover, it opens the door for new space ventures, including tourism and mining, by ensuring that the orbital environment is safe for all operations.
As such, initiatives like those undertaken by Astroscale are of paramount importance to the future of space activities.
Future Prospects and Challenges
While Astroscale’s ADRAS-J mission marks a significant step forward, there remain numerous challenges to widespread space debris removal.
One of the primary obstacles is the cost associated with developing and launching debris removal systems.
Additionally, the legal and regulatory frameworks governing debris removal operations are still evolving, with issues such as liability and ownership needing resolution.
Despite these challenges, the future prospects for space debris removal are promising.
Innovations in technology, coupled with increased collaboration among international space agencies and private companies, are likely to drive progress in this field.
The success of missions like ADRAS-J could serve as a catalyst, encouraging further investment and development in debris removal technologies.
https://www.sustainability-times.com/environmental-protection/the-future-of-space-is-here-astroscales-record-breaking-mission-tackles-earths-space-junk-crisis-with-unprecedented-success/
https://astroscale.com/missions/adras-j/
Chinese scientists design insect-inspired robot for space mining
Updated: 2025-03-17 16:34
A team of Chinese scientists has created a six-legged "space mining robot" inspired by insects, which could be used for prospecting and mining on the moon or asteroids in the future.
Unlike drilling on Earth, a robot's surface-penetrating operations on the moon, where gravity is just one-sixth of Earth's, or on low-gravity asteroids, present significant challenges.
The researchers from the China University of Mining and Technology (CUMT) drew inspiration from insect locomotion, woodpecker climbing dynamics, and origami techniques to design an innovative bionic robot for asteroid exploration.
"The robot features an arrayed claw-spine structure that enhances its attachment and grip in microgravity," said Liu Xinhua, the team's leader from CUMT.
The robot is equipped with three wheel legs and three claw legs. The wheels can handle relatively smooth asteroid terrain, while the anchor structures tackle rocky and loose-soil areas.
Its wheels are made of nickel-based titanium memory alloy, allowing them to quickly regain their shape after external force.
This design is expected to withstand the extreme temperature fluctuations and radiation of space effectively.
The team has also constructed a specialized testing site mimicking the sandy soil of near-earth asteroids and employed a suspension system to replicate microgravity conditions.
The research team has already applied for a patent for the prototype of this space mining robot.
China plans to launch the Chang'e 7 probe around 2026 to survey the lunar south pole. Chang'e 8, set for launch around 2028, will conduct lunar resource utilization experiments.
Together with Chang'e 7, it will form the basic model of an international lunar research station by 2035.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202503/17/WS67d7de96a310c240449db40f.html
The Alps Are Melting: Four Decades of Glacier Loss Captured From Space
March 16, 2025
The Alps, home to the iconic Aletsch Glacier, are undergoing a dramatic transformation. Satellite imagery spanning four decades reveals a stark retreat and thinning of this once-massive ice formation.
With over 1,300 meters lost since 1984, Aletsch and its neighboring glaciers are shrinking at alarming rates.
A scorching 2024 summer only worsened the crisis, stripping Swiss glaciers of 2.5% of their volume. Meanwhile, Central Europe has lost nearly 40% of its glacial ice in the past two decades.
The Alps: A Majestic Yet Changing Landscape
Stretching over 1,000 kilometers and spanning eight European countries, the Alps are one of the world’s largest and highest mountain ranges.
They are home to thousands of glaciers, including the Great Aletsch Glacier (Grosser Aletschgletscher) in southwestern Switzerland, the largest in the range. However, like many glaciers in the Alps, Aletsch is steadily retreating and thinning.
A comparison of satellite images taken over the past 40 years reveals this ongoing transformation.
The Thematic Mapper (TM) on Landsat 5 captured an image of the glacier in September 1984 (lower image above), while the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 provided an updated view in August 2024 (upper image above).
As of March 2025, obtaining a new, unobstructed image remains challenging due to seasonal snowfall covering parts of the glacier. Even in late summer, some visible differences may be due to lingering snow.
Despite this, the shrinking length and width of the glaciers are unmistakable. (Some of the smaller glaciers toward the right side of the image are partially obscured by clouds.)
