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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
May 3, 2025
Titan: Moon over Saturn
Like Earth's moon, Saturn's largest moon Titan is locked in synchronous rotation with its planet. This mosaic of images recorded by the Cassini spacecraft in May of 2012 shows its anti-Saturn side, the side always facing away from the ringed gas giant. The only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere, Titan is the only solar system world besides Earth known to have standing bodies of liquid on its surface and an earthlike cycle of liquid rain and evaporation. Its high altitude layer of atmospheric haze is evident in the Cassini view of the 5,000 kilometer diameter moon over Saturn's rings and cloud tops. Near center is the dark dune-filled region known as Shangri-La. The Cassini-delivered Huygens probe rests below and left of center, after the most distant landing for a spacecraft from Earth.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
What Happened To NASA Astronaut Anne McClain's Glove? ‘Slice’ Issue During Spacewalk Explained
Updated May 3, 2025, 01:18 IST
NASA astronaut Anne McClain faced a minor scare during a historic all-female spacewalk on May 1, when she noticed a potential defect in her glove just before stepping out of the International Space Station (ISS).
McClain and her fellow astronaut Nichole Ayers were suited up in their Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs) for a 5-hour, 44-minute mission which was to upgrade the station's power systems.
One of their key tasks was to install a mounting bracket for a future solar array that could boost the ISS’s power capacity by up to 30%.
It was the third spacewalk for McClain and the first for Ayers. This was also the fifth all-female spacewalk in history.
Less than an hour into the operation, McClain said she saw a “slice” in the index finger of her right glove.
“If I bend it, it is at the corner of where the finger bends. When I bend it, it opens up,” she told mission control in Houston.
NASA flight controllers checked the issue using footage from McClain’s helmet camera.
After a detailed inspection, it was determined that the said 'slice' "posed no risk to McClain" and was a loose string on the Turtleskin fabric used in the glove’s making.
“Using Thursday’s imagery and imagery of a similar glove configuration from past spacewalks, NASA determined it was a string along the turtle skin portion of the glove,” NASA said in a statement to Futurism.
"The string posed no risk to McClain, and the spacewalk was able to proceed," they added.
McClain’s role in this spacewalk also has an interesting story behind it.
CBS reported that she was supposed to take part in NASA’s first all-women spacewalk in 2019 but was replaced because the right spacesuit size wasn’t available.
This is a common issue women astronauts have faced with NASA’s older suit designs.
Despite the brief issue with the 'slice' on the glove, the mission ended successfully, with the astronauts completing all their planned objectives.
https://www.timesnownews.com/world/us/us-news/what-happened-to-nasa-astronaut-anne-mcclains-glove-slice-issue-during-spacewalk-explained-article-151552989
Back to Earth
May 02, 2025
The Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft is pictured backing away from the International Space Station shortly after undocking on April 19, 2025.
Three hours later, the spacecraft landed in Kazakhstan, returning astronaut Don Pettit and cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner to Earth.
While aboard the International Space Station, Pettit conducted hundreds of hours of scientific investigations, including research to enhance on-orbit metal 3D printing capabilities, advance water sanitization technologies, explore plant growth under varying water conditions, and investigate fire behavior in microgravity, all contributing to future space missions.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/back-to-earth/
Eta Aquariid Meteor Shower To Peak Night of May 5
May 2, 2025
Ahh, spring. Trees are budding, flowers are blooming. Birds are singing and baseball is back. As the old English proverb says, April showers bring May flowers.
And skywatchers will soon have an additional reason to enjoy nature’s regeneration – the Eta Aquariid meteor shower, which will streak across the night sky following April’s Lyrid meteor shower.
The Eta Aquariid meteor shower peaks during early May each year. Known for their speed, the meteors are active this year from April 20 to May 21. The meteor shower will peak the night of May 5 into the morning hours of May 6.
“The light from the waxing Moon will wash out the fainter meteors this year – expect to see at most 10-15 meteors per hour just before dawn on the morning of the 6th.” said Bill Cooke, who leads NASA’s Meteoroid Environments Office at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
To catch the meteors at their peak, go outside around 2 a.m. local time on May 6 and lie on your back.
Look away from the Moon, and give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the dark. Avoid looking at bright lights, such as your cell phone, too, as this will take your eyes off the sky and ruin your night vision.
The pieces of space debris that interact with our atmosphere to create the Eta Aquariids originate from Comet 1P/Halley.
Each time that Halley returns to the inner solar system, its nucleus sheds a layer of ice and dust into space.
The dust grains eventually become the Eta Aquariids in May and the Orionids in October if they collide with Earth’s atmosphere.
Comet Halley takes about 76 years to orbit the Sun once. The last time it was seen by casual observers was in 1986. Comet Halley will not enter the inner solar system again until 2061.
Comet Halley was discovered in 1705 by Edmund Halley. He predicted the orbit of the comet through past observations of comets, suggesting that these sightings were in fact all the same comet.
Halley is perhaps the most famous comet and has been observed for millennia. This comet is even featured in the Bayeux tapestry, which chronicles the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Where does the name of the shower come from? The point in the sky from which the Eta Aquariids appear to come, known as the radiant, is in the constellation Aquarius – the water bearer.
One of the brighter stars within Aquarius is called Eta Aquarii, and the shower meteors appear from this area of the constellation.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/watch-the-skies/2025/05/02/eta-aquariid-meteor-shower-to-peak-night-of-may-5/
https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/meteors-meteorites/facts/
Trump hands Elon Musk $1 BILLION gift amid reports of rift with president
Updated: 16:03 EDT, 2 May 2025
The White House has announced the largest cut to NASA's budget in its history.
The Trump administration has slashed research funding, terminated multiple missions and allocated $1 billion toward Elon Musk's dream of sending humans to Mars.
The $6 billion cuts include scrapping the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission, which has already cost NASA billions and aimed to bring samples collected from the Martian surface back to Earth to be studied.
The budget proposal, released today, states that NASA will 'terminate unaffordable missions' such as MSR, adding that it is 'grossly overbudgeted' and that its goals can be achieved through human missions to Mars.
In 2020, the maximum total cost for MSR was estimated to be around $3 billion. But since then, it has risen to up to $11 billion.
The proposal also includes significant cuts to NASA's International Space Station (ISS) program, with plans to reduce the space station's crew size and onboard research, prepare to decommission the station by 2030 and ultimately replace it with commercial space stations.
Such cuts will supposedly allow NASA to allocate billions of dollars to ensure 'that America's human space exploration efforts remain unparalleled, innovative, and efficient.'
The proposal emphasizes the importance of NASA beating China back to the moon and putting the first humans on Mars, with the latter being the overarching goal of Musk's spaceflight company, SpaceX.
'To achieve these objectives, [NASA] would streamline the workforce, IT services, NASA center operations, facility maintenance, and construction and environmental compliance activities,' the proposal states.
DailyMail.com has reached out to NASA for comment.
During his Senate confirmation hearing in April, President Donald Trump's pick for NASA administrator, Jared Isaacman, was pressed about his commitment to the agency's ongoing Artemis program, which aims to put American astronauts back to the moon as a stepping-stone toward future Mars missions.
Isaacman advocated for accelerating plans to put humans on the Red Planet by pursuing moon and Mars missions simultaneously.
'We will prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars and along the way we will inevitably have the capabilities to return to the moon,' he said.
The proposed budget would leave room for that possibility, allocating significant new funds toward Mars missions without specifying any cuts to the Artemis program.
