TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
May 5, 2025
Planet Lines Across Water
What’s causing those lines? Objects in the sky sometimes appear reflected as lines across water — but why? If the water’s surface is smooth, then reflected objects would appear similarly as spots. But if the water is choppy, then there are many places where light from the object can reflect off the water and still come to you and so together form, typically, a line. The same effect is frequently seen for the Sun just before sunset and just after sunrise. Pictured about 10 days ago in Ibiza, Spain, images of the setting Moon, Venus (top), and Saturn (right, faint) were captured both directly and in line-reflected forms from the Mediterranean Sea. The other bright object on the right with a water-reflected line is a beacon on a rock to warn passing boats.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
National Astronaut Day
May 5, 2025
National Astronaut Day is celebrated on May 5 since 2016 to commemorate the first time an American, Alan Shepard, went to space.
From the first-ever space flight to the longest spaceflight by a woman; we have come a long way.
History of National Astronaut Day
In January 1959, NASA began an astronaut selection procedure in response to the space race and Russia’s first victorious launch into space.
This included screening the records of 508 military test pilots from which 110 candidates were chosen. At the end of the extremely tough selection process, seven were chosen based on final interviews.
They were: L. Gordon Cooper Jr., Scott Carpenter, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, John H. Glenn Jr., Alan Shepard Jr., Walter Schirra Jr., and Donald Slayton. They would go down in history as the Mercury Seven.
Among them, Astronaut Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. became the first American to be launched into space on May 5, 1961.
The flight lasted 15 minutes and reached a height of 116 miles, which itself was a milestone. National Astronaut Day was created in 2016 by Uniphi Space Agency.
It is a talent and marketing division of Uniphi Good LLC, a firm that represents over 20 former NASA astronauts.
National Astronaut Day celebrates astronauts as heroes who keep on inspiring us to reach for the stars.
It is a tribute to all those brave people who risked their lives to expand mankind’s knowledge about space exploration and the universe at large.
The intent behind National Astronaut Day is to share experiences and stories from astronauts and spark curiosity among young space lovers and motivate them to follow their dreams.
https://nationaltoday.com/national-astronaut-day/
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/496498/army-space-command-celebrates-national-astronaut-day
Army space command celebrates National Astronaut Day
05.05.2025
On National Astronaut Day, a day dedicated to celebrating America’s space icons, the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command team members honor the Army’s active-duty astronauts: Col. Anne McClain, Col. Andrew “Drew” Morgan and Col. Frank Rubio.
Rubio serves as the NASA Detachment’s branch chief in Houston, McClain currently serves approximately 150 miles above the Earth on the International Space Station, and Morgan serves as the U.S. Army Garrison Kwajalein Atoll commander.
“The space environment is rapidly changing,” McClain said. “The sheer number of people, corporations and countries involved in spaceflight has grown exponentially in recent years.
With that comes security concerns. Protecting our people and assets in space is a critical, no-fail mission both today and in the future.
“Our allies and adversaries are rapidly developing new technologies, and it is our responsibility to stay ahead of that innovation curve,” she added.
“As an Army astronaut, I bring a unique perspective on the realities of living and working in space.”
National Astronaut Day has been observed on May 5 since 2017 to celebrate astronauts as American heroes.
It commemorates the first United States human spaceflight by Astronaut Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. who became the first American in space aboard the Freedom 7 Space capsule on May 5, 1961.
The brief suborbital flight lasted 15 minutes and reached a height of 116 miles into the atmosphere.
McClain, who was an aviation officer before being selected by NASA as part of Astronaut Group 21 in 2013, was the youngest astronaut on the NASA roster at 34 years old.
She flew to the ISS on Dec. 3, 2018, and returned June 25, 2019, after 204 days in space. On Dec. 9, 2020, McClain was announced as one of NASA’s Artemis astronauts.
She was selected as commander for the SpaceX Crew-10 mission to the ISS with the flight launching on March 14.
“I have been interested in spaceflight and exploration as long as I can remember,” McClain said. “Looking up at the stars, instead of just appreciating the beauty, I had a desire to go visit them."
McClain said as she progressed in her education and career, she found she also liked the types of things that are required to be selected as an Army astronaut.
McClain said she loved flying helicopters and would still be doing it had she not been selected. “I love working with teams in an operational environment, like we do in the Army,” McClain said.
“I love being an Army leader, with enormous amounts of responsibility. I loved becoming an engineer and appreciated the thought processes and creativity that came with it.
At some point, I realized that I may actually be able to pull off being an astronaut.
“This job is incredible,” she added. “Every day, we have a new problem to solve, a new technology to test, or a new partner to work with. No two days are alike.
Every day, I leverage the skills I learned in the Army about operating in a complex environment with a high performing team. What’s not to love about that?”
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Morgan, who served as an Army emergency physician with Special Forces, was also selected by NASA in June 2013 as one of the eight members of NASA Astronaut Group 21.
He launched into space on July 20, 2019, joining the ISS Expeditions 60, 61 and 62. Morgan returned to Earth on April 17, 2020, ending a 272-day spaceflight, the fourth-longest single spaceflight for an American astronaut.
“As a kid growing up in the 1980s, I was fascinated by science, exploration and the space shuttle program,” Morgan said.
“I even saw a space shuttle land at Edwards Air Force Base (California) when I was in junior high school.
Then later, NASA selected and trained me as an astronaut because of education, skills and attributes that I received through my 30-year career in the Army.
I like working in small teams of highly skilled operators that work together for a shared goal.
