TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
June 3, 2025
Rainbow Airglow over the Azores
Why would the sky glow like a giant repeating rainbow? Airglow. Now, air glows all of the time, but it is usually hard to see. A disturbance however like an approaching storm may cause noticeable rippling in the Earth's atmosphere. These gravity waves are oscillations in air analogous to those created when a rock is thrown in calm water. The long-duration exposure nearly along the vertical walls of airglow likely made the undulating structure particularly visible. OK, but where do the colors originate? The deep red glow likely originates from OH molecules about 87 kilometers high, excited by ultraviolet light from the Sun. The orange and green airglow is likely caused by sodium and oxygen atoms slightly higher up. The featured image was captured during a climb up Mount Pico in the Azores of Portugal. Ground lights originate from the island of Faial in the Atlantic Ocean. A spectacular sky is visible through this banded airglow, with the central band of our Milky Way Galaxy running up the image center, and M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, visible near the top left.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/science-enabling-technology/technology-highlights/c-first-team-sets-sights-on-future-fire-observing-satellite-constellations/
https://techport.nasa.gov/projects/116082
c-FIRST Team Sets Sights on Future Fire-observing Satellite Constellations
Jun 03, 2025
Two NASA-developed technologies are key components of a new high-resolution sensor for observing wildfires: High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD), developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), and a cutting-edge Digital Readout Integrated Circuit (DROIC), developed with funding from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
A novel space-based sensor for observing wildfires could allow first responders to monitor burns at a global scale, paving the way for future small satellite (SmallSat) constellations dedicated entirely to fire management and prevention.
Developed with support from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO), the “Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker” (c-FIRST) is a small, mid-wave infrared sensor that collects thermal radiation data across five spectral bands.
Most traditional space-based sensors dedicated to observing fires have long revisit times, observing a scene just once over days or even weeks.
The compact c-FIRST sensor could be employed in a SmallSat constellation that could observe a scene multiple times a day, providing first responders data with high spatial resolution in under an hour.
In addition, c-FIRST’s dynamic spectral range covers the entire temperature profile of terrestrial wild fires, making it easier for first-responders to detect everything from smoldering, low-intensity fires to flaming, high intensity fires.
“Wildfires are becoming more frequent, and not only in California. It’s a worldwide problem, and it generates tons of by-products that create very unhealthy conditions for humans,” said Sarath Gunapala, who is an Engineering Fellow at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and serves as Principal Investigator for c-FIRST.
The need for space-based assets dedicated to wildfire management is severe.
During the Palisade and Eaton Fires earlier this year, strong winds kept critical observation aircraft from taking to the skies, making it difficult for firefighters to monitor and track massive burns.
Space-based sensors with high revisit rates and high spatial resolution would give firefighters and first responders a constant source of eye-in-the-sky data.
“Ground-based assets don’t have far-away vision. They can only see a local area. And airborne assets, they can’t fly all the time. A small constellation of CubeSats could give you that constant coverage,” said Gunapala.
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c-FIRST leverages decades of sensor development at JPL to achieve its compact size and high performance.
In particular, the quarter-sized High Operating Temperature Barrier Infrared Detector (HOT-BIRD), a compact infrared detector also developed at JPL with ESTO support, keeps c-FIRST small, eliminating the need for bulky cryocooler subsystems that add mass to traditional infrared sensors.
With HOT-BIRD alone, c-FIRST could gather high-resolution images and quantitative retrievals of targets between 300°K (about 80°F) to 1000°K (about 1300°F).
But when paired with a state-of-the-art Digital Readout Integrated Circuit (DROIC), c-FIRST can observe targets greater than 1600°K (about 2400°F).
Developed by Copious Imaging LLC. and JPL with funding from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, this DROIC features an in-pixel digital counter to reduce saturation, allowing c-FIRST to capture reliable infrared data across a broader spectral range.
Artifical intelligence (AI) will also play a role in c-FIRST’s success. Gunapala plans to leverage AI in an onboard smart controller that parses collected data for evidence of hot spots or active burns.
This data will be prioritized for downlinking, keeping first responders one step ahead of potential wildfires.
“We wanted it to be simple, small, low cost, low power, low weight, and low volume, so that it’s ideal for a small satellite constellation,” said Gunapala.
Gunapala and his team had a unique opportunity to test c-FIRST after the Palisade and Eaton Fires in California.