But it does aim to eliminate NASA's 'grossly expensive and delayed' Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft after three flights. These craft are currently set to launch the first crewed Artemis test flight in April 2026.
'SLS alone costs $4 billion per launch and is 140 percent over budget,' the proposal states.
'The Budget funds a program to replace SLS and Orion flights to the moon with more cost-effective commercial systems that would support more ambitious subsequent lunar missions.'
The White House also proposed eliminating funds for climate monitoring satellites, which experts say could have serious consequences for managing wildfires, and climate-focused 'green-aviation' spending.
The Planetary Society, an independent nonprofit organization that promotes space exploration, released a statement condemning the proposed 24 percent cut to NASA's budget, stating that it would be the 'largest single-year cut to NASA in American history.'
'It would recklessly slash NASA’s science budget by 47 [percent], forcing widespread terminations of functional missions worth billions of dollars,' its experts stated.
'Slashing NASA’s budget by this much, this quickly, without the input of a confirmed NASA Administrator or in response to a considered policy goal, won’t make the agency more efficient — it will cause chaos, waste the taxpayers’ investment, and undermine American leadership in space.
This budget has not been approved. The full budget will need to be debated and approved by Congress before it is released, which could take until the end of the 2025 fiscal year or longer.
'We urge Congress to swiftly reject this destructive proposal and instead pursue a path consistent with the President’s vision,' the Planetary Society stated.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14672845/Trump-sledgehammer-NASA-budget-fund-Elon-dream-mars.html
https://www.planetary.org/press-releases/the-planetary-society-condemns-damaging-cuts-to-nasa-budget
US space agency Nasa will not fund study on China’s moon sample: American scientist
Updated: 3:19pm, 2 May 2025
American scientists are eager to get their hands on China’s Chang’e-5 moon samples – but they will not be allowed to use Nasa funding to study them.
Earlier this month, planetary scientist Timothy Glotch of Stony Brook University was selected by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) to receive a rare set of specimens collected by China’s lunar sample return mission in 2020.
Glotch told the South China Morning Post he hoped to compare properties of the soil and rock samples to Apollo-era rocks.
His goal was to help answer long-standing questions about the moon’s volcanic past, diverse surface materials and how they have been altered by billions of years in space.
But unlike most US research involving lunar samples, his project will not be supported by Nasa. The reason is the Wolf Amendment, a congressional restriction that bars Nasa and its grantees from direct cooperation with Chinese government entities like CNSA.
“I’m grateful to my institution for providing funds for me to travel to China and to my research collaborators’ institutions to carry out our proposed work,” Glotch said.
While the process is still in its early stages, he will collaborate with scientists from the University of Hong Kong and San Francisco State University to analyse the samples.
Stony Brook’s officials must still sign the loan agreement with CNSA before the samples can be shipped, Glotch added.
China’s Chang’e-5 spacecraft returned to Earth in December 2020, landing in Inner Mongolia with the first lunar material collected since 1976.
The 1,731 grams of rock and soil came from Mons Rümker, a volcanic formation in the Oceanus Procellarum. Since then, Chinese researchers have made surprising findings about these samples.
A major discovery was that the dominating basaltic material – hardened lava – is significantly younger than anything brought back by the Apollo or Soviet Luna missions, suggesting that the moon’s volcanoes remained active much longer than previously thought.
Glotch said his team would use the soil sample to measure how it emits heat in a simulated lunar environment and compare the results with satellite observations and Apollo data.
They would also study its magnetic properties to better understand how long the soil had been exposed to space and how it had changed over time.
The ultra-thin rock slice would be examined under high-powered microscopes in search of unusual fragments, which may offer clues to the rock’s origin and composition that could deepen scientists’ understanding of the moon’s geological complexity, he said.
One of Glotch’s collaborators, planetary geologist Qian Yuqi of the University of Hong Kong, said he was thrilled to be part of the project.
For years, he had wanted to do side-by-side studies of Chang’e-5 and Apollo samples but said it was only meaningful if both sets were analysed in the same lab under the same conditions.
The Wolf Amendment, he noted, had blocked Chinese scientists – including those in Hong Kong – from accessing Apollo materials.
“I tried to reach Nasa some time ago, but their answer was definitely no,” Qian said. Now that China is opening its vault to American researchers, he hopes Nasa will consider doing the same.
“If the US and Soviet Union could work together on the International Space Station during the Cold War, there’s no reason why China and the US can’t collaborate on common goals in space today,” Qian said.
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3307819/us-scientists-given-access-moon-rocks-brought-back-chinas-change-5-probe?
https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/05/03/uk-researchers-access-more-quantum-and-space-horizon-funding/
UK Researchers Can Access More Quantum And Space Horizon Funding
May 3, 2025
Minister for EU Relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, recently welcomed EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency, Maroš Šefčovič, ahead of his first official visit to the United Kingdom under this government.
Commissioner Šefčovič’s visit follows the recent engagement with European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen last week, providing a significant opportunity to review the progress of ongoing discussions between the UK and the European Union.
This engagement is a key step in the lead-up to the UK-EU Summit scheduled for next month.
This visit comes as UK scientists, researchers and businesses working on the latest innovations in quantum and space technologies have now been given access to more Horizon Europe funding, under the new 2025 Horizon Europe Work Programme published last week (Friday 25 April).
Access to Horizon Europe funding, and the opportunities for international collaboration that Horizon presents, will be an important boost to these two sectors which are at the cutting edge of new opportunities for economic growth, helping to drive the Government’s Plan for Change.
These are technologies that will be instrumental to the future of the economy: quantum computing alone is projected to deliver $5-10 billion of benefits globally over the next 3-5 years, while since 2015 the UK has attracted more private investment in space than any other country outside of the United States.
During his visit in the UK, the European Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, alongside the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Nick Thomas-Symonds, will meet professors at Imperial College London who have benefited from Horizon funding for their projects.
Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds will co-chair the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee with Commissioner Šefčovič, who is also scheduled to meet with the Secretaries of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and the Northern Ireland Office.
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations), Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, said: “In just under a month, the United Kingdom will host the UK-EU Summit here in London.
Today provides an opportunity to take stock of negotiations and the progress made. We are fully aligned in our ambitions to build a safer, more secure, and prosperous future for people across the UK and Europe.
We will always act in the national interest as we work towards a strong and durable strategic partnership with our European partners, unlocking new opportunities for British citizens and businesses.”
UK Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “Thanks to this welcome news, the opportunities for British researchers and businesses working in quantum, space, and beyond are only set to grow.
They now have greater access to one of the world’s foremost vehicles for R&D funding, and an even bigger chance to build the international ties which we know are critical to advancing knowledge, tackling the world’s biggest challenges, and delivering the economic growth that is at the heart of this Government’s Plan for Change.
I want innovators up and down the UK to seize the moment that stands before them. Horizon’s doors are open to you, and we have support available to help you. Now is the time to bid for funding, build consortia, and take your work to the next level.”
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The UK gained access to the vast majority (95%+) of Horizon funding calls, when we associated to the programme in 2024, with some very limited exceptions on some emerging technologies.
Today’s breakthrough comes after a period of constructive collaboration between UK and EU teams and means that more British experts working on space and quantum can now confidently bid for a share of the c.£80 billion that is available through Horizon overall.
They can also build consortia with research partners across Europe, and beyond in Canada, Switzerland, and more. This includes complete access to all Horizon Europe quantum funding calls.
Horizon also offers a huge opportunity to businesses and researchers focusing on other cutting-edge technologies, like AI, telecoms, and high-performance computing, including through access to cutting-edge computing resources through EuroHPC.
