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NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
May 18, 2025
Pluto Flyover from New Horizons
What if you could fly over Pluto – what might you see? The New Horizons spacecraft did just this in 2015 July as it shot past the distant world at a speed of about 80,000 kilometers per hour. Images from this spectacular passage have been color enhanced, vertically scaled, and digitally combined into the featured two-minute time-lapse video. As your journey begins, light dawns on mountains thought to be composed of water ice but colored by frozen nitrogen. Soon, to your right, you see a flat sea of mostly solid nitrogen that has segmented into strange polygons that are thought to have bubbled up from a comparatively warm interior. Craters and ice mountains are common sights below. The video dims and ends over terrain dubbed bladed because it shows 500-meter high ridges separated by kilometer-sized gaps. The robotic New Horizons spacecraft has too much momentum to ever return to Pluto and is now headed out of our Solar System.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
NASA Scientists Uncover Giant Glowing Life Form in Ocean, Visible From Space
May 18, 2025
An expansive, glowing mass of marine life has been observed from space off the southern coast of Australia.
NASA satellites captured the unusual turquoise glow blooming across the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea, revealing a large-scale bioluminescent phytoplankton event.
The phenomenon, described by NASA as a vibrant “phytoplankton bloom,” has been visible from orbit through advanced imaging sensors, confirming that the light source is biological in origin and linked to microscopic algae blooming near the ocean’s surface.
Phytoplankton glow captured from space
The bioluminescent glow was first documented in satellite imagery taken by NASA’s PACE spacecraft using the Ocean Color Instrument (OCI).
The sensor picked up the glowing mass in November 2024, illuminating the waters between the southeastern coast of Australia and Tasmania, particularly within the Bass Strait.
This region is known for its turbulent currents and deep channels and is considered an essential maritime route into Port Phillip Bay, home to the city of Melbourne.
NASA reported that this wasn’t the first time the area experienced such a bloom.
Similar observations were made in January 2024 by the Suomi NPP satellite via its VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensor.
Even earlier, in December 2023, NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites documented the initial visibility of the bloom from space.
These repeated observations have helped scientists track the recurrence and expansion of these algal blooms in high resolution.
Uncovering the source of the glow
According to Unilad, the bloom was clearly visible in satellite imagery due to its high concentration of chlorophyll-a, a green pigment that helps phytoplankton photosynthesize.
The glowing hues, ranging from green to turquoise, originate from the surface layer of the ocean where light can penetrate—known as the photic zone.
Here, phytoplankton thrive on nutrient-rich waters, fueled by compounds like nitrogen and phosphorus released from the decomposition of marine life.
Oceanographer Jochen Kaempf from Flinders University, who has conducted studies on phytoplankton activity in this region, confirmed that “the green filament is definitely a phytoplankton bloom extending along the shelf break, which is around 150 meters deep.”
He added that the surrounding blue hues could be caused either by sediment stirred up in shallow areas or another species of phytoplankton contributing to the glow.
Ecological significance in the Bass Strait
Phytoplankton are foundational to the marine food chain, and their seasonal blooms support a wide array of oceanic life.
On Australia’s Bonney Coast, researchers estimate that up to 80 blue whales are drawn annually to the region by these blooms.
The whales feed on krill and other small organisms that, in turn, feed on the phytoplankton.
The bloom also attracts sardines, anchovies, tuna, crabs, and numerous fish species, making it a hotspot of marine activity.
These algae are not just important for marine ecosystems. They play a pivotal role in global oxygen production and climate regulation.
NASA scientists emphasize that these blooms also highlight the broader impact of ocean circulation, nutrient cycling, and seasonal dynamics along the southern Australian coast.
The presence of bioluminescent phytoplankton at such visible levels from orbit underlines both the beauty and ecological importance of microscopic marine life.
https://dailygalaxy.com/2025/05/nasa-scientists-uncover-giant-glowing-life-form-in-ocean-visible-from-space/
ISRO’s 101st mission fails as PSLV rocket suffers malfunction, minutes after launch
May 18, 2025 18:26 IST
ISRO Satellite Launch Failed: In a rare failure, India’s main rocket PSLV developed problems a few minutes after take-off and failed to place earth observation satellite EOS-09 into the intended orbit in an early morning launch on Sunday.
It was not immediately clear what caused the failure of the flight. In a short statement, ISRO said the problem was observed in the third stage but did not give any details.
“Today’s 101st launch was attempted. PSLV-C61 performance was normal till second stage. Due to an observation in the third stage, the mission could not be accomplished,” ISRO said.
This was the 101st mission launched by ISRO, and the 63rd one using the PSLV rocket, which is the most successful launch vehicle developed by India’s space agency.
PSLV has failed on only two earlier occasions, the first time during its inaugural flight in 1993 and then in 2017 when the C-39 mission had been unsuccessful.
For this reason, the failure of this mission has come as a big disappointment.
“Heartbreaking to see a failure in PSLV today. I still remember my time at ISRO and how shaken we were when PSLV-C39 failed in 2017 after more than two decades of successful flights.
It’s a powerful reminder of how complex and unforgiving spaceflight can be, even for proven workhorses like PSLV,” said Pawan Kumar Chandana of Skyroot, a private space company that is developing its own launch vehicles.
Sunday’s launch involved the XL-version of PSLV which was on its 27th flight. This rocket has four stages.