“Now, I am a commander of a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on Kwajalein Atoll, where we operate and maintain radar systems that keep track of objects and spacecraft in space that are interesting to the military,” he added.
Rubio, who was a Medical Corps officer, was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22 in 2017 and launched into space on Sept. 21, 2022.
His mission was originally planned to last around six months, however Rubio returned to Earth on Sept. 27, 2023.
With that flight, Rubio broke retired Col. Mark T. Vande Hei’s previous record of 355 days for the longest spaceflight by an American astronaut with 371 days.
“A friend recommended that I apply for the NASA astronaut program in 2015, and I decided to do a deep dive into the NASA mission and organization,” Rubio said.
“My desire to join the NASA team only grew stronger as I became more familiar with the mission and as I got to know the people who are part of this incredible team.”
He said Army astronauts provide crew perspective and expertise about living and operating in space to both NASA and other agencies to further the nation’s interests in the current and future space environments.
“I love knowing that when the NASA team innovates and explores, we do so to both inspire those around us, and to help improve the quality of life for current and future generations, not only in our nation, but for all of humanity,” Rubio said.
“It’s an incredible privilege and an honor to represents our nation as both an Army Soldier and astronaut.”
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kek
https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2025/news-2025-113
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2041-8213/adcd76
NASA's Webb Lifts Veil on Common but Mysterious Type of Exoplanet
May 05, 2025 10:00AM (EDT)
Though they don’t orbit around our Sun, sub-Neptunes are the most common type of exoplanet, or planet outside our solar system, that have been observed in our galaxy. These small, gassy planets are shrouded in mystery…and often, a lot of haze.
Now, by observing exoplanet TOI-421 b, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is helping scientists understand sub-Neptunes in a way that was not possible prior to the telescope’s launch.
“I had been waiting my entire career for Webb so that we could meaningfully characterize the atmospheres of these smaller planets,” said principal investigator Eliza Kempton of the University of Maryland, College Park.
“By studying their atmospheres, we’re getting a better understanding of how sub-Neptunes formed and evolved, and part of that is understanding why they don't exist in our solar system.”
Small, Cool, Shrouded in Haze
The existence of sub-Neptunes was unexpected before they were discovered by NASA’s retired Kepler space telescope in the last decade. Now, astronomers are trying to understand where these planets came from and why are they so common.
Before Webb, scientists had very little information on them. While sub-Neptunes are a few times larger than Earth, they are still much smaller than gas-giant planets and typically cooler than hot Jupiters, making them much more challenging to observe than their gas-giant counterparts.
A key finding prior to Webb was that most sub-Neptune atmospheres had flat or featureless transmission spectra.
This means that when scientists observed the spectrum of the planet as it passed in front of its host star, instead of seeing spectral features – the chemical fingerprints that would reveal the composition of the atmosphere – they saw only a flat-line spectrum.
Astronomers concluded from all of those flat-line spectra that at least certain sub-Neptunes were probably very highly obscured by either clouds or hazes.
A Different Kind of Sub-Neptune?
“Why did we observe this planet, TOI-421 b? It's because we thought that maybe it wouldn't have hazes,” said Kempton.
“And the reason is that there were some previous data that implied that maybe planets over a certain temperature range were less enshrouded by haze or clouds than others.”
That temperature threshold is about 1,070 degrees Fahrenheit. Below that, scientists hypothesized that a complex set of photochemical reactions would occur between sunlight and methane gas, and that would trigger the haze.
But hotter planets shouldn't have methane and therefore perhaps shouldn't have haze.
The temperature of TOI-421 b is about 1,340 degrees Fahrenheit, well above the presumed threshold.
Without haze or clouds, researchers expected to see a clear atmosphere – and they did!
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A Surprising Finding
“We saw spectral features that we attribute to various gases, and that allowed us to determine the composition of the atmosphere,” said the University of Maryland’s Brian Davenport, a third-year Ph.D. student who conducted the primary data analysis.
“Whereas with many of the other sub-Neptunes that had been previously observed, we know their atmospheres are made of something, but they're being blocked by haze.”
The team found water vapor in the planet’s atmosphere, as well as tentative signatures of carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide.
Then there are molecules they didn’t detect, such as methane and carbon dioxide. From the data, they can also infer that a large amount of hydrogen is in TOI-421 b’s atmosphere.
The lightweight hydrogen atmosphere was the big surprise to the researchers.
“We had recently wrapped our mind around the idea that those first few sub-Neptunes observed by Webb had heavy-molecule atmospheres, so that had become our expectation, and then we found the opposite,” said Kempton.
This suggests TOI-421 b may have formed and evolved differently from the cooler sub-Neptunes observed previously.
Is TOI-421 b Unique?
The hydrogen-dominated atmosphere is also interesting because it mimics the composition of TOI-421 b's host star.
“If you just took the same gas that made the host star, plopped it on top of a planet's atmosphere, and put it at the much cooler temperature of this planet, you would get the same combination of gases.
That process is more in line with the giant planets in our solar system, and it is different from other sub-Neptunes that have been observed with Webb so far,” said Kempton.
Aside from being hotter than other sub-Neptunes previously observed with Webb, TOI-421 b orbits a Sun-like star. Most of the other sub-Neptunes that have been observed so far orbit smaller, cooler stars called red dwarfs.
Is TOI-421b emblematic of hot sub-Neptunes orbiting Sun-like stars, or is it just that exoplanets are very diverse?
To find out, the researchers would like to observe more hot sub-Neptunes to determine if this is a unique case or a broader trend. They hope to gain insights into the formation and evolution of these common exoplanets.