Glacier Retreat and Ice Loss
The shortening and narrowing of a glacier’s surface area—parameters visible in Landsat images—can indicate a net loss of ice mass.
For example, imagine two equal-sized bowls filled with different amounts of water; the bowl with less water would display a lower surface height and smaller area. The same is generally true for glacial ice that flows along U-shaped valleys.
According to the Swiss Glacier Monitoring Network (GLAMOS), Aletsch has retreated more than 1,300 meters (4,300 feet) since 1984.
It has also thinned, contributing to the glacier’s narrower appearance in the 2024 scene. In the span of four decades, GLAMOS data indicate that the glacier has lost 43 meters of water equivalent.
Neighboring Glaciers Also in Retreat
Aletsch’s neighbors also show decline, albeit more subtly. Since 1984, Oberaletsch Glacier to the left has retreated more than 240 meters, and Fiescher Glacier to the right has retreated more than 1,000 meters.
These images follow a particularly warm summer in 2024 that melted the abundant snowfall from the previous winter, according to news reports. Swiss glaciers that year lost 2.5 percent of their volume.
Global Glacier Trends: A Larger Crisis
Glaciers in other parts of the world, such as Alaska in the United States, have contributed more in terms of total mass loss, according to a recent assessment of the glacier mass changes in regions across the planet between 2000 and 2023.
However, the largest relative losses during that period occurred in areas with smaller glacial area. Central Europe, for example, which includes Switzerland, lost 39 percent of its glacial ice during that time.
https://scitechdaily.com/the-alps-are-melting-four-decades-of-glacier-loss-captured-from-space/
Yes, this photo shows NYC from space shortly after 9/11
March 16, 2025
For years, a picture circulated online allegedly showing a plume of smoke rising from New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, all from the view of the International Space Station (ISS).
A Reddit user posted the photograph in early March 2025 along with the caption: "There was one American astronaut aboard the ISS on September 11, 2001. This is the picture he took."
A similar Reddit thread in 2019 received 51,000 "upvotes," and, in September 2011, the image appeared in news stories marking the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
A reverse image search on TinEye brought up 1,438 results as of this writing, many of which were more than a decade old.
In short, the photograph is authentic. NASA has a page on its website titled "Astronaut Frank Culbertson Letter from September 11, 2001," which hosts the picture in question along with journal entries by astronaut Frank L. Culbertson Jr., who was commander of the space expedition.
NASA's caption for the photo reads, in part: "The image shows a smoke plume rising from the Manhattan area.
The orbital outpost was flying at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. The image was recorded with a digital still camera."
In his journal on Sept. 12, 2001, Culbertson explained how he felt when he first learned about the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
"The flight surgeon told me they were having a very bad day on the ground. I had no idea … He described the situation to me as best he knew it at ~0900 CDT.
I was flabbergasted, then horrified. My first thought was that this wasn't a real conversation, that I was still listening to one of my Tom Clancy tapes."
The astronaut continued, referencing fellow crew members Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov:
I zipped around the station until I found a window that would give me a view of NYC and grabbed the nearest camera.
It happened to be a video camera, and I was looking south from the window of [Mikhail's] cabin.
The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city.
After reading one of the news articles we just received, I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible …
I panned the camera all along the East Coast to the south to see if I could see any other smoke around Washington, or anywhere else, but nothing was visible.
It was pretty difficult to think about work after that, though we had some to do, but on the next orbit we crossed the US further south.
All three of us were working one or two cameras to try to get views of New York or Washington.
There was haze over Washington, but no specific source could be seen. It all looked incredible from two to three hundred miles away. I can't imagine the tragic scenes on the ground.
Other than the emotional impact of our country being attacked and thousands of our citizens and maybe some friends being killed, the most overwhelming feeling being where I am is one of isolation.
Further, NASA's image and video library hosts a gallery of pictures from the space station on Sept. 11, 2001, and surrounding dates.
Elsewhere, NASA wrote Culbertson was the only American crew member aboard the space station during the 9/11 attacks, as was claimed in the Reddit post.
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/nyc-space-911/
https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/1j83jse/there_was_one_american_astronaut_aboard_the_iss/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxtlzby4YjM
Cosmonaut's chilling last words in final transmission as he fell from space
15:54 16 Mar 2025 GMT
Russian cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was allegedly struggling to operate his spacecraft before dying on re-entry to Earth in 1967.