Around six minutes after the lift-off, after the third stage of the rocket took over, the launch trajectory started deviating from the calculated trajectory. The altitude of the vehicle was lower than what it should be.
After the first signs of trouble, the graphics and sound for the live video was cut-off. It was later announced that the outcome of the mission will be communicated by the space agency later.
Members of the parliamentary committee on science and technology were present at Sriharikota for the launch.
This is the second back-to-back failure for the space agency after its GSLV could not place NVS-02 satellite in the correct orbit during the space agency’s 100th mission.
After being placed in an incorrect elliptical orbit, the space agency started looking for alternative ways to utilise NVS-02 that has a mission life of 15 years. Both failures took place in the term of the new ISRO chief V Narayanan.
This was also the second mission, after December’s Spadex launch, where the PSLV was integrated at the newly built Payload Integration Facility (PIF) instead of the launch pad.
The facility was designed to free-up launch pad while a mission was being put together in order to increase the frequency of launches.
The space agency was to put the 1,700-kg earth observation satellite at an altitude of about 597 km in a sun-synchronous polar orbit — meaning the satellite was to pass over a given place at the same time every day.
The EOS-09 satellite carried a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload, capable of providing images of the earth in all weather conditions.
The satellite was meant to work in tandem with the EOS-04 satellite launched in 2022, ensuring seamless continuity and increasing the observation frequency.
Importantly, in order to ensure a debris-free mission, the space agency had put on the satellite some fuel reserved for de-orbiting manoeuvre after the end of its life so that it would fall into the earth’s and burn up within two years.
The last stage of the rocket was also supposed to be lowered and de-fuelled in a similar manner.
International guidelines recommend that stored fuel be removed from spacecrafts or upper stages of launch vehicles to ensure that there are no accidents that break up the satellite in space and create more debris.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/isros-101st-satellite-mission-fails-mid-flight-rocket-issue-10013234/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlaYhN-SiNg
NASA Astronauts Soak Up 'Amazing' Sunrises and Sunsets in Space — Every 45 Minutes! (Exclusive)
May 18, 2025 06:30AM EDT
NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers fly around the world every 90 minutes, getting to watch a sunset or a sunrise every 45 minutes — and are savoring every second on board the International Space Station.
But coming on the heels of the delayed return of fellow astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — who spent nine extra months in space after their spacecraft encountered mechanical issues — preparing for the unexpected is always at the back of their minds.
“We think a lot about training for this mission,” McClain, 45, tells PEOPLE in a Zoom call from space. “Sometimes I describe it as like it's really easy to be here. It's hard to be away from your life.”
For McClain, a colonel and Master Army aviator, that means adapting to a new normal of living and working in space.
“You do kind of exit your life for six months,” McClain, who previously spent time on the ISS for more than half a year in 2019, says, recounting the “very practical things” she had to take care of before going to space, “like are all my bills on autopay?
Is my credit card going to expire halfway through and then all of my bills are going to bounce and I'm going to come back with bad credit? So you have to do a lot of the practical things.”
“Your families and friends are still living their lives and have all the same normal ups and downs. It can be very challenging to miss some of those things to not be there physically for your friends and family,” she continues.
But, McClain adds, the perks are unparalleled: “The view out the window, getting to float, working on a team, it's absolutely a pleasure and I couldn't wait to come back and I'm excited to be back.”
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The feeling is mutual for Ayers, 36, even though it’s her first mission.
“I think that ‘excited’ is an understatement,” Ayers tells PEOPLE. “I like to say the English language doesn't have the right words to describe how amazing the experience is.
The launch was amazing. And then getting to come through the hatch of the International Space Station, just awesome, amazing, ecstatic.”
She adds, “I can't think of the right words, but it's been an amazing experience so far.”
The NASA astronauts arrived at the ISS aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule and the Falcon 9 rocket on March 14 as part of Crew-10, which included JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. They are due back on Earth this fall after a six-month mission.
Until then, their days are taken up by conducting science experiments, participating in spacewalks as well as sharing group meals, enjoying movie nights and even working out, which the former collegiate athletes — McClain played rugby; Ayers was a volleyball player — thoroughly enjoy.
Earlier this month, the duo got their steps in, so to speak, when they completed a five-hour-plus spacewalk.
According to NASA, the astronauts successfully “completed their primary objectives,” which included relocating a space station communications antenna and completing “a pair of get ahead tasks, including installing a jumper cable to provide power from the P6 truss to the International Space Station’s Russian segment and another to remove bolts from a micrometeoroid cover.”
Before the big day on May 1, the military pilots said they were ready to fulfill their objectives.
“Every time we go outside of the space station, we definitely have a lot of tasks to get done,” McClain tells PEOPLE. “We certainly aren't going out just to enjoy the view, although I can guarantee we're going to take some time to enjoy the view as well.”
“But the space station has been up here for 25 years, which means that if you think about the technology with which it was designed, we are upgrading a lot of that technology to continue the space station through the rest of the decade,” she continues.
As for when they return to Earth, the astronauts already know what they’ll do first, and both say it involves food.
“I think I would love to get a nice big burger on the beach and just enjoy the sun and the sand and the waves,” Ayers says. “That's kind of what I miss. The ocean is a piece of my heart. So yeah, that's the one thing that I'm looking forward to.”