Flying their instrument aboard NASA’s B-200 Super King Air, the scientists identified lingering hot spots in the Palisades and Eaton Canyon area five days after the initial burn had been contained.
Now, the team is eyeing a path to low Earth orbit. Gunapala explained that their current prototype employs a standard desktop computer that isn’t suited for the rigors of space, and they’re working to incorporate a radiation-tolerant computer into their instrument design.
But this successful test over Los Angeles demonstrates c-FIRST is fit for fire detection and science applications.
As wildfires become increasingly common and more destructive, Gunapala hopes that this tool will help first responders combat nascent wildfires before they become catastrophes.
“To fight these things, you need to detect them when they’re very small,” said Gunapala.
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Hubble Filters a Barred Spiral
Jun 03, 2025
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a luminous tangle of stars and dust called the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1385, located about 30 million light-years away.
Hubble released an earlier image of NGC 1385, but the two images are notably different. This more recent image has far more pinkish-red and umber shades, whereas cool blues dominate the earlier image.
This chromatic variation is not just a creative choice, but also a technical one, that represents the different number and types of filters used to collect the data that comprises the respective images.
Like all telescopes used in scientific research, Hubble holds a range of filters. These highly specialized filters are pieces of physical hardware that allow a range of wavelengths (broadband filters) or very specific wavelengths (narrowband filters) of light to enter the telescope.
This allows astronomers to look for specific features in the object. The data can tell us what elements are present, the temperature, and pressure of the object. The ability to probe extremely specific parts of the electromagnetic spectrum is very useful to astronomers.
It helps them better understand the physical processes and environments of the objects they study.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-filters-a-barred-spiral/
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/3428973/inside-trump-nasa-nominee-decision/
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/investigations/3282099/trump-nasa-pick-gop-scrutiny-donations-democrats-dei/
Inside Trump’s decision to yank NASA nominee and his plans for a replacement
June 3, 2025 7:00 am
President Donald Trump caught allies by surprise when he announced his decision over the weekend to withdraw billionaire commercial astronaut Jared Isaacman as his nominee for the next NASA administrator.
The Senate had been scheduled to vote on Isaacman’s confirmation this week, following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in April. But White House officials argue that Isaacman’s past support for Democrats essentially tied the president’s hands.
“The Administrator of NASA will help lead humanity into space and execute President Trump’s bold mission of planting the American flag on the planet Mars,” White House spokeswoman Liz Huston said in a statement.
“It’s essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon.”
White House officials cited reporting from the Washington Examiner in January detailing Isaacman’s more than $322,000 in donations to Democrats since 2010.
That period included $100,000 donations to then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) super PAC in 2021 and more than $100,000 in donations to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 2022 to 2024.
Furthermore, White House officials cited Isaacman’s ownership of a Russian MiG-29 fighter jet, potentially the only one privately owned in America, and his being a registered Democrat in Pennsylvania as justifications to withdraw his nomination.
Trump didn’t specifically mention Isaacman’s past donations while announcing his decision Saturday night.
“After a thorough review of prior associations, I am hereby withdrawing the nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA, I will soon announce a new Nominee who will be Mission aligned, and put America First in Space,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
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Still, multiple Republican congressional staffers, all avowed supporters of the president, and aeronautical industry insiders say that growing tension between the recently departed Elon Musk, who had lobbied for Isaacman’s nomination behind the scenes, and other senior members of the president’s team contributed to the personnel decision.
Trump originally announced his plans to nominate Isaacman, buoyed by Musk’s support, before entering office back in December of 2024.
Two Senate GOP staffers told the Washington Examiner that the decision, made before the Trump team could stand up its Office of Presidential Personnel, cut short the vetting process for Isaacman and other possible NASA candidates.
Musk stepped down from his role as a special government employee on Friday, but not after running into conflict with Trump Cabinet officials regarding the slash-and-burn cuts to the federal workforce advocated by the Department of Government Efficiency.
One senior aeronautical executive told the Washington Examiner that Office of Presidential Personnel Director Sergio Gor and other senior Trump advisers saw the Isaacman nomination as a means of settling the score with Musk.
“This was just a power play — the real people who are actually in charge of the White House letting Elon know, ‘we’re running things,'” that person said.
White House officials vehemently denied that Musk’s departure, and any conflict he had encountered with Trump’s Cabinet, had factored into the president’s decision on Isaacman.