Recent UK-EU engagement has ensured that the UK retains open access to all calls in these areas.
The Horizon Europe programme is an innovation powerhouse –spending over €380 billion on R&D in 20231 – and fostering deep and high-quality links between the continent’s brightest minds, and the UK’s, will be critical if we are to seize the promise for science and tech innovations to support the Government’s Missions to grow the economy, fix the NHS and improve health outcomes and deliver clean energy under the Plan for Change.
Innovative and high-potential sectors like space and quantum will be instrumental to rebuilding the foundations of the economy, and kickstarting growth.
Greater access to Horizon is a win for the UK, given the growing importance of space and quantum to the economy and society. The UK space sector already employs 52,000 people and generates an of £18.9 billion each year.
Meanwhile new innovations in quantum – harnessing the unique properties of subatomic particles to process information and solve problems – are already unlocking breakthroughs in healthcare, logistics, financial services and more.
On top of this, experts working in fields like AI, high performance computing, and future telecoms continue to enjoy valuable Horizon access, as well as a vast number of other sectors including food and agritech, digital, industry and more.
British researchers having access to more Horizon science funding calls also further emphasises the value of the UK’s participation in the EU’s Copernicus Earth Observation programme.
Furthermore, the UK and EU have a strong shared commitment to developing assured and independent European access to space: work which forms a key part of the UK’s own ambitions for space launch.
With plans for the first launches from SaxaVord in the Shetland Islands later this year, the UK is a leading international partner and cooperator in Europe’s space ambitions and it is encouraging that British researchers will be able to access calls that help to further Europe’s ambition.
There is no time to lose for businesses, researchers, and scientists working in quantum, space and beyond to take advantage of this news, because new Horizon funding calls open in the coming weeks.
New space and industry calls open from Thursday 22 May, and digital calls open from Tuesday 10 June.
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Army to Roll Out Enlisted Space Ops Specialty
May 2, 2025
The Army confirmed it will implement a new space domain-related enlisted military occupational specialty by next fall, the service's top space officer announced during a media briefing at the Pentagon today.
Initially announced by the Army's deputy chief of staff in December 2024, the MOS — titled 40D space operations specialist — is on track to become official by October 2026, the commander of Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Lt. Gen. Sean A. Gainey, told reporters.
"These soldiers will become the experts we turn to during the next conflict.
Our Army space professionals support unique assets to interdict or disrupt adversaries use of space capabilities, ensuring Army forces maintain the initiative to fight from positions of relative advantage in all domains," said Gainey, adding that soldiers provide close space support to the Army's conventional and special operations forces.
To date, the Army's space operations have been mostly filled by the officer corps; the new MOS will ensure that enlisted soldiers in the ranks of specialist through command sergeant major will be able to show up to space formations with "expertise and experience in space operations," Gainey said.
Additionally, Gainey said that the new specialty will help stabilize the career progression and retention of soldiers who are currently operating outside of their assigned jobs in the air defense, signal and intelligence fields in order to assist in space operations.
"This is a zero-growth effort," he said. When asked how the 40D mission would differ from that of the Space Force, Gainey explained that the Army's space mission is more ground-based.
"[We're] focused on the tactical maneuver fight with our forces on the ground, pushing that capability forward so our forces [are] able to leverage the effects of a space-based system, directly benefitting the operator on the ground," Gainey said, adding that the Army's space mission helps enable the Space Force to complete a range of its own missions, including on-orbit.
"[The good news] is that there's more than enough work for all of us on the battlefield today," he said.
As for training the new 40D soldiers, Gainey said they will attend the Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, once they have completed their initial entry training.
"The majority of [40D] training will be on systems that we employ [such as the Tactical Integrated Ground Suite] and some of our other smaller systems," Gainey said, adding that the students will have more advanced level schools just like other specialties.
When asked about recruiting efforts once the career field is established, Gainey said the Army is already seeing a lot of interest from young soldiers.
"I want to encourage everybody [who's] interested in the space 40D MOS to compete for it, but it's going to be very competitive," he said.
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4173283/army-to-roll-out-enlisted-space-ops-specialty/
https://www.earth.com/news/enduring-earth-mystery-partially-solved-artificial-intelligence-nazca-geoglyphs/
https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2407652121
https://www.yamagata-u.ac.jp/en/information/info/20240924/
One of Earth's oldest and biggest mysteries is partially solved by Artificial Intelligence
05-03-2025
The sun-baked flats of southern Peru hold a secret bigger than any signpost. From a low ridge, the landscape looks plain enough – just ocher earth and scattered stones.
Yet from the air, pale etchings known as Nazca geoglyphs spread out across thirty-one miles of desert like pages in an ancient picture book.
Scholars have long marveled at these Nazca geoglyphs: animals, people, and patterns scraped into the soil roughly two thousand years ago.
Their purpose has never been obvious, and for decades each new survey has offered more puzzles than answers.
Nazca geoglyphs carved on desert canvas
Masato Sakai of Japan’s Yamagata University has spent two decades walking the Nazca Pampa, a dry plateau that sits about 1,640 feet above sea level.
The lack of rain and the region’s remoteness have sheltered the drawings from erosion and farming.
Two main styles dominate the site. Giant “line-type” designs – think the famous hummingbird – stretch for hundreds of feet.
Smaller “surface-type” figures appear where workers once brushed away dark stones to expose lighter sand.
Early mapping relied on planes and satellite photos. Even then, the sharpest images missed many faint or partial motifs.
Relief-type figures, often no larger than a city bus, hug age-old footpaths and easily hide in the dusty palette.
AI scans the Peruvian sands
Enter a collaboration with IBM Research. Between September 2022 and February 2023, Sakai’s team fed an artificial-intelligence model examples of known glyphs, then set it loose on high-resolution photos of the entire plateau.
In six months, the system flagged 303 new surface-type drawings – almost doubling the catalog built up since the early twentieth century.
That fresh haul pushes the confirmed total to 430 pieces, 318 of which Yamagata University has logged since it began work in 2004.
Instead of boxing objects the usual way, the model treated the desert as a grid of tiny image tiles and scored each one for geoglyph likelihood.
The researchers split every confirmed figure into smaller patches to give the algorithm extra training material, a trick that compensated for the limited dataset.
What are the Nazca geoglyphs telling us?
Many newly spotted icons cluster within 141 feet of ancient trails. They show human torsos, stylized livestock, and eerie isolated heads.
“The human heads depict human sacrifices to the gods,” Sakai explained. The pathway setting hints that small groups used these pictures as teaching aids or spiritual prompts during routine travel.
Pottery shards nearby suggest such relief-type figures may predate the grander line drawings. Their subjects lean toward domestic life, a contrast to the wild creatures often celebrated in the larger images.
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Ritual routes and roadside lessons
Line-type glyphs anchor the start and finish of broader pilgrimage routes, typically lying about 112 feet from ceremonial lines scored into the ground.
Archaeologists think processions moved along these corridors, stopping at the vast bird, monkey, or whale outlines for communal rites.
“At that time, there was no written language. People learned about the roles of humans and animals by looking at pictures and used them as places for rituals,” he said.
That spoken insight, paired with the spatial data, supports the idea that the Nazca culture wove its belief system straight into the landscape.
Travelers likely rehearsed myths, seasonal duties, or social roles by pacing past images tailored to each lesson.
Behind the numbers
The 303 fresh finds are all surface-type, yet they vary in design and age. Roughly half depict human or animal heads, many with eyes or mouths exaggerated for emphasis.
The rest show full figures, including camelids and felines that were vital to everyday survival. Their average length is about 20 yards.