McClain adds, “One of the things we don't have, we have a lot of variety of food, but we don't have a lot of variety of textures. And so for me, like a crunchy chip with a really good queso sitting somewhere outside, that'll be my happy place.”
https://people.com/nasa-astronauts-soak-up-amazing-sunrises-and-sunsets-in-space-exclusive-11735919
Venus Aerospace debuts potentially revolutionary rocket engine with landmark 1st flight
May 18, 2025
"This is the moment we've been working toward for five years," Venus CEO Sassie Duggleby said in the statement.
The test serves as a proof of design for Venus's RDRE and keeps the company on track for runway-based high-speed flight, she added: "We've proven that this technology works — not just in simulations or the lab, but in the air."
The Venus RDRE uses a compact, high-efficiency design the company hopes can eventually power aircraft up to Mach 6 — six times the speed of sound — starting from conventional runways.
Compared to traditional rocket engines, RDREs offer greater thrust in smaller packages, but up until now the technology has been mostly theoretical.
Normally, rocket engines burn fuel in a combustion chamber in a steady, controlled process.
RDREs use a continuous detonation wave that travels in a circle within a ring-shaped chamber, which produces higher pressure and efficiency and results in increased thrust with less fuel.
"This milestone proves our engine works outside the lab, under real flight conditions," Venus CTO Andrew Duggleby said in the same statement.
"We've built an engine that not only runs, but runs reliably and efficiently — and that's what makes it scalable."
The RDRE is designed to work in tandem with Venus's VDR2 air-breathing detonation ramjet — a combination the company says will enable sustained hypersonic flight without the need for a booster. (Hypersonic flight is generally defined as Mach 5 and above.)
"This is the foundation we need that, combined with a ramjet, completes the system from takeoff to sustained hypersonic flight," Andrew Duggleby said.
With the successful test in the books, Venus is planning full-scale propulsion test of their integrated system as it moves to qualify the design of its future Stargazer M4, a reusable passenger aircraft capable of reaching Mach 4.
https://www.space.com/technology/venus-aerospace-debuts-potentially-revolutionary-rocket-engine-with-landmark-1st-flight-video
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/venus-aerospace-completes-historic-us-hypersonic-engine-flight-test-302455690.html
NGA set to open St. Louis campus in September, aiming to boost public-private geospatial collaboration
May 18, 2025
ST. LOUIS — The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is preparing to open the doors to its new “NGA West” campus just north of downtown St. Louis in late September, the culmination of a nearly decade-long effort to modernize the agency’s footprint in the Midwest.
The $1.7 billion facility — the largest federal investment in St. Louis history — will replace the NGA’s current downtown site and serve as a hub for geospatial intelligence operations.
The project has remained on track amid budget pressures and workforce reductions driven by directives from the Trump administration.
Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, NGA director, confirmed the target date during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee last week.
“We have been giving tours to our workforce. They’re getting excited,” Whitworth said. He emphasized that the new facility is designed to foster deeper collaboration between the federal government, private companies, and universities to accelerate innovation in geospatial intelligence.
“One of the best examples of the combination of business, academia, civil government, federal government, intelligence, all banding together to ensure that this is a success,” he said.
NGA promoting partneships
The timing of the announcement coincides with the GEOINT Symposium, which is being held this week at the downtown St. Louis convention center.
The event brings together leaders in national security, satellite imagery, data analytics, and mapping technologies, with NGA’s role and regional presence expected to be a key theme.
Currently, NGA employs over 3,000 people in the St. Louis area.
The agency first announced plans to build the new campus in 2016, and regional leaders have since framed it as a catalyst for transforming St. Louis into a national center for geospatial science and technology.
Geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT, refers to the use of imagery, maps, and other location-based data to understand activities and physical environments on Earth.
It supports everything from military planning to emergency response and commercial logistics.
Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.) said the new NGA campus positions the city to attract both top talent and capital.
Speaking at the strategic forces subcommittee hearing, Bell said he expects the NGA West campus to position the area as a tech hub that will attract talent and investments to help advance innovation in geospatial intelligence for national security..
To build out a skilled local workforce, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) has introduced legislation aimed at funding workforce training programs focused on geospatial disciplines.
During his congressional appearance, Whitworth stressed the growing importance of space-based systems in collecting the data NGA uses to produce GEOINT.
“Gathering the data and imagery necessary to characterize the activities and operations of our adversaries from the earth to space, is not a simple task,” he said.
NGA personnel operate in more than 20 countries worldwide, often embedded directly with military and intelligence teams.
The agency also highlighted a new partnership with the U.S. Space Force, including the creation of a joint mission management center over the past year.
The goal: streamline coordination and close the gap between data collection and actionable insights.
As NGA West nears completion, the agency is signaling a long-term goal to integrate government, academia and industry to shape the next chapter in U.S. geospatial intelligence.
https://spacenews.com/nga-set-to-open-st-louis-campus-in-september-aiming-to-boost-public-private-geospatial-collaboration/
https://www.nga.mil/about/Next_NGA_West.html
Vandenberg Space Force Base to test launch unarmed U.S. military nuclear missile
Updated: May 17, 2025 / 10:46 PM PDT
Vandenberg Space Force Base announced the U.S. military will be test-launching an unarmed nuclear missile from northern Santa Barbara County early Wednesday morning.