Although the names of original Moon-landers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin are synonymously attached to the vast dark surrounding our planet, Komarov also entered the explorative history books by becoming the first human to lose his life on a spaceflight all those years ago.
A month after his 40th birthday, Komarov manned a 24-hour solo orbit of Earth in the Soyuz 1 test flight, which completed 16 orbits before a parachute failure caused his capsule to smash into the ground and explode.
This unfortunate 'man who fell from space' recorded one final transmission that will chill you to the core.
The two solar panels of the Soyuz 1 failed to fully deploy upon orbital insertion, which consequently obscured parts of Komarov's navigation equipment.
He needed to orient his ship to the Sun, but failed to do so after a number of attempts.
To make matters worse, the craft was transmitting unreliable status details and lost radio communication with the Soviets on the ground.
Later, Komarov was ordered to reorient himself using ion flow sensors, but they failed and he didn't have enough time to manually reenter until his 19th orbit.
He successfully re-entered Earth's atmosphere only to find that a main braking parachute wasn't working as it should. At ridiculous speed, his ship landed without any air resistance and killed him on impact.
Interestingly, US listening posts situated in Turkey caught Komarov's final and furious conversation with a high-ranking official of the Soviet Union, Alexei Kosygin, which was controversially published in the 2011 book Starman by Jamie Doran and Piers Bizony.
"This devil ship! Nothing I lay my hands on works properly!" he's said to have cried.
Conversely, an official transcript of their devastating exchange from the Russian State Archive claims that one of the last things Komarov told Kosygin was:
"I feel excellent, everything's in order. Thank you for transmitting all of that. [Separation] occurred."
In Doran and Bizony's historical account, it's also suggested that the late astronaut's ship harboured over 200 structural problems that were known before it took off on the mission.
Komarov’s backup pilot, the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin, allegedly argued for their mission to be postponed.
Sadly, Komarov tragically plummeted to the ground and was killed in an explosion on 24 April, 1967.
According to reports, his charred remains resembled a ‘lump’ and only his heel bone was recognisable.
https://www.ladbible.com/news/science/cosmonaut-vladimir-komarov-last-words-space-074607-20250316
NOAA to Host Industry Day on Planned Space Weather Observations Contract
March 17, 2025, 9:38 am
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has scheduled a virtual industry day on March 27 for parties interested in securing an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the agency’s space weather environmental observations project.
According to NOAA’s draft request for proposal on the potential contract posted on SAM.gov Friday, the contractor overall will provide a multi-mission operations service architecture supporting all observations of the agency’s Space Weather Next, or SW Next, project.
Draft RFP Feedback Sought
The agency is also initially soliciting feedback on its draft RFP for the project’s single-award, IDIQ contract wherein particular requirements shall be identified on the task order level.
The draft RFP’s list of task orders that may be issued include providing NOAA and its non-affiliate operations staff the capability to monitor and operate space weather observatories during all phases of mission activities.
A contractor may also be tasked to work with the agency’s ground antenna services in the development and modification of interfaces used in planning and obtaining telemetry and tracking.
Another potential task involves hosting NOAA satellite simulators for pre-launch and operations.
The deadline for the submission of feedback on the draft RFP is on April 15.
https://executivebiz.com/2025/03/noaa-space-observation-contract-discussion/
https://sam.gov/opp/0132fbc4250444dca0be48b3899e01bc/view
Mars could have an ocean's worth of water beneath its surface, seismic data suggest
March 17, 2025
Persuasive new evidence supporting the possibility of liquid water deep underground on Mars has come to light in a new analysis of seismic data from NASA's InSight lander.
In 2024, researchers proposed that the deep subsurface of the Red Planet, particularly between 7.1 and 12.4 miles (11.5 and 20 kilometers) down, is soaked in liquid water, a conclusion they base on the velocities of seismic waves detected during marsquakes.
Now, researchers Ikuo Katayama of Hiroshima University and Yuya Akamatsu of the Research Institute for Marine Geodynamics in Japan have found supporting evidence for this claim of liquid water deep inside Mars.
"Many studies suggest the presence of water on ancient Mars billions of years ago," said Katayama in a statement. "But our model indicates the presence of liquid water on present-day Mars."