“We've unlocked a new way to look at these sub-Neptunes,” said Davenport. “These high-temperature planets are amenable to characterization.
So by looking at sub-Neptunes of this temperature, we're perhaps more likely to accelerate our ability to learn about these planets.”
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Lockheed Martin hands over Artemis II Orion spacecraft to NASA ahead of 2026 lunar mission
May 4, 2025
DENVER - Lockheed Martin has completed assembly and testing of NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission and officially transferred it to NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems team on May 1 for final launch preparations.
The milestone marks a key step in NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon and lay the groundwork for future human missions to Mars.
Artemis II, currently scheduled for launch in early 2026, will be the first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft and the first human mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.
"This achievement is a testament to our employees and suppliers who have worked tirelessly to get us to this important milestone," said Kirk Shireman, vice president of Human Space Exploration and Orion program manager at Lockheed Martin.
"It’s exciting to think that soon, humans will see the Earth rise over the lunar horizon from our vehicle."
Upgrades
The Artemis II Orion spacecraft includes major upgrades from earlier test flights, with new systems to support crew health and safety, such as life support, thermal control, waste management, audio communications, and an exercise machine.
It also features a functional launch abort system, partial docking sensors, and an experimental laser communications system for high-data-rate transmissions.
NASA provides update on Artemis missions, heat shield investigation findings
With possession transferred, NASA’s team at Kennedy Space Center will complete spacecraft processing, including loading propellants, installing the launch abort fairing, and stacking the vehicle atop the Space Launch System rocket inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Lockheed Martin continues to build Orion spacecraft for future Artemis missions, with vehicles for Artemis III and IV already under assembly.
The company holds a contract with NASA through Artemis VIII and reports cost reductions with each successive spacecraft.
https://www.militaryaerospace.com/home/article/55287723/lockheed-martin-hands-over-artemis-ii-orion-spacecraft-to-nasa-ahead-of-2026-lunar-mission
Spawning Spectacle
May 5, 2025
Every spring, thousands of Pacific herring congregate in shallow, vegetated coastal areas around Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, to spawn.
These events brighten the water—often on a large enough scale to be detected by satellites.
One such spectacle was on display late in the 2025 spawning season when the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 acquired this image on April 27.
This eye-catching patch of water appeared along the southeast coast of Nootka Island, just west of Vancouver Island, and was also observed from shore near a fishing lodge.
To spawn, populations of the small, silvery fish move from offshore waters where they feed to sheltered bays and coastal areas.
Females produce eggs that stick to kelp, seagrass, and other surfaces. Males release a sperm-containing fluid called milt into the water, giving it a cloudy turquoise look.
The timing of a herring spawning event depends on latitude and other factors, and the change in water color can last several hours to several days.
In southern British Columbia, spawning occurs from mid-February through early May, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada data analyzed by Loïc Dallaire at the University of Victoria in Canada.
Dallaire is using satellite imagery to augment records of past spawning events and streamline future detections.
The project is a partnership between the Spectral Remote Sensing Laboratory, led by professor Maycira Costa in the university’s geography department, and the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
The effort leverages Landsat satellites’ ability to detect spawns in order to estimate herring activity over larger areas and longer time periods.
Records may otherwise be constrained by survey timing, the availability of reports from remote locations, and fisheries priorities.
The Strait of Georgia, located northeast of Vancouver Island, is a productive waterway for herring and a core area for commercial fishing in British Columbia.
The fish and their roe are also valuable to First Nations and the marine ecosystem throughout their range, including the region shown in this image.
A few dozen spawning events have been recorded in this Nootka Island inlet during the past 70 years, said Dallaire, though it is possible some have been missed.
A fuller picture of the locations of spawning areas and how they might be changing could provide clues to other aspects of the ecosystem.
Herring have a strong link to juvenile salmon, he noted. As a forage fish species, Pacific herring are a key food source for salmon and other marine life such as seals and humpback whales.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/154243/spawning-spectacle
Report on nation's first space weather simulation exercise
May 5, 2025
The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, recently released the results of the nation's first end-to-end Space Weather Tabletop Exercise (TTX), held in May 2024.
The After-Action Report, published in March 2025, highlights the key findings and insights gained from the exercise.
Space weather events, such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections, can have significant effects on the nation's infrastructure, economy and daily life.
The TTX simulated these severe solar events and tested the government's interagency coordination, response protocols and communications across a wide range of industry and critical infrastructure sectors, marking an important milestone in the nation's preparedness for severe space weather.
Space weather experts—alongside those responsible for emergency management, response and recovery from 25 federal, state, tribal territory and local agencies—engaged in a hypothetical scenario that simulated a series of solar events with wide-ranging effects on Earth and the space between Earth and the moon, including:
Intense radiation exposure to satellites, astronauts and commercial aviation
Radio communications outages and disruptions
Loss of functionality or degraded performance of GPS for precision navigation and timing
Reduced ability to communicate with and track on-orbit satellites
Local- to regional-scale power outages, affecting railways and even pipelines
"This critical exercise provided awareness to senior government leaders while highlighting key research and observational gaps as well as best communication practices on the important topic of space weather," said Ian Cohen, deputy chief scientist in APL's Space Exploration Sector and the exercise's science lead.
The TTX built on APL's experience in hosting similar senior-leadership-level exercises across different topics and sectors—including planetary defense and global health—and the Laboratory was in the unique position to bring together a wide range of subject-matter experts, including heliophysics and space weather scientists, space systems engineers, national security and critical infrastructure experts, and emergency preparedness and response leaders.