Southern California residents awake between the scheduled launch hours of 12:01 a.m. and 5:01 a.m. on May 21 might be able to hear or catch a glimpse of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Air Force Global Strike Command explained that the test launch of this rocket-propelled weapon is to “demonstrate the readiness of U.S. nuclear forces,” and to prove the “lethality and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.”
Past launches of this missile test were also used to collect and analyze performance data to “evaluate current missile system competencies,” according to U.S. Air Force officials.
Wednesday’s launch, which Vandenberg said is routine, was scheduled years in advance.
“Consistent with previous test launches, this ICBM test launch will validate and verify the effectiveness, readiness and accuracy of the weapon system,” added the Space Force Base.
For questions regarding the launch window or Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) range operations, contact SLD 30 Public Affairs at 805-606-3595 or sld30.pa.workflow@us.af.mil.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/vandenberg-space-force-base-to-test-launch-unarmed-u-s-military-nuclear-missile/
https://decrypt.co/320621/jobs-robots-about-take-over-humans
From Sex Work to Space Exploration: Six Jobs Robots Are About to Take Over
May 18, 2025
Robots are no longer just assembling cars or vacuuming floors. They’re laying tile, patrolling neighborhoods, and creeping into spaces as personal as the bedroom, like a scene from a sci-fi film.
As automation accelerates, machines are taking on tasks once reserved for humans, from the construction site to the street corner.
This blurring of the line between novelty and necessity challenges what it means to work, relate, and live alongside machines.
In June 2024, Hugging Face entered the humanoid robotics space with Reachy 2, a $70,000 AI-powered robot developed by its subsidiary, Pollen Robotics, a price point that reflects the growing affordability driving wider adoption of robots in real-world applications.
Here's a look at some of the professions being disrupted by robotics, what that means for workers, and how society grapples with the rise of a machine-powered labor force.
Construction
Robotics is transforming construction by automating tasks like bricklaying, welding, painting, and surface finishing components. Employing robots lets managers cut costs and speed up timelines, while reducing the need for human labor.
According to a 2024 report by venture capital firm Cemex Ventures, the global construction robotics market is expected to reach $774.6 million by 2032.
Experts say the rise of robotics in labor-intensive fields is not just a matter of efficiency, but also a response to a growing shortage of workers willing to do physically demanding jobs.
“That's where we are focusing on augmenting the workforce,” GrayMatter Robotics CEO Ariyan Kabir previously told Decrypt. “The applications that we're focusing on, there's not enough people to do this in the first place.”
As robots take on more responsibilities on construction sites, they're also gaining ground in less traditional domains, like policing.
Police patrols
Police departments are also beginning to deploy robots to patrol city streets, using autonomous machines and drones to monitor public spaces, respond to incidents, and assist with surveillance.
In December, a video began circulating online showing Chinese police in Shenzhen patrolling the city accompanied by a sphere-shaped robot called the RT-G.
Developed by Logon Technology Co., Ltd., the RT-G is an AI-powered robot capable of facial recognition and alerting authorities to suspicious activity.
It is equipped with tear gas sprayers, a sound-wave dispersal device, and a net-launching gun, and can withstand impacts of up to four tons.
Meanwhile, factories are also undergoing a revolution led by AI-driven machines.
Factory worker
Factory floors are rapidly evolving as companies like Mercedes-Benz and Tesla deploy AI-powered robots—such as Apptronik’s Apollo and Tesla’s own Optimus, respectively—to take over tasks once done by humans, from handling auto parts to managing logistics.
“We have two Optimus robots in our Fremont factory that are doing tasks, which is taking cells off the line and placing them in a shipping container,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a shareholders meeting last summer.
“We actually have quite a few of these cruising around in our offices in Palo Alto.” Musk said he expects to see 1,000 Optimus robots working at Tesla.
Earlier in 2024, German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz partnered with Austin-based AI developer Apptronik to give its assembly line robots an AI upgrade.
“We are exploring new possibilities with the use of robotics to support our skilled workforce in manufacturing,” Mercedes-Benz board member Jörg Burzer said in a statement.
“This is a new frontier, and we want to understand the potential both for robotics and automotive manufacturing.”
It’s not just assembly lines that employ robots in jobs once held by humans.
In June 2024, Hyundai Motor Group introduced two service robots at its smart office in Seoul, one designed to deliver items like coffee and another to autonomously park cars, marking a step toward integrating robotics into everyday workplace operations.
"With DAL-e's full-fledged delivery service, we aim to make Factorial Seongsu the first building to apply our Robot Total Solution," vice president and head of the joint Hyundai and Kia robotics lab, Dong Jin Hyun, said at the time.
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Space exploration
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has expressed interest in deploying humanoid robots for space exploration to handle tasks that are too risky or demanding for human astronauts.
"[On Earth] we're at the top of a massive pyramid of industry that starts with mining a vast array of materials, which go through hundreds of steps of refinement,” Musk said in an interview with Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
“We grow food, trees, and make things from them. You have to build all that on Mars, which is a hostile environment.”
Sending robots to Mars first would allow them to operate in hazardous environments, gather vital data, and prepare habitats, reducing risks for future human crews.
In April, Musk said SpaceX aims to send Optimus robots to Mars in 2026, laying the groundwork for human-led missions soon after.
Healthcare
As America’s population ages and adults over 65 surge toward 82 million by 2050, healthcare robotics is stepping in to meet growing eldercare demands.
Robots like NVIDIA's Isaac for Healthcare—an AI-powered robotics framework—are designed to assist with physical tasks in clinical environments.