Both Senate GOP aides and aeronautical insiders floated retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast as the heir apparent to Isaacman.
Kwast, a decorated pilot and former commander of the Air Force’s Education and Training Command in San Antonio, has steadily supported Trump and his push to launch both the Space Force in his first term and the Golden Dome missile defense system, which Trump announced in May.
Kwast has also said that space will emerge as a critical battlefield in future conflicts with China and has raised alarm bells about Beijing’s plans to further develop “global reach” aircraft.
“China’s plans to mature these hypersonic technologies is hardly a surprise. China is far ahead in developing and flying hypersonic weapons,” he co-wrote in a May op-ed published by Newsmax.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, himself a longtime proponent of American space dominance, told the Washington Examiner that he had not spoken to the president about his next choice to lead NASA but gave Kwast a full endorsement to fulfill that role if called upon.
“I have worked for years with Kwast. He was the brilliant head of the Air University. He is probably the most forward looking Air Force General I’ve ever worked with, and he would be an extraordinary leader at NASA,” he said Monday.
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For Seven Earth-Sized Planets, a Question of Habitability
June 3, 2025
They might make up the most famous planetary system beyond our own: the TRAPPIST-1 star and its seven small, rocky worlds — lettered b through h — some 40 light-years away from Earth.
Their discovery, announced in 2017, captured headlines around the world and galvanized scientific investigation.
Three of the planets orbit in the “habitable zone” of their star, a distance that could allow liquid water to form on a planet’s surface under a suitable atmosphere. Realistic, plausible artist’s renderings showed icy or watery worlds.
They include a surface view of one of the planets, looking over an ice-edged lake toward an orange sun with the other closely packed planets, like crescent moons, ranged across the sky.
These are likely not only the most famous exoplanets — planets beyond our solar system — but the most thoroughly characterized.
With the help of NASA’s now-retired Spitzer Space Telescope, scientists measured the gravitational “tugs” the planets make on each other as they move through their orbits, yielding precise measurements of each planet’s mass.
Combining the masses with the planets’ diameters revealed their densities – confirming these are all rocky worlds in Earth’s size -range.
And now, nearly eight years later, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has begun to analyze the atmospheres of the TRAPPIST-1 planets.
Although not unexpected, the two planets closest to the star (and not in its habitable zone) so far do not appear to offer habitable conditions.
The nearest planet, TRAPPIST-1 b, has a surface temperature of about 450 degrees Fahrenheit (around 500 kelvins), and likely no significant atmosphere.
The next planet out, TRAPPIST-1 c, appears to have an extremely thin atmosphere — if it has any atmosphere at all.
Its dayside temperature of about 225 degrees Fahrenheit (380 kelvins) also seems a bit too warm for habitability.
In the months and years ahead, researchers expect to turn the Webb telescope to the other TRAPPIST-1 planets to capture hints of their atmospheres as well.
The best advice on the potential habitability of these planets: Stay tuned.
https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanets/other-stars-other-worlds/for-seven-earth-sized-planets-a-question-of-habitability/
Crew Preps for Fourth Axiom Private Mission, Keeps up Human Research
June 2, 2025
The Expedition 73 crew members are turning their attention to the upcoming fourth private mission from Axiom Space.
While the International Space Station crewmates prepare for the Ax-4 quartet’s arrival aboard a SpaceX Dragon they also continued studying how their bodies are adapting to weightlessness in the midst of ongoing lab maintenance duties.
Axiom Mission-4 (Ax-4) is preparing for its launch to the orbital outpost this month carrying experienced astronaut Peggy Whitson as commander and three first-time space flyers including Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and Mission Specialists Sławosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary to the orbital outpost.
NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers spent a portion of their shift on Monday reviewing procedures they will use from inside the space station when the Ax-4 crew aboard the Dragon approaches the space station to begin a two-week space research mission.
Earlier during her shift, McClain opened up the Destiny laboratory module’s Combustion Integrated Rack and replaced experiment samples and research components inside the sealed chamber that allows exploration of how fuels and flames behave in weightlessness.
Ayers relocated and inspected hardware that monitors airborne particles in the station’s atmosphere then staged hardware that will soon be stowed inside BEAM, or the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module.
NASA Flight Engineer Jonny Kim began a 48-hour session wearing a biomedical vest and headband being tested for their ability to comfortably measure a crew member’s health data during daily activities.