The After-Action Report identified several key findings and recommendations, including:
Demonstrating the need for better coordination to produce meaningful and understandable space weather notifications that clearly describe the potential impacts on critical infrastructure
Emphasizing the importance of a whole-of-government approach, especially federal-regional-state-level coordination and awareness, while also highlighting existing gaps that need to be filled to ensure a streamlined and rapid response
Highlighting opportunities to understand current technology limitations and discussing possibilities for improved forecasting capabilities, including suggestions to place spacecraft farther upstream (closer to the sun) for earlier warning of impending storms
Underscoring the need for a national space weather education campaign to raise awareness of risks and improve public understanding
Demonstrating the need for a more coordinated and streamlined communications plan with the public through federal, state and local agencies, and on social media
Showcasing the benefits of a whole-of-government exercise to prepare for scientifically complex threats
Dipak Srinivasan, a program area manager in APL's Space Exploration Sector and the APL exercise manager, noted that "the TTX was a critical step in the nation's preparedness for severe space weather events.
We at APL are proud to have brought the breadth and depth of our capabilities to lead this and other types of interagency activities on behalf of our sponsors.
It allows us to provide realistic exercise scenarios that would stress our systems, helping inform agencies across government about the technical, communications and policy gaps in our space weather readiness."
In a remarkable coincidence, a significant real-world space weather event—the largest geomagnetic disturbance in more than 20 years, the "Gannon Storm"—occurred at the same time as the exercise.
Several key participants had to simultaneously manage both the real-world needs of the nation and the simulated actions of the TTX, highlighting the importance of preparedness and the relevance of the exercise to real-world events.
The TTX was developed independently and did not replicate the event or intentionally align with the timing.
https://phys.org/news/2025-05-nation-space-weather-simulation.html
https://www.jhuapl.edu/sites/default/files/2025-04/Space-Weather-TTX-Report-Summary-v3-FINAL.pdf
Elon Musk Became Fixated on the Idea That a Sniper Shot His Rocket, Causing It to Explode
May 5, 10:34 AM
After a Falcon 9 rocket exploded violently and unexpectedly on the launch pad in 2016, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk became suspicious that the cause was something almost unimaginably dramatic: a "sniper" on the roof of a rival's building.
Footage of the event shows the rocket erupting into a gigantic ball of fire in an instant, reducing the mounted Amos-6 Israeli communications satellite into scorched debris.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed with the Federal Aviation Administration by Ars Technica's Eric Berger around two years ago has now revealed that SpaceX engineers thoroughly investigated whether a shooter could've caused the rocket to rupture and explode.
According to Berger, Musk — who was asleep at his home in California when the blast occurred — immediately gravitated toward the theory himself, perhaps giving a glimpse of what's now become his dominantly paranoid worldview.
The space firm investigated whether the round could've been shot by a sniper from the roof of a building — which belonged to rival United Launch Alliance (ULA) — roughly a mile away from the launch pad.
Engineers even tried to shoot tanks themselves to see if they could recreate the incident.
And per Berger's FOIA, even the FBI got involved, highlighting the significance of SpaceX's second rocket failure in a little more than a year, around the time when NASA made big investments in the company to establish a new way to deliver its astronauts to the International Space Station.
The incident also underlines how far Musk is willing to go to blame anyone except himself — and his penchant for embracing outlandish conspiracy theories, something for which he has garnered an increasing reputation in recent years.
However, the investigation ultimately concluded that no gunman was involved and that SpaceX had loaded the rocket's pressurized tanks with super-chilled helium too quickly.
Regardless, the timing of the explosion couldn't have been worse. In 2016, SpaceX's rivalry with the ULA, which at the time was launching far more rockets, was extremely heated.
Musk sued the US Air Force in April 2014, accusing it of acting anti-competitively and awarding the ULA launch contracts unfairly.
All eyes were on SpaceX, which was furiously working on its Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The optics weren't great, with NASA naming four astronauts to its "commercial crew" weeks after the first Falcon 9 explosion in the summer of 2015. The massive blast the following year likely didn't help matters.
To seemingly try to clear his and SpaceX's name, Musk had personally directed the company to make a big fuss out of the since-discredited "sniper" theory.
Nonetheless, even the FBI found "no indications to suggest that sabotage or any other criminal activity played a role in the September 1 Falcon 9 explosion," according to an October 2016 letter obtained by Berger.
In the end SpaceX had the last laugh, though, surpassing the ULA's yearly number of rocket launches in 2017 and becoming the first private company to transport astronauts to the Space Station in 2019.
https://futurism.com/elon-musk-sniper-rocket-explode
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/05/spacex-pushed-sniper-theory-with-the-feds-far-more-than-is-publicly-known/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BgJEXQkjNQ
What time is it on the moon? US House space committee wants a standard lunar clock
May 5, 2025
We are one step closer to getting a lunar time zone this week, as a bill passed out of the US House Science, Space and Technology committee directs the administrator of NASA to develop a way to coordinate and measure time on the moon.
The bill is titled The Celestial Time Standardization Act (or HR 2313), and was passed out of committee by a voice vote on Tuesday (April 29).
It now goes to the full House for a future floor vote. If it passes the House (and then the U.S. Senate), it would go to President Trump's desk, where it would be signed into law.
The bill will "require the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to develop celestial time standardization to support future operations and infrastructure on and around the Moon and other celestial bodies other than Earth, and for other purposes."
Specifically, the bill directs "The Administrator of NASA, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, shall carry out the following:
(1) Enable the development of celestial time standardization, including by leading the study and definition of a coordinated lunar time.