At the same time, MIT’s E-BAR is a mobile robot designed to help seniors move safely and prevent falls at home.
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing-based Tsinghua University began deploying robots that could wander the halls of hospitals, checking on patients and assisting medical personnel.
“Our design concept is to provide older adults having balance impairment with robotic handlebars for stabilizing their body,” MIT Professor of Engineering Harry Asada told MIT News.
“The handlebars go anywhere and provide support anytime, whenever they need.”
Backed by OpenAI, Norwegian-American company 1X raised $100 million in January 2024 to develop and build its second humanoid robot, Neo.
Neo is designed for the home and meant to help seniors around the house, potentially replacing in-home nursing care.
Perhaps the most provocative use of robotics lies in the sex industry, where machines are being designed to replicate, and monetize intimacy.
Sex work
Robots are even beginning to replace humans in sex work, as AI-powered devices including artificial vaginas and responsive sex robots are developed by tech companies aiming to automate intimacy and commercialize digital companionship.
Now, Bryan, a Las Vegas-based developer who calls himself a “builder of sex robots” and a “robot gynecologist,” has emerged as a leading figure in the field.
While he only goes by his first name, Bryan said in January that he had earned over $70,000 from men eager to support his AI-powered sex toy project, Orifice, which aims to address male loneliness by offering artificial alternatives to human intimacy.
“[ElizaOS] is just not as dirty as you would like,” Bryan admitted to Decrypt. “It’s also very wordy, which is fine for a demo. But you always get people commenting, ‘Could she speak less?’ The longer she’s speaking, the less interactive it is.”
Bryan compared the user experience to “a bad video game cut-scene,” where the interactivity is lost and users are left passively waiting.
While developers rush to bring sexbots to the market, adult entertainers worry that synthetic replicas and AI companions are leaving them behind.
“We can't compete with AI images of girls as these figures are ‘perfect’ in the viewer's eyes,” adult performer Tanya Tate previously told Decrypt. “They aren't real, but there is already a market for fans interacting with these AI models.”
In January 2025, Toronto-based Realbotix released its full-bodied humanoid robots, equipped with artificial intelligence to simulate personality, engage in conversation, and respond to emotional cues.
The rise of robot companions exists in a moral gray area. It raises ethical questions about consent, autonomy, and what it means when or if synthetic creations are programmed to give or deny intimacy in a world where robots can simulate it.
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Ukraine reports Russia launched largest drone attack since war began after peace talks
18 May 2025 11:20
Ukraine reported that Russia carried out its largest drone attack since the war began in 2022, killing a woman and injuring at least three in the Kyiv region, just days after peace talks on Friday, News.Az informs via Reuters.
Russia launched 273 drones by 8 a.m. local time (0500 GMT), targeting chiefly the central Kyiv region and the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the country's east, Ukraine's air force said.
Based on data provided by the air force, this was Russia's largest drone attack on Ukraine of the war. On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 23, Moscow launched a then-record 267 drones.
The first direct talks in three years between Russia and Ukraine on Friday failed to broker the temporary ceasefire Kyiv and its allies have been urging.
The 100 minutes of talks in Istanbul yielded an agreement to trade 1,000 prisoners of war on each side.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday.
The sustained overnight Russian drone attack on Sunday killed a 28-year-old woman in the capital region and injured at least three people, including a 4-year-old child, Ukrainian authorities said.
"Unfortunately, as a result of the enemy attack in the Obukhiv district, a woman died from her injuries," Mykola Kalashnik, governor of the Kyiv region, posted on Telegram.
Kyiv and the region around it as well as the eastern part of Ukraine were under raid warnings for nine straight hours overnight before they were called off at around 9 a.m. local time (0600 GMT).
Air defence units were engaged several times trying to repel attacks, the military said on Telegram.
"It's been a tough night. The Russians have always used war and attacks to intimidate everyone in negotiations," Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation, said on Telegram about Sunday's attack.
Air defence units destroyed 88 of the drones overnight. The attack also included 128 simulator drones that were lost along the way without hitting anything, Ukraine's air force said in a statement on Telegram.
On Saturday, a Russian drone attack killed nine civilians after hitting a shuttle bus in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, Kyiv said. Zelenskiy called the attack "deliberate" and urged stronger sanctions on Moscow, which said it had attacked a military facility.
All of those injured in the Obukhiv district just south of Kyiv city were hospitalised, Kalashnik said. Several residential buildings were damaged in the area, he added.
In the city of Kyiv, fragments of a destroyed drone damaged the roof of a non-residential building, the city's military administration said on Telegram. There were no reports of injuries, it added.
https://news.az/news/ukraine-reports-russia-launched-largest-drone-attack-since-war-began-after-peace-talks
Zelenskyy meets US vice-president ahead of call with Trump to discuss ending war
Sun 18 May 2025 11.37 EDT
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US vice-president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio to prepare for a planned call on Monday with Donald Trump over a way to end three years of war in Ukraine.
The encounter took place on the sidelines of Pope Leo’s inauguration on Sunday. Trump is also scheduled to speak with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
However, underlining the huge challenges facing efforts to end the war, the meeting came just hours after Russia launched its largest drone strike of the war in Ukraine.