Next, he wrapped up his shift stowing bags and cleaning up packing materials following the departure of the SpaceX Dragon cargo craft on May 23.
Station Commander Takuya Onishi of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) worked on standard human research duties Monday collecting his blood, saliva, and urine samples for stowage in a science freezer and later analysis.
He also swapped a memory card inside radio frequency identification hardware, downloaded station acoustic data, and serviced the water storage system.
Veteran cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov assisted fellow Roscosmos Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritskiy who wore virtual reality glasses for an investigation of how a crew member’s sense of balance and visual tracking adjust to microgravity.
Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov pointed a camera outside a window on the orbital outpost’s Roscosmos segment and photographed landmarks including the Amazon delta, the Volga River delta, the Aral Sea, and more.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/06/02/crew-preps-for-fourth-axiom-private-mission-keeps-up-human-research/
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/apocalypse-when-hubble-casts-doubt-on-certainty-of-galactic-collision/
https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/milky-way-and-andromeda-encounters/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2x_31dE04s
Apocalypse When? Hubble Casts Doubt on Certainty of Galactic Collision
June 2, 2025
As far back as 1912, astronomers realized that the Andromeda galaxy then thought to be only a nebula was headed our way.
A century later, astronomers using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope were able to measure the sideways motion of Andromeda and found it was so negligible that an eventual head-on collision with the Milky Way seemed almost certain.
A smashup between our own galaxy and Andromeda would trigger a firestorm of star birth, supernovae, and maybe toss our Sun into a different orbit.
Simulations had suggested it was as inevitable as, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “death and taxes.”
But now a new study using data from Hubble and the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia space telescope says “not so fast.”
Researchers combining observations from the two space observatories re-examined the long-held prediction of a Milky Way – Andromeda collision, and found it is far less inevitable than astronomers had previously suspected.
“We have the most comprehensive study of this problem today that actually folds in all the observational uncertainties,” said Till Sawala, astronomer at the University of Helsinki in Finland and lead author of the study, which appears today in the journal Nature Astronomy.
His team includes researchers at Durham University, United Kingdom; the University of Toulouse, France; and the University of Western Australia.
They found that there is approximately a 50-50 chance of the two galaxies colliding within the next 10 billion years. They based this conclusion on computer simulations using the latest observational data.
Sawala emphasized that predicting the long-term future of galaxy interactions is highly uncertain, but the new findings challenge the previous consensus and suggest the fate of the Milky Way remains an open question.
“Even using the latest and most precise observational data available, the future of the Local Group of several dozen galaxies is uncertain.
Intriguingly, we find an almost equal probability for the widely publicized merger scenario, or, conversely, an alternative one where the Milky Way and Andromeda survive unscathed,” said Sawala.
The collision of the two galaxies had seemed much more likely in 2012, when astronomers Roeland van der Marel and Tony Sohn of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland published a detailed analysis of Hubble observations over a five-to-seven-year period, indicating a direct impact in no more than 5 billion years.
“It's somewhat ironic that, despite the addition of more precise Hubble data taken in recent years, we are now less certain about the outcome of a potential collision.
That’s because of the more complex analysis and because we consider a more complete system. But the only way to get to a new prediction about the eventual fate of the Milky Way will be with even better data,” said Sawala.
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100,000 Crash-Dummy Simulations
Astronomers considered 22 different variables that could affect the potential collision between our galaxy and our neighbor, and ran 100,000 simulations called Monte Carlo simulations stretching to 10 billion years into the future.
“Because there are so many variables that each have their errors, that accumulates to rather large uncertainty about the outcome, leading to the conclusion that the chance of a direct collision is only 50% within the next 10 billion years,” said Sawala.
"The Milky Way and Andromeda alone would remain in the same plane as they orbit each other, but this doesn't mean they need to crash. They could still go past each other,” said Sawala.
Researchers also considered the effects of the orbits of Andromeda’s large satellite galaxy, M33, and a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
“The extra mass of Andromeda’s satellite galaxy M33 pulls the Milky Way a little bit more towards it. However, we also show that the LMC pulls the Milky Way off the orbital plane and away from Andromeda.
It doesn't mean that the LMC will save us from that merger, but it makes it a bit less likely,” said Sawala.
In about half of the simulations, the two main galaxies fly past each other separated by around half a million light-years or less (five times the Milky Way’s diameter).