The AI’s accuracy jumped once researchers applied transfer learning – starting with a vision model trained on everyday photographs before fine-tuning it for desert imagery.
Such efficiency matters because the Nazca Pampa spans more than 190 square miles. Manual surveys would take years, but AI can flag probable sites in days, letting field crews focus on verification and conservation.
AI and the future of archaeology
The success in Peru demonstrates how machine learning can spotlight hidden heritage without disturbing the ground.
Similar techniques already aid shipwreck hunts in the Mediterranean and temple searches in Cambodia’s jungles. As satellite coverage improves, smaller teams will parse vast regions for subtle traces of ancient life.
For the Nazca Lines, the next step is protection. Mining, unregulated tourism, and modern roads nibble at the fragile crust.
Digital maps built from AI detections give local authorities a clearer picture of what needs fencing, signage, or rerouting.
Sharing these maps online also invites global scholars to test fresh hypotheses about how the drawings fit with climate shifts, trade, and social change over fifteen centuries.
What’s next for the Nazca geoglyphs?
What began as a curiosity spotted by pilot Toribio Mejía Xesspe in 1927 now stands as proof – yes, proof – of cooperation between traditional fieldwork and cutting-edge tech.
The Nazca people left no written chronicles, but they etched stories big enough to survive millennia of wind and sun.
With new eyes in the sky and smarter algorithms on the ground, today’s researchers are finally starting to read those stories in full.
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getting close to 40K
Astrophotographer captures the moon and Jupiter suspended above one of Europe's oldest lakes
May 3, 2025
Photographer Riste Spiroski snapped a striking view of the moon and Jupiter hanging over the ancient lake Ohrid in northern Macedonia on the night of April 29, complete with a pair of stargazing swans!
Spiroski took the shot of the moon and the solar system's largest planet at 7:45 p.m. local time using a Canon R6 camera in conjunction with a Canon EF 24–70mm f/2.8 lens.
The image was captured during a period known to photographers as the 'blue hour', which stargazing site EarthSky.org describes as a brief window of post sunset twilight when the landscape is bathed in soft blue light.
"This image was captured during a spontaneous walk with a friend," Spiroski said in an email to Space.com. "We headed out around blue hour, hoping to shoot some long exposure shots by the shore of Lake Ohrid.
As the sun was setting below the horizon, I spotted the thin crescent moon beginning to set - it was very beautiful.
I quickly opened an astronomy app to check what else might be visible, and noticed Jupiter would soon be appearing low on the horizon."
To capture the low-light scene, Spiroski raised his ISO to 1000 and set the lens aperture to f/6.3, before snapping a 1.6 second exposure.
The result is a mesmerising blend of astronomy, nature and humanity, in which the city of Ohrid casts streaks of light over a pair of white swans basking in the placid lake.
Lake Ohrid sits on the border between North Macedonia and Albania, and is estimated to be somewhere between 3 and 5 million years old, according to NASA.
"As the sky turned that deep blue, everything came together - the crescent moon, Jupiter, and the calm water of Lake Ohrid, which is actually Europe's oldest lake," continued Spiroski.
"I love mixing sky elements with landscapes, and Ohrid always gives me something beautiful to work with."
Earth's moon is visible hanging above the scene as a waxing crescent, with the unlit regions of its surface softly illuminated by Earthshine.
Three stellar bodies belonging to the Perseus constellation can also be picked out shining to the right of the image, while the bright star Hassaleh can be found directly above the moon near the top of the image.
Jupiter meanwhile is visible as a bright point of light to the upper left of the photo, with the magnitude +1 star Aldebaran located below the gas giant, and to the left of the moon, forming a triangle of bright celestial bodies.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/astrophotographer-captures-the-moon-and-jupiter-suspended-above-one-of-europes-oldest-lakes-photo
https://www.space.com/astronomy/solar-system/a-whole-population-of-minimoons-may-be-lurking-near-earth-researchers-say
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/ad9ea8
A whole 'population' of minimoons may be lurking near Earth, researchers say
May 3, 2025
Earth's minimoon may be a chip off the old block: New research suggests that 2024 PT5 — a small, rocky body dubbed a "minimoon" during its discovery last year — may have been blown off the moon during a giant impact long ago, making it the second known sample traveling near Earth's orbit.
The discovery hints at a hidden population of lunar fragments traveling near Earth.
"If there were only one object, that would be interesting but an outlier," Teddy Kareta, a planetary scientist at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, said in March at the 56th annual Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference in the Woodlands, Texas.
"If there's two, we're pretty confident that's a population."
A new kind of evidence
Earth travels through and with a cloud of debris as the planet makes tracks around the sun. Some of that material is human-made — satellites and space junk. Other material is rocky debris left over from collisions in the early solar system.
These near-Earth objects (NEOs) can be a concern, so they are tracked to ensure they are not a threat to our planet.
In August 2024, astronomers in South Africa identified a new rock, known as 2024 PT5, traveling near Earth.
2024 PT5 was moving slowly, with a relative velocity of only 4.5 mph (2 meters per second), making it a strong target for the Mission Accessible Near-Earth Object Survey (MANOS).
Only nine other asteroids have been seen traveling so slowly at their closest approach.
Kareta, along with MANOS principal investigator Nick Moskovitz, also at Lowell, have been intrigued by the idea of finding moon rocks in space since just after the first such fragment was identified in 2021.
MANOS is designed to hunt for and characterize the near-Earth asteroids that might be the easiest to visit with a spacecraft. According to Kareta, that meant the survey was ideal for looking at lunar castoffs.
Within a week of 2024 PT5's discovery, they had turned the Lowell Discovery Telescope in the space rock's direction.
After studying 2024 PT5 in both visible and near-infrared data, they concluded that it wasn't an ordinary asteroid.
Its composition proved similar to that of rocks carried back to Earth during the Apollo program, as well as one returned by the Soviet Union's Luna 24.
The researchers also found that 2024 PT5 was small — 26 to 39 feet (8 to 12 meters) in diameter.
Kareta and his colleagues suspect that 2024 PT5 was excavated when something crashed into the moon.
By studying the asteroid's composition, they hope to tie the material back to its source and perhaps even identify its parent crater.
Cratering events are one of the most important processes that shape planetary bodies without tectonics or liquids to remold them.
But impacts can be affected by a variety of variables, and understanding them can be a challenge. Matching debris to its crater can provide another way to understand what happens when two bodies collide.
That's what makes identifying lunar rocks in space so intriguing.
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"It's like realizing a crime scene has a totally new kind of evidence you didn't know you had before," Kareta told Space.com by email.
"It might not help you solve the crime right away, but considering the importance of the task, new details to compare are always welcome."
Changing lanes
Material from the Earth-moon system should be some of the easiest to fall into orbit near Earth. After an impactor collides with the moon, all but the fastest-moving material flung into space should continue traveling near our system.
Although 2024 PT5 was dubbed a minimoon in September, it only briefly fell in line with the planet.
Kareta compared it to two cars on the highway. Earth is blazing along in its own lane, while 2024 PT5 chugged along the interior path, closer to the sun.
In 2024, the tiny chunk of rock changed lanes, falling into Earth's path at roughly the same speed. By the end of September, it had moved on, shifting outward.
Earth left it behind, but on the solar race track, the pair should be parallel again in 2055, scientists estimate.
2024 PT5 is the second lunar fragment identified by researchers. Another small rock, Kamo'oalewa, was traced to the moon in 2021, five years after its discovery. That could hint at a new population, hidden in plain sight.