Like the previous research, this new study is based on seismic data collected by the SEIS (Seismic Experiment for the Interior Structure) instrument that was part of the InSight mission, which operated on the surface of the red planet between 2018 and 2022.
SEIS was the first ever seismometer to operate on Mars, and it was sensitive to three different types of seismic wave emanating from marsquakes.
These were: P-waves, which oscillate back and forth similar to how a sound wave propagates; S-waves which oscillate up and down, perpendicular to the direction of travel; and surface waves, which travel along the surface of Mars similar to ripples in a pond.
The new research was focused on the subterranean P-waves and S-waves. P-waves are the faster seismic waves, while S-waves are slower and cannot travel through water because liquid does not permit that kind of oscillation perpendicular to motion.
Seismometers measuring these two different types of seismic wave can help reveal the density and composition of the underground medium (such as water, or rock) through which those waves travelled, based on how strong their signals are and how long it took them to reach the seismometer.
With that in mind, Katayama and Akamatsu honed in on two transitional regions in the seismic data, where there appear to be sudden changes in the properties of the interior of the Red Planet at depths of 6.2 to 12.4 miles (10 and 20 kilometers), very close to where previous studies claim to have found evidence for liquid water.
Previously, geophysicists had argued that these transitions represent the difference between volcanic materials above and ejecta from impacts buried below, and a change from porous rock (i.e. filled with cracks and hollows) to solid rock at 12 miles (20 kilometers) deep.
But there's more to it than this, say Katayama and Akamatsu. According to their analysis of the P-waves and S-waves detected by SEIS, there is water in the porous rock, filling the cracks and hollows between 6 and 12 miles (10 and 20 kilometers) deep.
To test their hypothesis based on the seismic data, the two researchers performed tests on diabase rocks (a type of igneous rock also known as dolerite) from Rydaholm in Sweden.
These rocks are one of the best terrestrial analogs to Martian rocks, and Katayama and Akamatsu found that in wet conditions the diabase rocks returned similar seismic signatures as what SEIS was detecting.
Previous studies estimated that there could be enough water deep underground on Mars to cover the surface in a global ocean between 0.62 to 1.24 miles (1 and 2 kilometers) deep.
The existence of so much liquid water, if confirmed, could suggest the possibility of "the presence of microbial activity," said Katayama.
Sadly, there's no way we could reach that water, or any life that might exist down there, with current technology. Until we can, the mysteries of Mars, along with its water, will remain buried for the time being.
https://www.space.com/the-universe/mars/mars-could-have-an-oceans-worth-of-water-beneath-its-surface-seismic-data-suggest
https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/52/12/939/648640/Seismic-discontinuity-in-the-Martian-crust
Beam back to the USS Callister in mind-bending new trailer for 'Black Mirror' Season 7 on Netflix
March 17, 2025
Netflix's "Black Mirror" is a provocative, imaginative, and often extremely disturbing sci-fi horror TV anthology that represents some of the best material on the streaming titan, and now a bold new Season 7 trailer has been unleashed with a callback to one of the finest episodes of Season 4 (and perhaps the entire series) titled "USS Callister."
Crafted as an unsettling examination of some of humanity's most repressed fears and anxieties, creator Charlie Brooker's "Black Mirror" has unapologetically tapped directly into the vein of our deepest nightmares since its debut in 2017.
Now the upcoming six-installment seventh season will revisit this "Star Trek"-inspired chapter from 2018 with a direct sequel to that critically-lauded sci-fi fantasy episode exploring the nature of identity in an addictive virtual reality environment.
Check out clips from all six stories in this enticing Season 7 preview:
In the original episode's "Galaxy Quest"-like opening sequence, Captain Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons) and his valiant crew are aboard a retro-designed starship battling with a feral foe named Valdack (Billy Magnussen), who narrowly escapes with some valuable energy crystals after the cruel Daly obliterates his intimidating spacecraft.
We soon realize this is a next-generation VR simulation of a vintage TV show called "Space Fleet" and that Daly is actually the mild-mannered Chief Technical Officer of the immersive game's corporation, Callister Inc.
Those fawning colleagues aboard the USS Callister are actually trapped employees and owners of the company.