They move outward but then come back and eventually merge in the far future. The gradual decay of the orbit is caused by a process called dynamical friction between the vast dark-matter halos that surround each galaxy at the beginning.
In most of the other cases, the galaxies don't even come close enough for dynamical friction to work effectively. In this case, the two galaxies can continue their orbital waltz for a very long time.
The new result also still leaves a small chance of around 2% for a head-on collision between the galaxies in only 4 to 5 billion years.
Considering that the warming Sun makes Earth uninhabitable in roughly 1 billion years, and the Sun itself will likely burn out in 5 billion years, a collision with Andromeda is the least of our cosmic worries.
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One-of-a-kind exhibition’ in Columbus chronicles astronaut’s space missions
June 3, 2025 10:22 AM
A new exhibition in Columbus offers a glimpse into space through the eyes of an astronaut who went there and did that not once but three times.
Photographs from retired NASA astronaut Dave Scott’s three space missions are on display at the Columbus State University Bo Bartlett Center through Aug. 2.
The exhibition, titled “Images from Space that Fire the Imagination” features images from Scott’s missions aboard Gemini VIII, Apollo 9, and Apollo 15. “Americans have always been explorers. They’ve always been cutting edge.
They’ve always thought out of the box,” Tina Cross, coordinator of external funding at Columbus State University’s Coca-Cola Space Science Center told the Ledger-Enquirer, “and these astronauts led the way to finding things that are just Earth-shaking or Moon-shaking, as the case may be.”
Included in the exhibition are photographs taken by Scott, including one he took of Apollo 15 Lunar Module Pilot Jim Irwin working on the Moon near the Lunar Rover.
The show is a collaboration between the Bo Bartlett Center and the Coca-Cola Space Science Center, featuring items from Scott‘s personal collection that have been donated to the CCSSC via Scott’s brother, Tom Scott, who worked with the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce.
“He was familiar with the Space Science Center from its initial stages,” Cross said, “and so, about eight or nine years ago, he started bringing things from Dave to us. And the first pictures he brought are here.”
The Bo Bartlett Center is at 921 Front Ave. in downtown Columbus. It is open Tuesdays-Saturdays, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/entertainment/local-events/article307768405.html
The mysterious hill in Sudan that looks like 'landlocked lips' — Earth from space
June 3, 2025
This intriguing satellite photo, captured by Google Earth satellites in 2012, shows a strange hill formation in Sudan that bears a striking resemblance to pursed human lips blowing a kiss into space.
Not much is known about the bizarre structure, but experts told Live Science how it likely formed.
The striking hill, which is around 3,000 feet (900 meters) long and 1,200 feet (350 m) across at its widest point, is located in Sudan's West Darfur state, roughly 60 miles (95 km) east of the country's border with Chad.
The feature appears to be surrounded by agricultural fields and small black dots that are probably trees. In the 2012 photo, the surrounding ground has been dried out by drought, and the hill's slopes have a pinkish hue, accentuating its mouth-like look.
But in more recent imagery, both the hill and its surroundings look green and are covered with significantly more vegetation (see below).
The hill's elevation and age are unknown. The structure does not have an official name, but it is labeled as "Landlocked lips" campground on Google Maps (although it is unclear if there is actually a campsite there).
However, based on the available satellite imagery, experts do have a general idea of how the hill may have formed.
"I see a narrow unit of exposed rock running down the middle of this feature," Josh Roering, a geomorphologist at the University of Oregon who specializes in landscape dynamics, told Live Science in an email.
"It looks like there's a dike or narrow unit of resistant rock running through the middle of that ridgeline that erodes more slowly than the surrounding rock and thus sticks out."
Dikes are geological features that bisect larger horizontal sheets of rock, according to the European Geosciences Union.
They are most commonly formed via volcanic activity or tectonic plate movements, but they can also emerge from sedimentary processes. However, it is unclear what type of dike this hill's central line may be.
"If correct, the shape and extent of that resistant rock unit thus sets the scale of the feature as the less resistant surrounding rock forms sloping terrain on either side," Roering said.
Similar structures can be found in the New Mexico desert and the Mackenzie dike swarm in Yukon, Canada.
However, without being able to study the formation up close, Roering said this is just "speculation."