It also comes amid Ukrainian intelligence warning that Moscow may be imminently planning to test fire a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile “to intimidate” Kyiv and its western backers.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said it believed the test would involve an RS-24 Yars missile with a claimed range of more than 10,000km equipped with a training warhead. There was no immediate response from Moscow to the accusation.
The meeting between Zelenskyy and Vance was the first since the two clashed during talks at the White House in February and lasted about 40 minutes.
Zelenskyy described the meeting as “good” and released pictures of Ukrainian and US officials sitting outside at a round table and smiling.
“I reaffirmed that Ukraine is ready to be engaged in real diplomacy and underscored the importance of a full and unconditional ceasefire as soon as possible,” Zelenskyy added.
A senior Ukrainian official added that Zelenskyy and Vance discussed “the situation on the front, preparations for [Trump’s phone conversations on Monday], the possibility of sanctions against Russia if there are no results, a ceasefire,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The escalating diplomatic efforts come after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years – held in Istanbul on Friday – failed to yield a ceasefire and as European leaders, threatening new sanctions against Moscow, are uniting around efforts to persuade an erratic US president that Putin is not serious about peace.
The leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Poland planned to speak to Trump before the US and Russian presidents speak on Monday, German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday.
“I spoke with Marco Rubio, including about the call tomorrow. We agreed that we will speak again with the four state leaders and the US. president in preparation for this conversation (with Putin),” Merz told reporters in Rome.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said that next week would be “crucial” for Ukraine’s future, ahead of the phone call between Trump and Putin.
“What is important now is certainly that we push, that things are moving forward, and I think the next week will be crucial on that,” she said.
Trump on Saturday said that he would speak by phone with Putin to end the “bloodbath” in Ukraine, a day after the first direct talks between Moscow and Kyiv in more than three years did not yield a ceasefire.
The largest known Russian drone attack since full-scale war began in 2022 killed a woman in the Kyiv region and wounded at least three people, Ukrainian authorities said early on Sunday.
The attack came two days after Ukraine and Russia held their first direct talks since 2022 and a day before the planned phone call between Trump and Putin.
Russia launched the 273 drones before 8am local time, targeting chiefly the Kyiv region and the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions in the country’s east, Ukraine’s air force said.
The attack killed a 28-year-old woman in the capital region and wounded at least three people, including a four-year-old child.
Data provided by the air force showed this to be Russia’s largest drone attack on Ukraine of the war. On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 23 February, Moscow launched a then-record 267 drones.
According to the air force, 128 of the drones disappeared from radar during the attack, either crashing from software failures or fuel exhaustion, or because they were decoys without explosives. Another 88 were shot down.
Russia and Ukraine have both made increasing use of decoy drones in swarms to try to overwhelm air defences. Other decoys are designed to appear larger than they are on radar systems.
The large scale of the attack, despite its relatively low impact, is far more significant in terms of the message it sends before Monday’s planned phone call between Putin and Trump, who has demanded an “end to the bloodshed” in Ukraine.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/18/ukraine-reports-largest-drone-attack-from-russia-since-war-began
Two people wounded in Israeli drone strike near southern checkpoint
18 May 2025 11:25 BST
Lebanon’s army says an Israeli drone strike hit a military checkpoint in the southern village of Beit Yahoun, wounding one soldier.
In a statement issued Sunday, the army confirmed the two people including a soldier were wounded in the attack
https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/two-people-wounded-israeli-drone-strike-near-southern-checkpoint
https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/space/strange-sightings-over-arizona-skies-spark-new-ufo-fears/news-story/e14bcf4e31bf3f0e24f2c375f62898ad
Strange sightings over Arizona skies spark new UFO fears
May 18, 2025 - 6:59AM
Score one for the aliens.
A United States F-16 Viper combat jet has been damaged after being struck by an “unidentified aerial phenomenon”.
It comes amid a fresh uptick in the number of strange flying objects being sighted over the southern US border state of Arizona.
The News Nation media service reports seeing Federal Aviation Authority documents confirming “numerous encounters” with strange craft.
One reportedly struck the perspex canopy of a $A100 million F-16 fighter, causing the aircraft to be grounded for repairs.
These aren’t UFOS (Unidentified Flying Objects). Instead, they are UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena).
So what’s in a name? Arizona shares extensive military testing grounds with neighbouring Nevada – home to the secretive Area 51 testing facility that has been associated with otherworldly flying saucers for decades.
But it also borders Mexico. That is the focus of fresh invasion fears.
President Donald Trump has invoked the Alien Enemy Act of 1798 in response to a “predatory incursion” of the United States.
Not the murderous alien Predators of Arnold Schwarzenegger fame, but the fundamentally human need to seek safety and security – or a quick buck.
Now, defence analysts are linking an uptick in the region’s long history of alien invasion scares to a surge in the use of cross-border drug-smuggling drones.
Something in the air
“There has been a lot of activity, particularly on the Arizona border. A lot of people are reporting a lot of things,” former director of the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP), Luis Elizondo, told News Nation.
One incident flared across local headlines in November. Strange lights were seen in the night sky above Bullhead City. Footage quickly went viral on TikTok.
Despite being linked to the headlights of off-road vehicles driving through nearby hills, the incident has further fuelled the state’s reputation as an alien sightseeing destination.
In 1997, photos of a V-shaped formation dubbed the “Phoenix Lights” attracted global attention.
Few accepted the US Air Force’s explanation that it was a group of A-10 “Tankbuster” aircraft practising formation-flying with their night-lights on.