His genius is responsible for inventing the Infinity program in which the realistic simulation exists, but now he’s been relegated to the punchline of in-office jokes, sidelined by the brash CEO James Walton played by "Westworld's" Jimmi Simpson.
When Nanette Cole, an alluring Callister new hire (Cristin Milioti), enters his life, Daly incorporates her character (by harvesting DNA from a coffee cup!) into the colorful "Space Fleet" simulation, imprisoned like the others as freshly-avatared "Tron"-style crew member while the outer space adventure plays out in Daly's private bubble universe inside Infinity’s pixelated realm where he’s the sadistic overlord.
The near feature-length episode ends on an uplifting note despite the horrors of "Space Fleet's" digital clone game grid.
Milioti will reprise her role for the rare sequel episode after discovering a way to escape from Daly using an update patch from the real world interpreted in the game as a wormhole.
She’ll be joined by original cast members Billy Magnussen, Milanka Brooks, Osy Ikhile, and Jimmi Simpson.
Netflix's "Black Mirror" Season 7 arrives on April 10, 2025.
https://www.space.com/entertainment/beam-back-to-the-uss-callister-in-mindbending-new-black-mirror-season-7-trailer
Rocket Lab Expands Its Space Empire With Mynaric Acquisition
Mon, March 17, 2025 at 6:54 AM PDT
Rocket Lab USA, best known for its Electron rocket and satellite launches, is making a big move to expand its role in the space industry.
The company is acquiring Mynaric (MYNAY), a German firm specializing in laser-based satellite communicationa technology that's becoming essential for secure, high-speed data transmission between satellites.
Bringing Mynaric's expertise in-house strengthens Rocket Lab's position in national security and defense contracts. It also makes financial sense.
Mynaric has faced production delays and financial struggles, allowing Rocket Lab to scoop it up for $75 millionfar less than the $300 million previously invested in the company.
If certain revenue targets are met, an additional $75 million may be paid, but even at full price, it's a steal. The deal also gives Rocket Lab its first European base in Munich, further expanding its reach.
Rocket Lab's stock has been all over the place. Over the past year, shares soared 350%, crushing the S&P 500's 9% gain.
But in the past month, RKLB has dropped over 30%, signaling a steep near-term correction. Despite that, it's still up 150% in the past six months.
Year to date, though, RKLB is down 26%, showing a rocky start to 2025.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asia-extend-stock-rally-chinese-222731061.html
https://www.rocketlabusa.com/updates/rocket-lab-announces-intention-to-acquire-mynaric-leading-laser-communications-provider-in-latest-strategic-step-toward-becoming-an-end-to-end-space-company/
NASA gets extension to submit layoff plans
March 17, 2025
NASA has received an extension to a White House directive to develop a plan for cutting the agency’s workforce, saying its current workforce has been too busy.
In a statement to reporters late March 14, NASA said the administration granted the agency a one-week extension on a plan to reorganize and reduce the agency’s workforce, citing several ongoing missions.
“In compliance with the President’s Workforce Optimization Initiative, NASA continues to work on our broader reorganization plan,” the agency stated.
“Considering a variety of agency priorities this week, including the launch of SPHEREx and PUNCH, as well as preparations for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 launch Friday, and other agency missions, the agency received a one-week extension on our initial submission.”
A Feb. 11 executive order directed agencies to develop plans for “large-scale” layoffs.
“Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law,” it stated, with initial plans for such layoffs due in 30 days, or March 13.
NASA and other agencies received additional direction for those plans, formally known as Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans, or ARRPs, in a Feb. 26 memo from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The Phase 1 ARRPs require agencies to, among other topics, identify ways the agency will “achieve efficiencies” though hiring freezes, attrition and RIFs; jobs within the agency that are considered essential and should be exempted from RIFs; and even if “the agency or any of its subcomponents should be eliminated or consolidated.”
That would be followed by a Phase 2 ARRP, due April 14.
NASA and other agencies are required to submit a “future-state organizational chart” reflecting consolidation and any plans to move offices from the greater Washington area to “less-costly parts of the country.”
Agencies will also have to provide “competitive areas for subsequent large-scale RIFs.”
NASA has already started to lay off staff. The agency said March 10 that it was closing the Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy; the Office of the Chief Scientist; and ta branch of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
Those closures resulted in laying off 23 people. NASA Acting Administrator Janet Petro, in a memo announcing the layoffs, said the agency was working with OPM on “a thoughtful approach” to future layoffs.