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/geology/the-mysterious-hill-in-sudan-that-looks-like-landlocked-lips-earth-from-space
NASA’s Webb Rounds Out Picture of Sombrero Galaxy’s Disk
Jun 03, 2025
After capturing an image of the iconic Sombrero galaxy at mid-infrared wavelengths in late 2024, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has now followed up with an observation in the near-infrared.
In the newest image, the Sombrero galaxy’s huge bulge, the tightly packed group of stars at the galaxy’s center, is illuminated, while the dust in the outer edges of the disk blocks some stellar light.
Image A: Sombrero Galaxy (NIRCam)
Studying galaxies like the Sombrero at different wavelengths, including the near-infrared and mid-infrared with Webb, as well as the visible with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, helps astronomers understand how this complex system of stars, dust, and gas formed and evolved, along with the interplay of that material.
When compared to Hubble’s visible light image, the dust disk doesn’t look as pronounced in the new near-infrared image from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) instrument.
That’s because the longer, redder wavelengths of infrared light emitted by stars slip past dust more easily, so less of that stellar light is blocked. In the mid-infrared image, we actually see that dust glow.
Image B: Sombrero Galaxy (NIRCam/MIRI)
The Sombrero galaxy is located about 30 million light-years away from Earth at the edge of the Virgo galaxy cluster, and has a mass equal to about 800 billion Suns. This galaxy sits “edge on” to us, meaning we see it from its side.
Studies have indicated that hiding behind the galaxy’s smooth dust lane and calming glow is a turbulent past. A few oddities discovered over the years have hinted this galaxy was once part of a violent merger with at least one other galaxy.
The Sombrero is home to roughly 2,000 globular clusters, or collections of hundreds of thousands of old stars held together by gravity. Spectroscopic studies have shown the stars within these globular clusters are unexpectedly different from one another.
Stars that form around the same time from the same material should have similar chemical ‘fingerprints’ – for example, the same amounts of elements like oxygen or neon.
However, this galaxy’s globular clusters show noticeable variation. A merger of different galaxies over billions of years would explain this difference.
Another piece of evidence supporting this merger theory is the warped appearance of the galaxy’s inner disk.
While our view is classified as “edge on,” we’re actually seeing this nearly edge on. Our view six degrees off the galaxy’s equator means we don’t see it directly from the side, but a little bit from above.
From this view, the inner disk appears tilted inward, like the beginning of a funnel, instead of flat.
The powerful resolution of Webb’s NIRCam also allows us to resolve individual stars outside of, but not necessarily at the same distance as, the galaxy, some of which appear red.
These are called red giants, which are cooler stars, but their large surface area causes them to glow brightly in this image.
These red giants also are detected in the mid-infrared, while the smaller, bluer stars in the near-infrared “disappear” in the longer wavelengths.
Also in the NIRCam image, galaxies of diverse shapes and colors are scattered throughout the backdrop of space.
The variety of their colors provides astronomers with clues about their characteristics, such as their distance from Earth.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-rounds-out-picture-of-sombrero-galaxys-disk/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5G_YB47KTM
ultra rare Sudanese ginger mound
Op-ed: Comms Failure is a Threat to Space Ambitions
June 3, 2025
When the Hubble Space Telescope was threatened with cancellation in the 1970s, it was not a technical defense that saved it. The scientists behind the project did not go on about wavefront sensors or adaptive optics. Instead, they told a story.
They talked about the origin of the universe, and our place in it. They talked about the telescope as a kind of mirror—not of light, but of human ambition. They gave people a reason to care. And it worked. Hubble is in orbit today.
Today, the space sector faces a similar test. The White House has proposed slashing $2.27B from NASA’s space science missions and more than $1B from Earth science programs, including eliminating the Mars Sample Return mission and climate-monitoring missions.
While technical excellence abounds in the space sector, there’s a communications issue holding them back.
Mind the gap: The problem? A gap between those doing the work, and those who need to understand it. Engineers, physicists, and founders are building extraordinary things: new propulsion systems, resilient optical networks, and smarter satellites.
But often, the story of what’s being built, why it matters, and who it’s for gets lost in a fog of jargon, acronyms, and passive verbs. From the outside, it can sound like something from another planet.
Communication isn’t a luxury. It’s how you get buy-in. It’s how you justify your budget, get your mission approved, and build alliances.
Even the most groundbreaking ideas—quantum-secure networks, in-orbit manufacturing, real time Earth intelligence—won’t shape the future if they’re not understood in the present.