Both objects are traveling in Earth-like orbits, but they don't have much else in common. Kamo'oalewa is larger and appears to have been battered by cosmic rays, solar radiation and other processes longer than 2024 PT5 has.
That might suggest it has been in space longer, Kareta said.
Their orbits are also a bit different. Kamo'oalewa's quasi-satellite orbit keeps it in Earth's immediate vicinity for several consecutive orbits, even though it isn't actually spinning around the planet.
Unlike the lane-changing 2024 PT5, Kamo'oalewa is more like a car that stays one lane over, moving at roughly the same speed.
Researchers are trying to match Kamo'oalewa to a crater. A recent study suggested that it could have come from a smashup that created Giordano Bruno crater, a 14-mile-wide (22 km) impact basin on the far side of the moon.
Kareta is hopeful that more will be identified. While a single sample is an oddity, two could be part of a crowd. He suspects that some asteroids that have been identified as unusual may be lunar rocks in disguise.
When the orbits of NEOs are calculated, their source region is often estimated based on their current travels.
If some objects have been misclassified and their sources are incorrect, that could mean other aspects of their orbits are misunderstood.
Although that could potentially increase the long-term chances of Earth being hit by an asteroid, Kareta said it is "almost certainly not" the case, "but we'll need to prove it."
For now, Kareta and his colleagues will continue to use MANOS to search for other potential lunar fragments. He's hopeful that the doubled population will convince other researchers to take a closer look, too.
Upcoming large-scale surveys — like the Vera Rubin Observatory, a ground-based telescope expected to see first light this year — should also help to reveal other dim objects.
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SpaceX Starlink Launches
May 3 11:13 a.m. PT
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, May 3 for a Falcon 9 launch of 26 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Liftoff is targeted for 11:13 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 3:03 p.m. PT. If needed, additional launch opportunities are also available on Sunday, May 4 starting at 10:59 a.m. PT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This will be the 14th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Transporter-13, and six Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-15-3
May 4 4:53 a.m. ET
SpaceX is targeting Sunday, May 4 for a Falcon 9 launch of 29 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Liftoff is targeted for 4:53 a.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 8:48 a.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Monday, May 5 starting at 4:22 a.m. ET.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This is the 20th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER-B, USSF-124, Bluebird 1-5, and 15 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=sl-6-84
Zelensky threatens world leaders ahead of Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations
3 May, 2025 11:09
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has warned that Kiev cannot guarantee the safety of world leaders attending the May 9 celebrations in Moscow.
He also dismissed Russia’s proposal for a Victory Day ceasefire as a “theatrical production.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier announced a unilateral three-day pause in military operations starting May 8 and continuing through the World War II Victory Day celebrations, citing humanitarian reasons.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the move as a potential “start of direct negotiations with Kiev without preconditions.” Kiev, however, has demanded a 30-day unconditional ceasefire instead.
Speaking at a press briefing on Saturday, Zelensky reiterated this position.
“It is impossible to build any plan for the next steps to end the war in two or three days. And so it just doesn’t look very serious… It’s more of a theatrical production on his part,” he said, referring to Putin, as cited by Interfax-Ukraine.
“No one is going to help Putin play this in order to give him a soft atmosphere of escape from isolation on May 9, and to make everyone feel comfortable and safe – those leaders, friends, or partners of Putin who will come to Kremlin Square…
We are either at war, or Putin is showing that he is ready for a ceasefire,” Zelensky added.
He claimed that Kiev is ready to declare a ceasefire at any time, provided both sides agree that it will last for at least 30 days.
In March, Russia and Ukraine both agreed to a 30-day partial ceasefire with US mediation, focused on halting strikes on energy infrastructure. Ukraine, however, violated the truce on multiple occasions, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Moscow has said it is prepared for peace talks but has repeatedly warned that any short-term pause without an official deal would be used by Kiev’s Western allies to rearm the Ukrainian military.
Commenting on Kiev’s demand for a longer truce, Lavrov said last week it reflected Ukraine’s worsening position on the battlefield.
The Russian government extended invitations to a number of world leaders to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, including the leaders of China, India, Brazil, Venezuela, Vietnam, Slovakia, and Serbia.
https://www.rt.com/russia/616688-zelensky-warning-victory-day/
US clarifies stance on Ukraine peace talks
3 May, 2025 02:56
The US will not abandon its efforts to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday, after a State Department statement suggested that the US could pull out of the negotiations.
Rubio warned, however, that if the talks remain stalled, the US might “move on.”
“If there is no progress between the two parties, we would step back as a mediator,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters earlier at a news briefing.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity later, Rubio said, “We’re not going to give up on it in the sense that we’re not going to be ready to help if we can.”
He added that the final call is up to US President Donald Trump. “At some point in time, it either has to be something that can happen or we all need to move on. That’ll be a decision the president will have to make.”
Rubio stressed that the conflict, which escalated under the administration of former President Joe Biden in 2022, “is not our war,” and said the US now considers its confrontation with China and Iran’s nuclear program higher priorities.
Bruce later clarified to Fox News that “Right now, our posture is the same, but if there is no progress, it will change.” She denied that the administration is walking away from peace efforts.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has pushed both Moscow and Kiev toward a ceasefire but has recently voiced frustration over the lack of progress.
Moscow recently said it is ready for direct talks with Kiev “without preconditions.” President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian forces to observe a 72-hour ceasefire during next week’s Victory Day celebrations.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky rejected the offer, calling it “an attempt at manipulation.”
https://www.rt.com/news/616678-us-clarify-ukraine-conflict-mediation/
Moscow responds to Zelensky’s Victory Day threats
3 May, 2025 15:46
Vladimir Zelensky’s refusal to join Russia in observing a 72-hour ceasefire to mark the Victory Day celebrations exposes Kiev’s “neo-Nazi essence” and amounts to a threat by an “international-level terrorist,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian leader reiterated his refusal to accept Moscow’s proposal for a three-day ceasefire starting May 8 and continuing through the World War II Victory Day celebrations, dismissing it as a “theatrical production.”
Zelensky also appeared to threaten the world leaders expected to take part in the May 9 events in Moscow, stating that Kiev cannot guarantee their safety.
Zelensky’s remarks “once again prove the neo-Nazi nature of the Kiev regime, which has turned into a terrorist cell,” Zakharova said in a statement.
“Today [Zelensky] hit a new low: now he is threatening the physical safety of veterans who will come to parades and ceremonial events on that sacred day,” she said.
“After every terrorist attack on Russian territory, the Kiev regime, its security services, and Zelensky personally boast that it was their doing and that it will continue to be like this.
Therefore, the phrase that he ‘does not guarantee security on May 9 on Russian territory,’ since this is not his area of responsibility, is, of course, a direct threat,” Zakharova stressed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered a similar take on Zelensky’s remarks, stating the proposed ceasefire is a “test” for Kiev, and the apparent refusal to join it “clearly shows that neo-Nazism is the ideological basis of the contemporary Kiev regime.”
The 72-hour ceasefire was announced unilaterally by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. The president ordered the suspension of all military action against Ukraine’s forces from midnight on May 7 to midnight on May 10 and urged Kiev to join the truce.
Zelensky and other top Ukrainian officials, however, dismissed the proposal as a “manipulation attempt,” demanding an immediate 30-day ceasefire instead.
In March, Russia and Ukraine both agreed to a US-brokered 30-day partial ceasefire focused on halting strikes on energy infrastructure. Kiev, however, violated the truce on numerous occasions, according to the Russian military.
The Victory Day truce follows a similar unilaterally announced pause during Easter weekend in April that ended up being only partially successful.