“While this will mean making difficult adjustments, we’re viewing this as an opportunity to reshape our workforce, ensuring we are doing what is statutorily required of us, while also providing American citizens with an efficient and effective agency,” she wrote.
The recent and proposed layoffs, along with rumors that the White House will propose cutting NASA’s science budget by as much as 50% in its fiscal year 2026 proposal to be released this spring, have alarmed many in the space community.
“Cutting NASA’s science budget by 50% would be a devastating misstep for the country,” Jim Green, former NASA chief scientist, said in a statement March 11 by Explore Mars, an advocacy group whose advisory board he chairs.
He cited the research, inspiration and soft-power benefits of NASA’s science programs. “Reducing funding would cripple these efforts, ceding leadership in space to other nations and stifling scientific advancements that fuel economic growth.”
NASA officials have said they have no information about planned cuts of that magnitude.
“That is complete speculation,” said Charles Webb, acting director of NASA’s planetary science division, of a 50% cut during a town hall session at the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference March 10.
“I have no indication that that is the truth,” he said, but acknowledged it could turn out to be. “I’m not going to spend time planning for that scenario when the likelihood of that is unknown to me.”
https://spacenews.com/nasa-gets-extension-to-submit-layoff-plans/
Firefly Aerospace wraps up successful Blue Ghost 1 mission
March 17, 2025
Firefly Aerospace says that its Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander mission has ended as expected, completing all its objectives.
Operations of Blue Ghost 1 ended with a final transmission around 7:15 p.m. Eastern March 16, after 346 hours — nearly 14 and a half days — of operations in sunlight and an additional five hours after the sun set at its Mare Crisium landing site.
The spacecraft returned more than 119 gigabytes of data, including 51 gigabytes of science and technology data from its 10 NASA-sponsored payloads. The company said that the lander met 100% of its mission objectives.
“We’re incredibly proud of the demonstrations Blue Ghost enabled from tracking GPS signals on the moon for the first time to robotically drilling deeper into the lunar surface than ever before,” Jason Kim, chief executive of Firefly, said in a March 17 statement about the end of the mission.
Those payloads also include cameras to monitor of plume of material kicked up by the spacecraft’s engines as it landed on the moon.
Other payloads examined the feasibility of an electrodynamic dust shield to remove regolith from spacecraft surfaces and a system that uses nitrogen gas to collect regolith samples.
The lander was able to observe a March 14 eclipse a bonus objective, seeing the sun eclipsed by the Earth, creating a bright ring as sunlight passed through the Earth’s atmosphere.
The observations after sunset were intended to characterize the dust environment, including looking for any evidence of dust levitation.
Firefly reported no major issues with Blue Ghost since its March 2 landing. Lander operations were curtailed during the middle of the lunar day, something the company planned to compensate for the heat during that time.
Firefly had a $101.5 million task order from NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to fly the payloads on Blue Ghost 1.
Agency officials had already praised the success of the mission as proof CLPS is working as intended after three other landers either failed to make it to the moon or suffered hard landings that limited their activity.
“So overall, it’s been a fabulous, wonderful proof positive that the CLPS model does work,” Brad Bailey, assistant deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said during a NASA town hall meeting at the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference March 10.
The success of Blue Ghost 1 stands out since it was the company’s first attempt to land on the moon.
“This team continues to make near-impossible achievements look easy, but there is no such thing as an easy moon landing, especially on your first attempt,” Will Coogan, Blue Ghost chief engineer at Firefly, said in the company statement.
“We battle tested every system on the lander and simulated every mission scenario we could think of to get to this point.” He also praised the team who worked on the mission.
“Our team may look younger and less experienced than those of many nations and companies that attempted moon landings before us, but the support we have for one another is what fuels the hard work and dedication to finding every solution that made this mission a success.”
Firefly has two more lunar lander missions under contract through NASA’s CLPS program. Blue Ghost 2, scheduled for launch next year, will attempt a landing on the lunar farside, delivering payloads for lunar seismology and for cosmology.
It will also deploy ESA’s Lunar Pathfinder communications satellite in orbit, while the company’s own Elytra Dark spacecraft serves as a communications relay in orbit.