(2) Develop a strategy to implement a coordinated lunar time that would support future operations and infrastructure on and around the Moon."
The bill further requires that NASA work with relevant public, private and academic institutions, international partners, and international standard-setting bodies to develop the new time system, with a few key requirements as guidance.
First, the new Coordinated Lunar Time (LTC) needs to be translatable into Coordinated Universal Time (UTC); it needs to be accurate enough for precision space navigation and communication; it needs to function uninterrupted during periods of loss of contact with Earth; and finally, the new time system needs to be scalable so that similar time systems can be established for other celestial bodies beyond the moon, especially Mars.
The issue of a dedicated time zone on the moon hasn't been given much attention in the past, as NASA and other agencies have previously used "mission elapsed time" and other timekeeping means to coordinate navigation and communication in cislunar space.
However, as NASA and other space agencies have set their sights on new moon missions and establishing a permanent lunar presence, a common timekeeping system may be a good idea.
One major reason scientists can't simply use Earth time on the moon has to do with Albert Einstein's general relativity theory, which shows that gravity, mass and the passage of time are inextricably linked.
All of our Earth clocks are therefore effectively set to Earth’s gravity, while clocks on the moon would need to be set according to the much lower mass and gravity of the moon.
Time on the moon passes about 58.7 microseconds faster than on Earth, and when you're dealing with the kind of precision required for distant communication and navigation between the lunar surface and our planet, that difference (only about 58.7 millionths of a second) can cause real world problems.
Bipartisan support for LTC is a good sign for Artemis
With NASA facing some hefty proposed cuts to its funding this year and beyond, the unanimous voice vote to pass HR 2313 out of committee is encouraging for the future of NASA's Artemis mission, which aims to return humans to the moon in the next few years and ultimately establish a permanent base of the lunar surface.
LTC would be necessary for any permanent operations on the lunar surface and in orbit around the moon.
This bipartisan support for Artemis was further demonstrated during the nomination hearing for Jared Isaacman, President Trump's pick to lead NASA, where both Republican and Democratic senators pressed Isaacman on his commitment to the program amid fears that he would prioritize Mars over returning to the moon.
"We will prioritize sending American astronauts to Mars and along the way we will inevitably have the capabilities to return to the moon," Isaacman told the committee, adding later in his testimony that "We don't have to make a binary decision of moon versus Mars, or moon has to come first versus Mars."
Isaacman's nomination also passed out of the Senate committee this week, with both Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) supporting his nomination on the condition that Isaacman continue to pursue Artemis’ program objectives.
"Mr. Isaacman seems to be committed to the current plan for both lander redundancies, Space Launch Systems, and returning to the Moon as fast as possible," Cantwell said.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/what-time-is-it-on-the-moon-us-house-space-committee-wants-a-standard-lunar-clock
https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr2313/BILLS-119hr2313ih.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr8DVAo3yZg
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks tonight: Here's how to see fragments of Halley's comet burn up in the atmosphere
May 5, 2025
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower peaks tonight: Here's how to see fragments of Halley's comet burn up in the atmosphere
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower 2025 peaks tonight! Here's how and when to catch one of nature's most spectacular light shows, courtesy of Halley's comet.
Southern hemisphere skywatchers will have the best view of the Eta Aquarids with the highest number of shooting stars.
This is because the point of origin of the shower — known as the radiant — is high in the sky in the constellation of Aquarius at this time of year for those in southern latitudes.
However, NASA has estimated that stargazers in the northern hemisphere can still see around 10 meteors per hour under dark sky conditions, so be sure to stake your meteor hunting spot out ahead of time!
The best time to view the Eta Aquarids for U.S. stargazers will be a few hours before dawn on May 6, at which time the radiant can be found close to the bright star Sadachbia in the constellation Aquarius, close to the southeastern horizon.
When looking for the longest meteor trains, you never want to look directly at the radiant. Instead, take NASA's advice, and lie down flat on your back on something soft with your feet pointing to the east.
This will let you take in a vast swathe of the sky, giving you the best chance to spot an Eta Aquarid streaking through the sky.
Halley's Comet significance and scrutiny
Halley's Comet holds a special place of significance and popularity among both the general public and the astronomy community alike.
In 1705, the wandering body became the first comet whose return was successfully predicted using Isaac Newton's theories on planetary motions and gravity by famed astronomer Edmond Halley.
The comet was the subject of intense scrutiny from an international fleet of spacecraft upon its most recent visit to the inner solar system in 1986, after which it disappeared from Earth's skies to continue along its 76-year orbital path, which takes it 3.28 billion miles from our sun. Halley's Comet began its 38-year journey back towards our star on Dec. 8, 2023, and isn't due to make another 'close' pass to Earth until 2061, according to NASA.
Until then, stargazers can observe its legacy in the annual Orionid and Eta Aquarid meteor showers, during which debris shed by the legendary comet collides with our atmosphere to create spectacular shooting stars.
The Orionids won't get underway until early October. However, the April-May Eta Aquarid meteor shower is due to reach its peak tonight, as Earth dives through the densest part of Halley's orbital trail.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteor-showers/the-eta-aquarid-meteor-shower-peaks-tonight-heres-how-to-see-fragments-of-halleys-comet-burn-up-in-the-atmosphere
McGill platform becomes safe space for conserving U.S. climate research under threat
May 04, 2025 at 2:25PM EDT
Academics at McGill University in Montreal are providing the U.S. scientific community a platform to protect climate research under attack.
Six months ago, researchers at McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management launched the Sustainability Academic Network SUSANHub.com a database that centralizes climate research and data.