Take satellite data. Petabytes of it are gathered every year. It’s a technical marvel.
But unless people understand how that data can warn that a flood is coming, or prevent crops from failing, or expose methane leaks, gathering data risks being seen as merely clever—rather than useful.
Or consider optical communication, a form of technology that can send information from space to Earth at staggering speeds—and with an unmatched degree of security.
Most people have never even heard of it. Yet in a world of rising demand for bandwidth and declining radio spectrum availability, optical communication will be vital to the future of global connectivity—and vital already in conflict zones, where security is paramount.
Without stakeholders clearly communicating their value, space technologies like data—or optical communications—will at best remain solutions to problems no one knows exist.
The bottom line: Good space sector communication is about explaining what you do, what problem your solution addresses, and why that matters—-in language that doesn’t require a PhD to comprehend.
Realistically, investors don’t back what they don’t get. Policymakers don’t defend what they can’t explain. And the public doesn’t throw its support behind something that arouses no emotion.
The best kind of communication connects these three dots: It attracts capital, shapes law, and builds trust with the community.
Next steps: In many boardrooms, communication is still treated as a soft skill—or even something optional. Often it’s seen as something to be delegated, or deferred. That’s a mistake.
The strategic value of space is becoming clearer by the day—in climate monitoring, in defense, in agriculture, in telecoms, in connectivity, and in national resilience. This is a story that should be told.
Closing thoughts: The challenge we face isn’t making the work sound exciting. It is exciting. It’s closing the communication gap—between those building the world of tomorrow, and those who need to believe in that world to support the builders.
The mission must be understood to be supported. Without that support, even the best ideas can tumble out of orbit.
https://payloadspace.com/op-ed-comms-failure-is-a-threat-to-space-ambitions/
Rocket Lab launches private Earth-observing satellite to orbit
June 3, 2025
Rocket Lab launched an Earth-observing satellite for the company BlackSky toward orbit tonight (June 2).
An Electron rocket lifted off from Rocket Lab's New Zealand site today at 7:57 p.m. EDT (0057 GMT or 11:57 a.m. local New Zealand time on June 3), carrying a "Gen-3" satellite for Virginia-based BlackSky toward low Earth orbit (LEO).
The mission, which Rocket Lab calls "Full Stream Ahead," delivered the spacecraft to a circular orbit 292 miles (470 kilometers) above Earth as planned, the company announced via X.
The spacecraft now "will join the remainder of the company's constellation delivering very high-resolution imagery and AI-enabled analytics for daily intelligence operations," Rocket Lab wrote in a mission description.
"'Full Stream Ahead' is the second in a series of four Electron launches booked by BlackSky to deploy its Gen-3 satellites to orbit this year, and the 10th overall [Electron] launch for the company — making Electron the most prolific launcher for their constellation to date," Rocket Lab added.
Tonight's launch was the seventh of 2025 and the 65th overall flight for the 59-foot-tall (18 meters) Electron, which gives small satellites dedicated rides to orbit.
Rocket Lab also flies a suborbital variant of Electron known as HASTE, which serves as a testbed for hypersonic technologies.
The company is also developing a larger, more powerful orbital rocket called Neutron, which is designed to be partially reusable. Neutron is expected to debut later this year.
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/launches-spacecraft/watch-rocket-lab-launch-private-earth-observing-satellite-to-orbit-tonight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD0qIdUOYnU
Private Japanese spacecraft aims to land in the moon's 'Sea of Cold' this week
June 2, 2025
The Japanese company ispace is poised to make a historic moon landing this week.
The company's Reslience lunar lander will attempt to touch down in Mare Frigoris ("Sea of Cold"), a basalt plain in the moon's northern hemisphere, on Thursday (June 5) at 3:24 p.m. EDT (1924 GMT).
You'll be able to watch the landing attempt online via a live webcast on ispace's YouTube page, beginning about one hour before landing.
Success would be huge for ispace and for Japan, which has just one soft lunar landing on its books to date — that of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's SLIM spacecraft, which touched down just last year.
It would also be a big milestone for commercial spaceflight, which has increasingly set its sights on the moon.
Resilience is ispace's second lunar lander. The first reached lunar orbit but failed during its touchdown try in April 2023.
If Resilience succeeds on June 5, the lander will deploy a small rover called Tenacious and also operate a suite of scientific instruments on the lunar surface.