Blue Ghost 3, scheduled for launch in 2028, will return to the near side of the moon, carrying astrophysical and lunar science payloads that include a small rover.
https://spacenews.com/firefly-aerospace-wraps-up-successful-blue-ghost-1-mission/
https://fireflyspace.com/blue-ghost/
Constellr releases first-light imagery of Tokyo
March 17, 2025
German startup Constellr released first-light imagery March 17 from Skybee-1, the initial satellite in its thermal-imaging constellation.
With Skybee-1 data, Constellr created a detailed map of the heat distribution for Tokyo’s buildings, parks and waterways.
“Temperature is the key environmental variable for determining human activity,” Constellr CEO Max Gulde told SpaceNews.
“Looking at Tokyo, you can immediately identify how the rivers are cooling when they’re moving out of the city. You can identify industrial activity.
You can see the health of infrastructure, which is tremendously important when it comes to predictive maintenance and city planning.”
Skybee-1, the first satellite in Constellr’s High-precision Versatile Ecosphere (HiVE) constellation, launched Jan. 14 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare. A second Skybee satellite is scheduled to launch this summer.
With a resoution of 30 square meters per pixel, Skybee-1’s will usher in “a new era for thermal intelligence,” Gulde said. “I am of the conviction that thermal intelligence will play a very big role in driving business decisions.”
Water and Climate Monitoring
For decades, government agencies had a monopoly on thermal-imaging satellites. In recent years, startups have raised money, built instruments and begun launching satellites to provide thermal data to farmers, firefighters, government agencies and commercial customers.
In 2023, the European Commission and European Space Agency awarded a contract to Constellr for thermal-infrared imagery. The Germany Space Agency DLR awarded Constellr a multiyear contract in September.
“Capturing land surface temperature at this level of detail will be invaluable for monitoring urban heat, water stress, and climate resilience,” Peggy Fischer, mission manager of ESA Third Party Missions and Copernicus Contributing Missions, said in a statement.
“This achievement demonstrates the potential of high-resolution thermal data to support a wide range of environmental and climate applications.”
With Skybee-1, constellr will gather thermal imagery of equatorial areas every four days. The second Skybee satellite will double the revisit rate.
Digital Twin
In addition to ingesting data from its own satellites, Constellr is creating a digital twin of Earth.
“We can take low-resolution public data, calibrate it against our data and super sample it, so we have a continuous, high-resolution representation of this AI-driven model,” Gulde said.
“This massively reduces the cost per produced data point, because we can interpolate between data points.”
https://spacenews.com/constellr-releases-first-light-imagery-of-tokyo/
The Space Advocate Newsletter, March 2025
Mar 17, 2025
In a stunning report by Eric Berger at Ars Technica, we learned that the White House is considering a staggering 50% cut to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in the 2026 budget request.
Such a dramatic cut, if implemented, would have widespread negative consequences, including the cancellation of nearly every planned spacecraft project, the premature termination of active missions throughout the Solar System, and the rapid constriction of the related scientific and technical workforce in the United States.
It would be nothing short of an extinction-level event for NASA’s science activities.
While no formal budget submission has been made, this report is credible. It is consistent with the administration’s stated spending goal and, notably, with a proposal released by the conservative think tank, Center for Renewing America, in 2023.
This alternative budget declared that “every executive branch agency must focus on its core mission. For NASA, that is Deep Space Exploration, putting Americans back on the Moon, and looking to Mars…The Budget also proposes a 50% reduction in NASA Science programs and spending.”
I reference this document because the organization’s founder and President, Russell Vought, is now the Director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which is responsible for the upcoming budget request.
The report’s characterization of NASA’s core mission contradicts the agency’s responsibilities as codified by U.S. law.
In fact, NASA’s very first objective is “the expansion of human knowledge of the Earth and of phenomena in the atmosphere and space” (51 U.S. Code § 20102 (d) (1)). Interestingly, “deep space” is not mentioned at all.
The Planetary Society is mounting a vigorous advocacy campaign to protect NASA science, beginning with our initial statement, congressional action, and reframing our upcoming Day of Action’s advocacy priorities.
More will come in the coming weeks and months. I am encouraged that, in the first 48 hours, space advocates sent more than 12,000 messages to Congress arguing against cuts to space science.