"We initially created this platform to connect researchers and professionals in sustainable development and climate change," said Juan Serpa, a professor at the Desautels Faculty of Management, describing the platform as a kind of "LinkedIn" for the field.
But at a time when the administration of United States President Donald Trump is firing climate researchers, banning certain words from scientific articles, cutting funding for environmental research, threatening to withdraw financial support from universities, and deleting scientific reports from government websites, the McGill platform has taken on a different significance.
"The goal is to protect scientific data against threats from the U.S. government," Serpa said.
The platform has been logging 39,000 weekly visits from academics and researchers. Scientific data that is on the chopping block south of the border is downloaded and uploaded to the platform.
Scientific data on wildfires, protecting forests from insects and diseases, the impact of climate change on agriculture, flood risks, ocean plastic pollution, and the industries that emit the most greenhouse gases are just a few examples of data that can be accessed on SUSANHub.com and that would otherwise be at risk of being lost.
"We want to be proactive, not reactive, because once data disappears, there's nothing we can do," Serpa said.
The thousands of data sets his team has saved are freely accessible and categorized according to 65 themes related to sustainable development.
The platform also provides access to a directory of 60,000 researchers and 25,000 research institutes.
"It's an international network, but mainly American researchers," Serpa said, adding he is very worried for colleagues in the United States.
"I feel compassion and empathy for all these researchers," he said. "It is a very difficult time for them, many people are afraid right now."
Serpa fears he will no longer be able to travel to the United States because of his involvement in the SUSANHub.com platform.
Since the beginning of Trump's second term in office, U.S. federal agencies have removed information on climate change from more than 200 government websites, according to the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, a network that seeks to save scientific research.
The Trump administration also laid off thousands of employees at the U.S. Forest Service and hundreds of workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency that studies climate change.
Last week, the Trump administration fired hundreds of researchers working on the Sixth National Climate Assessment, a major report on climate change published every five years.
Layoffs, budget cuts, funding cuts, and what many researchers describe as censorship have given rise to the "Stand Up for Science" movement in the United States.
Abroad, Trump's revolt against science is also galvanizing initiatives that would have been considered improbable just a few years ago.
In France, for instance, former president-turned-parliamentarian François Hollande introduced a bill on April 14 to create a "scientific refugee" status to make it easier for France to welcome scientists threatened by the American president's policies.
"Researchers, forced into exile by the Trump administration, must be recognized as full-fledged refugees," wrote the former French president in an op-ed in the newspaper Libération, a few days before introducing his bill.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2025.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/montreal/article/mcgill-platform-becomes-safe-space-for-conserving-us-climate-research-under-threat/
https://susanhub.com/
Watch SpaceX’s stunning footage from Fram2 polar mission
May 4, 2025 4:50 PM
At the end of last month, SpaceX conducted the first-ever polar-orbit human spaceflight mission, and it’s just shared some stunning footage (below) that was captured during the epic voyage.
Launched on March 31 aboard the Crew Dragon capsule Resilience from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Fram2 became the first crewed mission to fly in a true polar orbit, passing directly over both the North and South poles.
The journey lasted just under four days, with the splashdown off the coast of California marking the first time for a SpaceX crewed mission to land in the Pacific.
The Fram2 mission was funded by Chun Wang, a Chinese-born entrepreneur and adventurer from Malta.
Wang flew alongside Norwegian cinematographer Jannicke Mikkelsen, Australian polar explorer Eric Philips, and German robotics engineer Rabea Rogge. None were professional astronauts and it was the first orbital experience for all of them.
During their mission, the crew carried out more than 20 scientific experiments, which, according to SpaceX, were designed “to help advance humanity’s capabilities for long-duration space exploration.”
They included the taking of the first-ever X-ray in space to study the effects of microgravity on bone and muscle density.
They also participated in exercise studies aimed at maintaining muscle and skeletal mass while in microgravity conditions, and observed auroras and atmospheric phenomena from their unique vantage point.
While in orbit, Wang dropped regular posts on social media, including one revealing how the crew needed time to adjust to the off-Earth conditions.
“The first few hours in microgravity weren’t exactly comfortable,” Wang wrote. “Space motion sickness hit all of us — we felt nauseous and ended up vomiting a couple of times.
It felt different from motion sickness in a car or at sea. You could still read on your iPad without making it worse. But even a small sip of water could upset your stomach and trigger vomiting … By the second morning, I felt completely refreshed.”
Despite the initial discomfort, the mission was considered a success and represented a step forward in commercial and private human space exploration.
And in case you were wondering, the “Fram2” name honors the legacy of the Norwegian polar research ship Fram, which was the first vessel to complete expeditions to both the North and South Poles more than 100 years ago.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/space/spacex-shares-stunning-footage-from-fram2-polar-mission-2/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTE4MtR0do
https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1919172303709184350
120 kilos of cocaine seized from bulk carrier using underwater drone
5th May 2025, 15:54
Customs has seized 120 kilos of cocaine from a bulk carrier in Gibraltar waters.
The Panamanian-flagged M/V Great Zhou came from Brazil, and had called in for bunkers.
Earlier this week, officers searched the ship using an underwater drone, and discovered four packages.
These were found to contain cocaine with an estimated street value of over £7 million.
Customs officers interviewed all crew members, and carried out a further search of the ship.
It was then released, with investigations underway.
Customs says the drugs were not thought to be destined for Gibraltar.
However, it says their detection and seizure has stopped them from arriving at their destination, and deprived drug traffickers of the money they would have made.
The Collector of Customs said the investment in the underwater drone has already paid off.