While a certain lull in the hostilities was observed, Kiev violated the truce more than 3,900 times, according to estimates by the Russian Defense Ministry.
https://www.rt.com/russia/616695-victory-day-truce-threats/
Ukraine claims first-ever $ 50 million fighter jet kill with sea drone
03/05/2025
A Ukrainian maritime drone achieved a world first by successfully striking and destroying a Russian Su-30 fighter jet near Novorossiysk in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai.
The strike marks the first time a maritime drone destroyed a combat aircraft, with the $50 million fighter reportedly catching fire mid-air before crashing into the Black Sea.
The Su-30 fighter jet carries a diverse arsenal including air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, rockets, and bombs, used for air defense or strike missions against Ukrainian positions and civilian infrastructure.
Ukraine launches drones against Russia primarily to weaken Russia’s military capabilities, disrupt logistics, and degrade assets used to support the aggression in Ukraine.
Typical targets include military airfields, air defense systems, weapons production plants, ammunition depots, oil refineries, and fuel depots in occupied territories and deep inside Russia.
The operation, conducted on 2 May 2025, was carried out by Ukraine’s Group 13 special unit in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukrainian Defense Forces, according to Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR).
The operators used a missile launched from a Magura V5 marine drone to hit the aircraft.
The Magura V5 is a Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicle designed for maritime reconnaissance, patrol, and combat missions, capable of carrying up to 320 kg (705 lbs) of explosives with an operational range of 800 km (497 miles).
The incident occurred in waters near Novorossiysk port, which Ukrainian intelligence describes as a hiding place for “the remains of their Black Sea fleet.”
This marks the second significant achievement for the Magura maritime drone program. Ukrainian intelligence notes that on 31 December 2024, a Magura V5 was used to destroy two Russian Mi-8 helicopters, which they claim was also a first-of-its-kind attack.
The operation appears to have been part of a larger coordinated assault on the night of 2-3 May 2-3.
Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack targeting multiple Russian regions, including Krasnodar Krai, Rostov Oblast, Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, and occupied Crimea.
Russian air defenses reportedly intercepted and destroyed around 170 Ukrainian drones, along with several cruise missiles and unmanned boats over the Black Sea.
The strikes damaged residential buildings in Novorossiysk, injured four people including children, and caused fires and infrastructure damage in other areas.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/05/03/ukraine-claims-first-ever-50-million-fighter-jet-kill-with-sea-drone/
https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1918625079547609213
Russia reports drone strike on key port city Novorossiysk: What we know
May 3, 2025
Explosions were heard in Novorossiysk during the night of May 3 as a result of a drone attack.
Four people were injured, according to the Telegram channel of Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region.
During the night of May 3, the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar region came under a large-scale drone attack.
The heaviest damage was recorded in Novorossiysk, where drone debris fell on residential areas and a grain terminal.
Attack on Novorossiysk
According to Kondratyev, four people were injured in the city, including two children.
As a result of falling debris, three apartment buildings were damaged, along with three storage tanks at the grain terminal. Firefighting efforts are ongoing.
Russian media report that public transportation in Novorossiysk is not operating following the overnight large-scale attack.
Local Russian channels reported a combined drone and sea drone attack on Novorossiysk. According to these reports, Russian forces were targeting unmanned surface vessels and drones that approached in several waves.
Debris from UAVs also landed in nearby populated areas: in the village of Tamanskaya in the Temryuk district, and in the villages of Yurovka and Tsybanobalka near Anapa.
According to the reports, private homes were damaged in those locations, but no civilian casualties were recorded.
Drone attacks on Russia
In recent months, Russia has been targeted by drone strikes almost every night. Oil refineries, fuel depots, and military sites in the aggressor state are most frequently hit.
Last night, explosions were reported in the city of Tuapse in the Krasnodar region, where drones attacked a local oil refinery, causing a fire at the impact site.
Additionally, several Russian regions restricted airport operations due to the threat of UAV attacks. The "Carpet" security plan was implemented at Vnukovo Airport in Moscow, as well as in Sochi and Kaluga.
On the night of Thursday, March 13, drones launched by Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence damaged the Kaluga Aerated Concrete Plant, which is reportedly involved in the production of Shahed (Geran) attack drones.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/russia-reports-drone-strike-on-key-port-city-novorossiysk-what-we-know/ar-AA1E6cLs
NPWS operating drone and fire monitoring during forest fire risk warning
May 3, 2025 12:48
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is operating drones and fire monitoring as a forest fire risk warning is in place.
The status orange warning is in place nationally until Tuesday at 12pm.
Anyone attending Killarney National Park (Ireland) is urging people not to light fires or barbecues in public areas.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service is urging people to enjoy the good weather without nature at risk during this fire warning.
They say this means no lighting fires or BBQs in public places; this includes national parks, nature reserves, coastal sand dunes, mountains, upland areas, forests, meadows and urban fires.
They say drone and fire monitoring will be in operation for the duration of the status orange fire risk warning.
The NPWS is also advising swimmers in Killarney that access to Dundag via Muckross House and Gardens will be closed to traffic until Tuesday to facilitate the Rally of the Lakes.
Meanwhile, Coillte says the warm and dry conditions we are currently experiencing are expected to continue into the weekend and this increases the risk of fire spreading, particularly with low humidity and moderate winds.
Coillte is also asking people to avoid lighting fires or barbecues in high-risk areas outdoors; Coillte says if someone comes across a forest fire they shouldn’t intervene or fight such fires.
The emergency services should be immediately contacted via 112. Coillte says all landowners should stay alert and report any suspicious activity to Gardaí.
https://www.radiokerry.ie/news/npws-operating-drone-and-fire-monitoring-during-forest-fire-risk-warning-432910
Police investigating after animal activists’ drone allegedly shot down by duck shooters
May 3, 2025 • 2:23am
Police are investigating after a drone flown by animal rights activists was allegedly shot down by duck shooters.
Saturday marked the start of the 2025 duck shooting season, which runs through until July 13.
At Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere in Canterbury, a group of animal rights activists gathered to “peacefully document and disrupt” duck shooters, a spokesperson said.
It followed calls from the Animal Justice Party for Environment Canterbury (ECan) to ban “killing for fun”, The Press previously reported.
During Saturday’s protest, a drone was deployed over the lake to “capture the carnage”.
“The drone documented distressing animal suffering, as an injured duck desperately thrashed in the water, shot but not fatally,” the spokesperson said.
The drone was then shot down by duck shooters, landing in the lake.
A police spokesperson confirmed it responded to the incident on the lake’s eastern shore about 10.30am.
“Police have attended, and spoken with people at the location. Police will be following up.”
In March, the Animal Justice Party told ECan that while the group didn’t wish to ban duck shooting for food, it believed shooting birds with no intention of retrieving and eating them should be banned.
The North Canterbury Fish and Game Council disagreed.
“The overwhelming majority of game bird hunters are focused on food gathering, and the use of trained dogs ensures that nearly all birds are retrieved,” chairperson Alan Strong said.
He added that surveys from 2024 indicated that only 0.9% of game birds weren’t collected, often because of risk posed by the environment, such as river currents.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360676062/police-investigating-after-animal-activists-drone-allegedly-shot-down-duck-shooters
Lapu Lapu Day attack suspect had a drone in his possession, sources say
May 2, 2025 3:02 pm
Days after the disturbing mass killing at the Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver, there are new questions about that night. Questions that involve possible evidence and intent.
Sources have told Global News that murder suspect Kai-Ji Adam Lo had in his possession, at the time of the incident, a drone. It remains unclear why he had the drone or how it was used.