Another incident, this time in 2011, convinced locals that the aliens had returned.
Again, the explanation that the Arizona Skyhawks skydiving team was carrying high-intensity flares to kick off a nearby football match didn’t appeal.
But now, the FAA documents suggest US Air Force pilots are adding to Arizona’s collection of inexplicable sightings.
At least until they’re explained.
Border patrols have been intensified in recent years and one of President Trump’s first acts was to order 6000 extra troops into the region, supported by armoured personnel carriers, surveillance aircraft, combat helicopters and two navy destroyers.
Combined with intensified border police checks and patrols, this is making it more challenging for Mexico’s cartels to feed America’s illegal narcotics addiction.
Evidence suggests they’re turning to a new generation of large drones to haul their deadly cargo directly to market.
Dones being used as delivery mules isn’t exactly new. US authorities have been documenting seizures of small craft carrying 5 to 10kg for more than a decade.
But technologies developed for the likes of Amazon to deliver large parcels across an urban landscape are being adapted for the drug trade.
That means they’re flying higher and further than ever before.
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The truth is out there
New research from the Manchester Metropolitan University and Liverpool John Moores University has examined the tendency for people to attribute unexplained events to paranormal or extraterrestrial events.
“When faced with events we cannot control, our minds look for patterns and explanations,” the study’s authors write.
President Trump’s new administration came to power, insisting it would tackle the UFO issue once and for all.
And White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt did so in one of her first public appearances.
She addressed last year’s spate of strange lights in the sky in the American Northeast.
They were not aliens. They weren’t even Iranian drones. They were, she said, normal aircraft flying normal routes at normal times.
It’s just that people had suddenly started paying attention to them.
“In time, it got worse, due to curiosity. This was not the enemy,” she explained.
Now, the Trump Administration has moved to shut down a secret FBI office dedicated to investigating “unidentified anomalous phenomena””.
It had been public knowledge for decades that the Pentagon had been running the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) to examine strange sightings.
But the FBI had never admitted – before announcing it was about to be shut down – that this team existed.
Questions, however, remain unanswered.
Tennessee Republican Representative Tim Burchett wants to know more. He’s told the US Congress that extraterrestrial craft are operating from secret undersea bases.
“I haven’t been briefed on this, just from what I’m putting together, but we have some secret sonar … (They) tell me something’s moving at hundreds of miles an hour underwater … and this one was as large as a football field underwater, and this was a documented case, and I have an admiral telling me this stuff,” he told One America News.
The research psychologists say it’s a natural tendency for people to turn to paranormal and conspiracy-theory beliefs in order to deal with anxiety.
“Realising that life is unpredictable and has an end can be unsettling,” they write. “Supernatural beliefs provide comfort by suggesting that a higher power controls human destiny.”
The illegal immigration crisis, the militarisation of the border – and increased military training and experimentation in the face of increasing global aggression – all converge on Arizona.
That may help explain why every light in the sky is suddenly a UFO or UAP.
“Instead of dismissing such beliefs, it is important to recognise their emotional and personal significance,” the psychologists conclude.
“Particularly, how beliefs shape people’s perspectives and coping mechanisms.
“While they may not align with logic or evidence, the comfort they afford is deeply meaningful to those who hold them.”
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https://truthsocial.com/@kerrycassidycamelot
https://kerrycassidy.substack.com/p/in-the-face-of-alien-invasion-national
extra
https://projectcamelotportal.com/2025/05/11/richard-murray-space-colonies-artist-and-air-force-radar-specialist-tracking-ufos/
https://rumble.com/embed/v6r0osb/
In the face of ALIEN INVASION NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY IS A LIABILITY
May 17, 2025
THIS RECENT UAP HEARING, although commendable in that these scientists, academic researchers, and the general audience and members of Congress are again sharing evidence of UAP /UFO activity, they are doing so in the face of evidence that is plentiful and documented repeatedly by researchers, military, and witness testimony going back to the 1930s.
And in the face of a known secret gov/secret space program that includes underground and under sea bases and cities.
One wonders how these seemingly intelligent people still pretend to themselves and others that there is some question about whether we are "alone" in the multiverse when obviously we are not.
Crash retrievals have been operational for decades, providing tangible evidence, not to mention bodies and even live aliens that the military has uncovered.
How is it that one side of society cannot seem to hear what the other side is saying? How can they continue to act as though this is still an unanswered question.
Clearly, at the very least, the AMERICAN MILITARY and the secret American Military are lying to Congress and the American people and have been doing so again since the 1930s and arguably before.
All in the name of "national security". In reality, if we are "visited" or invaded by beings outside or from inner Earth, individual Nations and their Earthly borders are irrelevant to the question.
This is NOT A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY. Because it affects the entire Planet Earth and all of humanity. Why does no one question this? It is illogical and dangerously wrong. Earth is in danger not simply individual "nations".
Because the US government tries to command the airspace around the planet and hastily go after any crashed disks or other stories of "alien" visitation or intervention, they do so supposedly in the interest of national security, when the reality is a matter of concern to all of humanity.
And, claiming ownership of the recovered or reverse-engineered technology by one nation in competition with all other countries is highly questionable.
From the alien point of view, this makes Earth easily a target for divide and conquer because of this internal battlefield that places one nation in control of knowledge in a proprietary way when it has NO SUCH RIGHT to privatize such knowledge or technology.