John Payas commended his officers, and also thanked the Port Authority.
The Chief Minister said his Government’s investment in Customs has had real results in combatting drug crime.
Fabian Picardo said this is a reminder to organised crime groups that Gibraltar plays an important part in the international fight against drug trafficking.
https://www.gbc.gi/news/120-kilos-cocaine-seized-bulk-carrier
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys9YeOUvpHA
Russian glide bombs pound Kiev’s troops
5 May, 2025 14:21
New videos have shown glide bombs deployed by Russian aircraft destroying Ukrainian forces’ positions in several areas on the front line.
The clips, posted by Telegram channels on Saturday and Sunday, capture the use of FAB (high explosive bomb) munitions in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region and Russia’s Kherson Region.
In one of the videos, a FAB-3000 is seen leveling a temporary deployment point for Ukrainian troops in the town of Kupyansk in Kharkov Region.
The bomb is one of the most powerful in the series, weighing more than three tons.
More footage, also from Kupyansk, purports to show a winged FAB-3000 bomb striking a building used as a command post by the Ukrainian military.
The other clips showcase glide bomb strikes against Ukrainian targets in the settlements of Burgunka, Berislav and Kutkovka in Kherson Region – including with smaller FAB-500 munitions.
The FAB series was designed in the Soviet Union to destroy enemy defenses and fortifications, as well as military industrial facilities.
The bomb’s strong case is capable of penetrating ceiling joists in multistory buildings while keeping it relatively intact.
Last year, the Russian military began outfitting its FAB bombs with Universal Correction and Guidance Modules (UMPK), which turn older free-fall munitions into high-precision weaponry.
Some Western think-tanks and media outlets described the development as “a game changer on the battlefield.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/616798-glide-bombs-kherson-kharkov/
Ukrainian drones kill three civilians in Kursk Region – governor
5 May, 2025 09:59
Ukrainian drone attacks have resulted in three civilian deaths in Russia's Kursk Region, according to Acting Governor Aleksandr Khinstein.
In a social media post on Monday, he denounced the “latest crimes against civilians committed by the Ukrainian military.”
Two women died when a car carrying five dairy farm employees was struck by a Ukrainian first-person view drone, while two others sustained serious injuries, Khinstein said.
The regional head added that in a separate incident, a man in his early 50s was killed by an explosive device dropped from a UAV onto the vehicle he was driving.
Khinstein urged Kursk Region residents to be on guard for further Ukrainian attacks and to prioritize their safety.
Last year, Kiev targeted Kursk Region with a massive incursion, capturing some border territories that Ukrainian officials claimed they would use for leverage during eventual peace talks.
The Russian military reported the full liberation of the territory in late April, but Kiev stated that its cross-border operations continue.
This week, Russia will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.
President Vladimir Putin had ordered a three-day unilateral ceasefire to coincide with the commemorations, but Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky refused to reciprocate, saying Kiev would accept nothing short of an unconditional 30-day truce.
He and other Ukrainian officials have issued veiled threats to target the military parade being held in Moscow on May 9, which will be attended by foreign dignitaries.
Russia has denounced the rhetoric as evidence of Ukraine using terrorist tactics.
https://www.rt.com/russia/616791-drone-civilins-kursk-killed/
Ahead of Putin's Victory Day Parade, Ukrainian drones reportedly target Moscow, Russian officials claim
May 5, 2025 9:03 AM
Four drones were intercepted overnight as they approached Moscow just days before Russia’s annual Victory Day parade and proposed temporary ceasefire, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and the Russian Defense Ministry said on May 5.
Sobyanin said the drones were shot down near the town of Podolsk, south of the capital, and reported no casualties or damage.
The strikes, which occurred early May 5, reportedly disrupted operations at Moscow’s airports. Videos shared on Russian social media appeared to capture the sound of air defense systems in the area.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed the downing of four drones over the Moscow region. It also reported intercepting 17 drones over Bryansk Oblast and five more over Kaluga Oblast.
The Ukrainian government has not commented on the reported attack. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the Russian claims.
The attack comes ahead of Russia’s May 9 Victory Day celebrations, which mark the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on May 3 that Russia could stage provocations, such as "arsons, explosions, or other actions," around the event and attempt to blame Ukraine.
Victory Day, one of Russia’s most symbolic holidays, is expected to feature a military parade in Moscow’s Red Square.
The Kremlin has invited foreign guests to attend, though many Western officials have declined.
Ukraine, along with most European nations, observes Victory in Europe Day on May 8 and has invited senior EU officials to Kyiv that day in a symbolic counter to Moscow’s display.
The drone strike also follows Russia’s announcement of a unilateral "humanitarian truce" from May 8 to May 11.
Zelensky dismissed the move as a "theatrical performance," accusing Russia of using brief ceasefires to manipulate international perception while continuing its attacks before and after.
The Victory Day ceasefire is the latest in a series of truce initiatives announced by Moscow, all of which Russia has violated.
Earlier this month, Russia declared a ceasefire over the Easter holiday, though President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Moscow of nearly 3,000 violations between April 19 and April 21.
Ukraine has also said that Russian forces repeatedly breached a partial truce on attacks against energy facilities brokered on March 25.
Russia has repeatedly proclaimed its supposed readiness for peace talks while simultaneously pushing for maximalist demands.