Was the drone flown to view the area beforehand? Was anything recorded? Police won’t answer those questions.
Nor will they say if the drone forms part of their investigation. Vancouver police continue to seek first-hand video and witnesses.
“What you have to say is incredibly important to us. We want to speak to you. We invite you to come forward and share your first-person account of what happened,” Vancouver police Sgt. Steve Addison said.
As the investigation continues, and B.C.’s Mental Health Act faces a review, a number of municipalities are calling on the province to improve mental health care supports.
“Many municipalities have stepped up and said we have a site and would like you to locate beds in our community to provide this kind of care,” Premier David Eby said. “I’m very grateful for that.”
Lo remains in police custody and is charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.
It remains unclear whether those charges will be upgraded, but prosecutors are expected to lay additional charges in the attack.
https://globalnews.ca/news/11161630/lapu-lapu-drone-attack/
Alarming Footage Shows Drone Attack on Gaza Aid Freedom Flotilla
May 2, 2025/1:22 p.m. ET
Conscience, a Freedom Flotilla aid ship aiming to break Israel’s two-month siege on Gaza, was struck by drones off the coast of Malta in the early hours of Friday.
There were no casualties as a nearby tugboat helped put out the fire.
Footage shows smoke, flames, and massive, gaping holes in the ship’s hull.
“Conscience has been bombed two times [just] a few minutes ago in 14 miles to the Maltese port,” one of the flotilla workers said through coughs as smoke filled his lungs.
“Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull,” the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said in a statement.
And while the coalition stopped short of directly blaming Israel, they demanded that “Israeli ambassadors be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters.”
“Our Flotilla is challenging not only that blockade that has kept all of the food and water and everything out of Gaza now for almost a month and a half, on the genocide that the U.S. is complicit [in].
The Israeli genocide of at least 55–60,000 Palestinians in Gaza,” said Ann Wright, a former U.S. Army colonel and diplomat who now works for the Freedom Flotilla.
“Right here, we are in Malta dealing with a brutal attack on an innocent ship, a ship that was anchored or outside of territorial waters, waiting for us, the activists to come on board so that we could then head toward Gaza to say to the world, ‘Here are some citizens who are willing to take action where our government has failed to act.’ … While we cannot yet identify the source of the drones, there is no doubt in my mind that there’s a history of violence that has been directed toward the flotillas from the state of Israel.”
In 2010, Israel raided six Freedom Flotilla ships in the Mediterranean Sea, killing 10 people and wounding dozens.
https://newrepublic.com/post/194788/drone-attack-gaza-aid-freedom-flotilla-israel-siege
https://twitter.com/prem_thakker/status/1918323813235740759
Sudan paramilitary drone strike hits border city near Eritrea
03 May, 2025
Sudanese paramilitaries have carried out a rare drone strike on the eastern city of Kassala, near the Eritrean border, a source from the rival army-aligned government said Saturday.
"A drone targeted the fuel storage area at Kassala airport," the government source told AFP, blaming it on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and reporting no casualties or damage.
Since April 2013, the regular army, headed by Sudan's de facto leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has been battling the RSF, led by Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, in a brutal war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions.
As the conflict entered its third year, it has left Africa's third largest country effectively divided, with the army in control of the centre, east and north, while the RSF holds sway in most of the vast western Darfur region and parts of the south.
Kassala is located about 400 kilometres (250 miles) away from the nearest known position held by the RSF, south of the capital's twin city of Omdurman.
It is also about the same distance from areas under the control of RSF allies, the branch of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu.
In late February, the paramilitaries and their allies signed a charter in Kenya announcing a plan to establish a government rivalling the army-aligned one based in Port Sudan.
Also on Saturday, a military source told AFP that a cargo plane was targeted at the airport in Nyala, capital of South Darfur state.
The source said the plane had landed to resupply RSF fighters, without specifying who targeted it.
Witnesses reported hearing a loud explosion early in the morning coming from the airport area.
https://www.newarab.com/news/sudan-paramilitary-drone-strike-hits-border-city-near-eritrea
Nazca Mummies are Real & US Congress Hosts UFO Roundtable Discussion
May 3, 2025
Exopolitics Week in Review
Topics
Until UFO researchers start dealing with the historical Reptilian influence over humanity, they will only be understanding the outer layers of the ET/UFO phenomenon.
A prominent Jewish Rabbi, Michael Laitman, believes that Jews are inter-dimensional aliens sent to control the Earth
Connecting to the Higher Self for Healing and Extraterrestrial Contact: Interview with Dr. David Clements
A new CT scan of the Nazca mummies shows they are genuine and not hoaxes as claimed by debunkers.
President Eisenhower was manipulated by the Deep State/MJ-12 Group, who did not fully brief him on the UFO/ET issue, and made deals with ETs/Nazis behind his back
Catherine Austin Fitts estimates that there are 170 underground bases built in the USA and under the surrounding ocean, all connected by a transportation network.
The SCIF briefing for the US Congress by UAP experts/whistleblowers was originally scheduled for April 29 but has been postponed.
A new UFO whistleblower has come forward to publicly reveal himself. Matthew Brown is the author of a 12-page summary document he released on a SAP called Immaculate Constellation.
All the expert statements and comments made at the May 1, 2025 UAP Roundtable convened by the US Congress House Oversight Committee are available online
Exopolitics Live Monthly Briefing Today
https://exopolitics.org/nazca-mummies-are-real-us-congress-hosts-ufo-roundtable-discussion/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L1Ll1Pc99c
"A prominent Jewish Rabbi, Michael Laitman, believes that Jews are inter-dimensional aliens sent to control the Earth"
https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/1916145166039060670
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvpPY557Lg
"President Eisenhower was manipulated by the Deep State/MJ-12 Group, who did not fully brief him on the UFO/ET issue, and made deals with ETs/Nazis behind his back"
https://x.com/eisenhowe8/status/1916220274158276797
"Catherine Austin Fitts estimates that there are 170 underground bases built in the USA and under the surrounding ocean, all connected by a transportation network."
https://x.com/MarioNawfal/status/1917023528659869903
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8pA2TDXtew
https://www.ufonews.co/post/nazca-bodies-drive-global-scientific-investigation-part-1
https://www.ufonews.co/post/nazca-bodies-drive-global-scientific-investigation-part-2-with-dr-ruiz
https://www.ufonews.co/post/the-three-fingered-mystery-how-a-desert-discovery-is-rewriting-human-history
https://www.ufonews.co/post/what-peru-s-ministry-of-culture-doesn-t-want-you-to-know-about-the-nazca-bodies-discoveries-part-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKJVcb36eaI
What Peru’s Ministry of Culture DOESN’T Want YOU to Know About the Nazca Bodies Discoveries (Part 4)
May 1, 2025
In a groundbreaking series of interviews never before presented to an English-speaking audience, researchers from the University of Ica, Peru have shared unprecedented details about their investigation into the controversial Nazca bodies.
This article summarizes the key revelations from Part 4 of this five-part series, which features extensive interviews with Anthropologist Dr. Roger Zuñiga and the late Maxillofacial Radiologist Dr. Edgar Martin Hernandez who tragically lost his life in a car accident shortly after this interview.
The Beginning of the Investigation
The involvement of the University of Ica with the Nazca bodies began in early 2019 when Dr. Zuñiga was appointed as the university’s representative at a meeting in the Congress of the Republic.
This gathering included foreign scientists and representatives from universities with archaeology and anthropology departments. During this meeting, skeptics — primarily archaeologists — began dismissing the bodies as fraudulent.