Back in the early days of Project Camelot we interviewed the brilliant and gifted Clifford Stone an intuitive communicator who accompanied CRASH RETRIEVALS working for the military for many years.
At that time, he revealed there were at least 57 alien races visiting Earth. Of course, there are thousands more now.
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Meanwhile, surface humans work to deceive each other at every turn in particular on a nation-by-nation basis but also within countries, a spy-versus-spy game continues to battle over "intelligence".
From the alien's pov, this internal bickering and battles (also called wars) allow the alien adversaries to secretly try to control different countries, politicians, intelligence operatives and governments, and pit them against each other to great advantage.
In other words, the negatively based alien races gain a huge advantage from the divide and conquer activity that humans readily participate in to their own detriment. And the beat goes on.
Trump and the white hats are building bridges rather than war with other countries. One might wonder why it is that Trump can negotiate a settlement in record time when previous politicians have been so hopeless at this?
Could it be that finally the US has realized that we NEED other countries to join us in the battle for planetary sovereignty in order to safeguard all humans from invasion and takeover?
With the growing disclosure of the UAP/UFO alien visitation evidence, it is easy to see this is happening now in connection with the Trump-led effort to build bridges rather than make war.
This is something ANY WORLD LEADER can understand. Uniting against a common enemy or enemies that are not HUMAN… It is obviously the reason for Trump's success and the rapid changes he is pushing through.
You have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to realize that we are gearing up Planetarily for a WAR OF WORLDS with a bigger enemy than the guy next door. This is the planned coming war that will supersede all other surface wars.
We are fighting for the sovereignty of Earth and humanity against several invaders, including negatively based Alien AI, Aliens, many of whom are run by AI, and races of Androids also run by AI…
They have already reached Quantum levels of awareness, operating without limitation in time and space.
It may surprise some people that ultimately the Earth and humanity will have to unite in order to get rid of the alien and AI invaders or to live in harmony with them.
Trump and his team know this. To free humanity from the Luciferian-Satanic Cabal the War of Worlds may be the only way.
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Farewell to Vatican Silence – A Secret UFO Document Falls into the Hands of Pope Leo XIV, Recounting Unexplained Phenomena
05/18/2025 06:00
The history of humanity is, almost entirely, stored in the Vatican Apostolic Archives, libraries with over 80 kilometres of shelves holding documents that are more than 800 years old… Far from conspiracy theories, these archives contain official documents of the Catholic Church and the Holy See, letters from kings and historical figures, trial records, and much more.
Now, with the new Pope, Leo XIV, all the mystery surrounding these documents has resurfaced after he was presented with a chest containing a document titled “UFO”.
We’ll tell you everything happening in the Vatican, so you won’t have any doubts!
Why are they called secret?
Careful, secret does not mean “hidden”; they are called that because these documents were only for the Pope’s eyes.
Of course, the interpretation of “hidden” or “secret” opened the door to misunderstandings, so Pope Francis changed the name to Vatican Apostolic Archives in 2019 to avoid this kind of speculation.
Who can access these documents?
Unfortunately, they are not public, nor are they a regular library, but accredited researchers can access them under strict security rules.
What is the Vatican’s “UFO file”?
Although talking about extraterrestrials in the context of the Church might seem crazy, the truth is that several scholars claim that Vatican texts contain historical accounts of flying objects, mysterious lights, and beings of non-earthly appearance.
This is exactly what Diana Walsh Pasulka, a religious studies scholar from the University of North Carolina, has been investigating.
This professor is one of the most active voices calling for the Vatican’s “Secret Archives” to be opened to the public.
In her book American Cosmic, Pasulka details how, while researching texts on purgatory between the 14th and 19th centuries, she came across mentions of “orbs of light, flames passing through walls, luminous beings, and disk-shaped objects”.
Of course, Pasulka and other experts in the field do not believe these descriptions are merely religious metaphors but testimonies of paranormal phenomena documented by the Church over centuries while “hiding” them.
Sister María de Ágreda and her cosmic journey
Among the most enigmatic episodes is that of Sister María de Ágreda, a 17th-century nun who claimed to have bilocated, that is, to have been in two places at the same time, interesting, uh?
She insisted she had visited New Mexico without ever leaving Spain!!
This might sound even stranger to the more sceptical, but indigenous writings from that time describe a “lady in blue” who taught them Christian doctrine long before the arrival of the first missionaries.
Pasulka warns that these writings could “mysteriously” disappear, erasing descriptions of this nun’s mystical journeys.
Why now?
This year marks the Roman Jubilee of 2025, and thousands of pilgrims are expected to gather at St. Peter’s Basilica. Even more so now that we have a new Pope, Leo XIV, who will likely steal the spotlight.
Digitization of the documents
Indeed, though it may seem like an archaic institution, the Vatican has begun digitizing all its documents.
However, there is no doubt that these documents will not be made public despite being digitized, and many researchers fear this “UFO” information might disappear “discreetly” hiding records of great historical and mystical value.
Will we see the declassification of the UFO archives?
This is the question we’ve been asking for years. Will the new pontiff give in to media pressure and release these documents for the public to read? Maybe yes, maybe no…
What we do know is that publishing them could cause an earthquake within the Catholic religion. What do you think about it? Should those documents be published, or is it essential to keep them hidden?
https://unionrayo.com/en/vatican-ufo-secret-archives-leon-xiv/