Further workforce disruptions hit NASA last week. The agency announced it was disbanding the offices of its Chief Scientist, Chief Technologist, and the Office of Technology and Policy Strategy.
This was the prelude to the “RIF,” Reduction In Force, and stems from an Executive Order directing all agencies to plan for “large-scale reductions in force” and submit initial plans on March 13.
Members of the House Science Committee demanded to see NASA’s plan immediately, though no information was public at the time of writing.
In better news, the Senate released a bipartisan NASA Authorization bill, which would chart a far steadier path for the agency.
The bill includes a “reaffirmation” for the Space Launch System (SLS), continued endorsement of Artemis, Mars Sample Return, and a balanced NASA science portfolio.
The House has yet to release its version of the bill.
Until next month,
Casey Dreier
Chief of Space Policy
The Planetary Society
https://www.planetary.org/space-advocate/the-space-advocate-newsletter-march-2025
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/03/white-house-may-seek-to-slash-nasas-science-budget-by-50-percent/
Houthi missile, drone attack on US Navy ships failed, official says
March 17, 2025 19:29
The Houthis' retaliatory missile and drone attack on US Navy ships in the Red Sea did not come close to hitting any American vessels, a US official confirmed, after President Donald Trump's administration launched a new series of airstrikes targeting the Yemeni group, Report informs via ABC News.
The Houthis claimed on Sunday to have fired 18 ballistic missiles and a drone at the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier group in two separate attacks over the previous 24 hours.
The strike, the group said, "succeeded in thwarting a hostile attack the enemy was preparing to launch against our country."
A US official stated that the Houthis fired 11 drones and one ballistic missile, none of which came close to hitting any US vessels.
All drones were downed by fighters 10 shot down by Air Force planes and one by Navy planes while the ballistic missile was not intercepted as it fell far short of the vessels, the official said.
The Houthi retaliation came after a wave of US airstrikes in Yemen beginning on Saturday, which Trump described as "decisive and powerful military action" against the Iranian-backed group.
The Houthis have been targeting Western-linked shipping and launching munitions into Israel since the fall of 2022, in protest of Israel's war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
A US official confirmed to ABC News on Sunday that US air and naval assets hit dozens of Houthi targets in Yemen, including missiles, radars and drone and air defense systems.
The official characterized the attacks as an opening salvo against the Houthis that sends a strong message to Iran.
The Yemeni Health Ministry said the strikes killed 53 people and injured 98 more.
https://report.az/en/other-countries/houthi-missile-drone-attack-on-us-navy-ships-failed-official-says/
Mysterious drone caught on video in Ukraine warzone
Mar 17, 2025
Ukraine’s defense forces have begun using a new type of interceptor drone.
The introduction of these drones was reported by the Ukrainian defense outlet “Militarnyi.”
A recently released photograph and video fragment provided to the publication show an unidentified drone passing at high speed near a Russian reconnaissance UAV.
The footage has drawn attention due to the drone’s previously unseen design, prompting efforts to analyze its capabilities.
The video suggests that the drone was intended to collide with the Russian UAV or detonate in close proximity to neutralize the target. However, in this instance, the interception attempt was unsuccessful.
One of the most striking aspects of the new drone is its aerodynamic design. It features a cross-shaped rear wing structure, while the forward section includes additional wings with vertical control surfaces.
A closer examination reveals that the drone’s horizontal and vertical rudders are located in the front section, while the rear wings appear to serve solely for stabilization without active control mechanisms.
The deployment of such drones reflects Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to counter Russian UAV operations, which have played a critical role in reconnaissance and battlefield surveillance.
https://defence-blog.com/mysterious-drone-caught-on-video-in-ukraine-warzone/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfIFjd0ef9Y
China launches 8 new satellites
2025-03-17 16:44:45
China on Monday launched a CERES-1 carrier rocket, placing eight satellites into space.
A CERES-1 carrier rocket carrying eight satellites blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China on March 17, 2025.
The rocket blasted off at 4:07 p.m. (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China and sent the Yunyao-1 55-60 satellites into the preset orbit.
https://english.news.cn/20250317/25635d679b4a413080325eb8f5bf60df/c.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aG8vbgzDU4