Dr. Zuñiga took a measured stance, arguing that proper investigation should precede any conclusions about authenticity. This neutral position impressed visiting foreign scientists, leading Dr. Clara Martínez to later seek him out at the university.
Following initial contacts, an agreement was reached with the Incari group and Jois Mantilla to transfer the desiccated bodies to the University of Ica for research.
Dr. Zuñiga, initially working alone, reached out to Dr. Hernández first, followed by other medical professionals to form a dedicated investigation team.
The researchers then traveled to Cusco to retrieve four bodies from the Incari group, with Jois Mantilla officially transferring them while maintaining confidentiality about their original source.
Research Progress and Interruptions
The research team immediately began their investigation, conducting CT scans and X-rays.
Due to limited institutional support, team members often covered costs from their personal funds. Just as this initial phase of research was progressing, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a complete halt to their work.
When research resumed after the pandemic, the team faced another significant obstacle: a lawsuit filed by Peru’s Ministry of Culture against Vice-Rector Dr. Martín Alarcón, accusing the scientists of smuggling and altering the mummies.
Despite these challenges, the team had already secured important imaging data. During this period, Surgeon Dr. David Ruiz Vela joined the research team after Dr. Zuñiga saw him on television defending the authenticity of the bodies.
The team later signed what they called a “worldwide declaration” affirming that the bodies were genuine and had not been manipulated.
Confrontations with Authorities
The Public Prosecutor’s Office made multiple attempts — approximately three, according to Dr. Edgar Martin Hernandez — to seize the bodies.
In each case, the university used its autonomous status to prevent confiscation, with Vice-Rector Dr. Martín Alarcón refusing to allow law enforcement agencies access without the rector’s authorization.
Dr. Roger Zuñiga, described as the leader of the investigation team, also faced prosecution and what Dr. Edgar Hernandez characterized as harassment from authorities.
The Ministry of Culture has maintained that the bodies are not authentic, initially claiming they were assembled from children’s and birds’ bones with llama heads.
More recently, they have changed their position to suggest the bodies are products of modern craftsmanship. According to the scientists this “denialist attitude” represents a significant obstacle to scientific progress.
At the time of the interview, the legal case was in the appeals process but hearings had been repeatedly delayed, which Dr. Edgar suggested might be a deliberate strategy to impede research.
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Scientific Findings
The research team has published three scientific articles in indexed journals and presented findings at various conferences, including the Mexican Congress.
One of their notable discoveries involved a body initially named “Maria,” which based on nine anatomical indicators was later determined to be male and renamed “Mario.”
This finding was subsequently confirmed by a Canadian researcher who identified male chromosomes in genetic testing.
Carbon-14 dating placed “Mario” at approximately 1,750 years old, while other bodies, described as “children,” were dated between 800–1,200 years old.
This timing corresponds with different stages of Andean and Peruvian cultural development.
Dr. Edgar noted the presence of iconographic evidence of these beings in Andean art, including representations in geoglyphs, petroglyphs, ceramics, textiles, and metals, often depicting three-toed beings with elongated heads and no ears.
To address the Ministry’s claims of fabrication, the team conducted tests at the University of Engineering, taking samples from different parts of the bodies, including one specimen named “Alberto.”
These tests confirmed that samples from different body parts belonged to the same individual, contradicting assertions that the bodies were assembled from various animal parts.
Dr. Edgar emphasized that when cutting samples, they found genuine biological tissue without evidence of artificial joining or assemblage.
Additional research conducted in collaboration with the University of Engineering suggested that some specimens were “ovoviviparous beings.”
Dr. Edgar noted that this reproductive characteristic is reflected in some Chimú and Wari textiles, which show three-toed beings appearing to give birth.
The team also tested egg samples found with the bodies, which were confirmed to be organic material — petrified eggs — rather than river stones as critics had suggested.
The Death of Dr. Edgar Martin Hernandez
Dr. Edgar, a dedicated oral and maxillofacial radiologist who played a crucial role in the Nazca bodies investigation, tragically lost his life in a car accident shortly after recording the interview featured in part four of the series.
His vehicle veered off a cliff, bringing his contributions to this groundbreaking research to an abrupt end.
Despite this profound loss, Dr. Edgar’s scientific legacy endures through the team’s ongoing work, his published articles in indexed journals, and his passionate advocacy for rigorous investigation of these controversial findings that challenged conventional understanding.
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Scientific and Philosophical Implications
Dr. Zuñiga characterized the discovery as potentially “the most important in all of science,” suggesting that it demonstrates humanity has coexisted with other intelligent species throughout history.
Based on their studies of brain capacity relative to body size, the researchers propose these beings may have been equally or more intelligent than humans.
Both researchers acknowledged that if confirmed, these findings would significantly impact not only science and biology but also social, ideological, and religious understanding.
Drawing parallels to historical figures like Bruno and Galileo who faced persecution for challenging established beliefs, Dr. Zuñiga suggested that current resistance to their findings represents a “21st century Inquisition.”
He attributed this resistance to powerful interests, particularly religious institutions, that prefer to maintain existing paradigms.
Nevertheless he expressed confidence that scientific truth would eventually prevail, noting that established scientists from around the world were beginning to join their research efforts.
Current Status and Future Research
At the time of the interview, the University of Ica had secured administrative support from new university authorities but still lacked adequate financial resources.
The team was actively seeking partnerships with international institutions, particularly for expensive tests like ancestral DNA analysis (palaeoDNA), which cannot be conducted in Peru.
Dr. Zuñiga mentioned he was writing a book documenting the research process in detail.
Both researchers acknowledged the preliminary nature of their work, with them suggesting that complete understanding of these bodies might require four or five decades of scientific development.
They emphasized the need to approach this phenomenon through rigorous scientific methods and peer-reviewed publications rather than through social media or informal channels.
Despite the obstacles, they expressed optimism about growing international interest and the “unstoppable dissemination” of their findings.
The investigation of the Nazca bodies represents a controversial yet potentially revolutionary scientific endeavor that has faced significant institutional resistance.
While the researchers from the University of Ica have conducted initial tests suggesting the authenticity of these unusual specimens, comprehensive analysis will require additional international collaboration and resources.
As this exclusive interview series continues with a forthcoming bonus fifth part, viewers will gain further insight into what Dr. Edgar described as a discovery that could “completely change the world” and our understanding of humanity’s place in it.
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Three UAP BOMBSHELLS: Immaculate Constellation, Puthoff, and Congress | Richard Dolan Show
May 2, 2025
Richard Dolan examines three significant UAP developments from this week.
First, the Weaponized podcast revelation where Matthew Brown, a Pentagon analyst with weapons of mass destruction expertise, identifies himself as the author of the "Immaculate Constellation" report about a classified program using AI to collect UAP imagery from government servers.
Second, physicist Dr. Hal Puthoff's appearance on Joe Rogan, where he discusses his work on remote viewing programs, UAP propulsion physics, and crash retrievals based on his decades of government research.
Finally, a congressional briefing featuring experts, including Dr. Eric Davis, Christopher Mellon, and military officials who presented scientific evidence and national security concerns about UAP to lawmakers, emphasizing the need for increased transparency and data sharing across scientific and military communities.
These three events represent continued momentum in the official acknowledgment of UAP phenomena.
Watch the original videos.
Weaponized with Matthew Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAxI-LDrDqA
Hal Puthoff on Joe Rogan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf_tKn9TaP8
UAP Disclosure Fund Congressional Briefing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yFwUdbSpko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w46zWnfpfJo