Kyiv has dismissed these declarations as a propaganda stunt, noting that Russian forces have only intensified their attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns.
https://kyivindependent.com/drone-strike-hits-moscow-region-days-ahead-of-russias-victory-day-parade/
https://twitter.com/maria_drutska/status/1919237760231039257
Sudan Warns Kenya After RSF Drone Strike on Key Military Base in Port Sudan
Monday, 5 May 2025 - 8:58 am
Sudan-based rebel group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched suicide drones targeting Osman Digna Air Base, a military airport in Port Sudan, which has been operating as the de facto capital of the war-torn country.
The Sunday, May 4, strikes marked the first time that attacks by the militia have reached the city since the war broke out two years ago.
Although no casualties were reported, the attack resulted in damage to several warehouses and civilian service facilities.
It, however, came just two days after a similar terrorist airstrike was launched targeting facilities in the city of Kassala.
In a statement after the attack, Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a pointed warning to the "regional nation" sponsoring the rebel group, urging the international community to intervene.
"This escalation by the rebel Janjaweed RSF militia and its regional sponsor reaffirms their determination to destroy infrastructure and service facilities essential for providing Sudanese citizens with a dignified life and well-being—a conduct condemned by international norms and laws," part of the statement read.
Reiterating its plea to the international community, the ministry asked that international laws be enforced to not only immediately stop the RSF activities but also compel its regional sponsor to stop availing of much-needed resources
According to the statement, this regional sponsor had provided advanced weapons, funding, and criminal planning, further fuelling the militia.
"While the Ministry strongly condemns and denounces this criminal and terrorist behaviour, it reiterates its call to the international community to urgently fulfil its duty in enforcing international laws to compel the terrorist militia to immediately cease these criminal acts targeting the Sudanese people, their stability, and the safety of their service facilities and infrastructure," part of the statement read.
"Furthermore, pressure must be exerted on the regional state sponsoring the terrorist militia to immediately halt its provision of advanced weapons, funding, and criminal planning, which aim to perpetuate chaos and threaten regional and international peace and security, violating all internationally recognised norms and laws upheld by peace-loving nations."
Although Kenya was not mentioned in the statement, tensions have been simmering between the two nations, with Sudan accusing the Kenyan government of sponsoring the rebel group after it convened in Kenya to reportedly form a parallel party in February, something that Kenya has vehemently denied.
Following reports that the militia was gearing up for another conference in Nairobi in April, the Sudan Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement condemning the decision and highlighting atrocities conducted by the RSF.
While the Janjaweed RSF militia escalates its campaign of genocide against specific ethnic groups in Darfur—exemplified by its ongoing attack on the Zamzam camp for IDPs, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians, including women and children—and while the militia continues to target vital civilian facilities across the country, reports are emerging that Kenya will host a second conference for the RSF terrorist militia and its affiliates in the coming days, part of the statement read.
This follows previous meetings sponsored by the Kenyan presidency in February of this year, which sought to declare a so-called 'parallel government' for the genocidal militia and its followers.
https://www.kenyans.co.ke/news/111704-sudan-warns-kenya-after-rsf-drone-strike-key-military-base-port-sudan
Drones spread a cup of cloud seed in China, causing 30 swimming pools of rain
Updated: May 04, 2025 01:17 PM EST
Chinese government scientists have released results from a weather modification experiment in Xinjiang, where a fleet of cloud-seeding drones boosted rainfall by over 4% across more than 3,089 square miles in a single day.
The operation produced more than 18.5 million gallons of additional precipitation—enough to fill 30 Olympic-sized swimming pools, each 6.5 feet deep—using just 2.2 pounds of silver iodide, a common cloud-seeding compound.
This amount of powder, six times denser than water, is small enough to fit in a travel mug, the South China Morning Post reported.
The test was led by the China Meteorological Administration’s key laboratory of cloud-precipitation physics and weather modification in Beijing, and the results were detailed in a peer-reviewed paper published on April 10 in the Chinese-language journal Desert and Oasis Meteorology.
Drone systems offer lower safety risks, extensive coverage
Two years ago, two types of medium-sized drones climbed to 18,000 feet and released silver iodide during four consecutive flights over the Bayanbulak Grasslands, according to the study.
Packed into flame bars, the yellowish powder was released into the atmosphere as smoke.
Each flight used two bars, each loaded with 125 grams (0.28 pounds) of silver iodide, and the particles were dispersed at a rate of 0.28 grams per second, as per to the researchers.
Chinese scientists explained that drone systems offer lower safety risks, superior maneuverability, precise controllability and extensive coverage, enabling all-weather, year-round, three-dimensional, and large-scale rain/snow enhancement operations.
Similar weather modification practices have also been carried out in in various regions of China, including Guizhou, Shanghai, Gansu, and Sichuan, SCMP added.
Working with Xinjiang’s Weather Modification Office, the scientific team employed three validation methods to cross-check the results.
Raindrop measurements showed droplet sizes growing from 0.46mm to 3.22mm after seeding, and satellite images revealed cloud-top cooling of up to 50°F and growth of about 1.8 miles, showing the positive impact.
Analysis of 50 years of climate data hints at 3.8% hike in rainfall
Chinese researchers raised important questions about cloud-seeding operations, such as how to definitively determine whether they amplified or inadvertently suppressed precipitation.
They also questioned what metrics should be used to define the water volume gained or lost, and how the benefits might scale over a year.
Statistical analysis of 50 years of climate data estimated an additional 78,200 cubic meters of rainfall, a 3.8% increase.
Simulations predicted a 73,800 cubic meter increase (4.3% boost), closely matching the actual results.
https://interestingengineering.com/science/china-drone-powered-cloud-seeding-rain-xinjiang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVLIEIpWQ2k
Is there underwater access to the Rock?
What have they been doing with it all these years since it closed?