Reslience launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 15 along with another private moon lander — Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, which aced its touchdown on March 2.
Resilience took a much longer path to the moon. It completed a brief Earth orbit phase, a lunar flyby and deep space and lunar orbit maneuvers, all of which helped guide the spacecraft along a fuel-efficient trajectory that used gravitational forces to adjust its path.
The lander entered lunar orbit as planned on May 6. On May 28, Resilience performed an orbital control maneuver, a 10-minute engine burn that brought the spacecraft into a circular orbit around the moon about 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the lunar surface, according to a statement from ispace.
"Just as they always do after a major burn of the propulsion system, ispace engineers are currently hard at work analyzing the path that the 3rd orbital control maneuver put Resilience on," ispace officials said in a May 30 post on X.
"If necessary, they may make a small adjustment to optimize the lander's direction of travel called an orbital trim maneuver."
Prior to its latest maneuver, the spacecraft snapped a stunning photo of the lunar surface from orbit, showcasing the moon's many craters and complex topography.
Traveling at approximately 3,600 mph (5,800 kph), Resilience is racing around the moon, making a lap every two hours or so as it gears up for its landing attempt later this week.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/private-japanese-spacecraft-will-attempt-to-land-in-the-moons-sea-of-cold-this-week
https://ispace-inc.com/news-en/?p=7550
https://www.youtube.com/live/BVSMXQPeTcw
Jacobs Wins $4B Space Force Contract for Range Operations Support=
June 3, 2025
Jacobs has won a potential $4 billion contract from the U.S. Space Force to provide operations, maintenance and integration support services for the branch’s Eastern and Western ranges.
The Department of Defense said Monday the 45th Contracting Squadron at Patrick Space Force Base in Florida launched a competitive acquisition process and received four offers for the hybrid, indefinite-quantity/indefinite-delivery contract.
Space Force Range Contract Scope
The company will also provide systems engineering and sustainment support for the Space Force’s ranges, which serve space exploration, national security and commercial users.
Work will occur at Patrick SFB and Vandenberg SFB in California through March 31, 2035. The military branch obligated $3.6 million in fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance appropriations funds at the time of award.
https://www.govconwire.com/2025/06/jacobs-space-force-contract-range-operations-support/
Bahrain Space Agency launches new website to enhance public engagement
Updated: 11:14 AM 03 Jun 2025
Manama, June 3 (BNA): The Bahrain Space Agency (BSA) has officially launched its new website as part of its strategy to improve communication and provide services and information to the public and space sector stakeholders locally and internationally.
The website features a modern design and easy navigation, allowing visitors to access key information about the agency’s vision, goals, initiatives, and current and future space projects.
It also offers details on the national space policy, the agency’s strategic plan, and the latest news, events, and announcements.
The site includes an interactive platform showcasing the agency’s services, educational programmes, and a dedicated section for children and youth with activities, competitions, and interactive games.
Hussain Abdullatif, Chief Information Officer at BSA, said the new website marks a significant step in enhancing the agency’s digital presence and making its information and services more accessible.
He added that the platform reflects Bahrain’s ambitions in space science and technology and serves as a window for researchers, partners, and the public to follow BSA's journey and achievements.
He expressed hope that the website would foster effective communication with all community segments and inspire a new generation of Bahraini youth to engage in this promising sector and contribute to Bahrain’s Vision 2030.
He invited everyone to visit the new website at www.bsa.gov.bh.
https://www.bna.bh/en/National/BahrainSpaceAgencylaunchesnewwebsitetoenhancepublicengagement.aspx?cms=q8FmFJgiscL2fwIzON1%2BDoZxE7ehcjMj3zAWDF6kuIA%3D
https://technologymagazine.com/data-and-data-analytics/colt-honeywell-nokia-trial-space-based-quantum-crypto
https://youtu.be/ScMg8Aoagi8?si=wmiRJBdoOdNBRl9f
Colt, Honeywell & Nokia Trial Space-Based Quantum Crypto
June 03, 2025
Colt, Honeywell and Nokia join forces to trial space-based quantum key distribution, securing data against future quantum computing threats
With quantum computing edging closer to mainstream reality, the threat it poses to traditional cryptography has become a pressing concern.
In response, Colt Technology Services, Honeywell and Nokia have formed a collaboration to trial space-based quantum-safe cryptography, aiming to secure the future of global data communications against looming quantum threats.
The quantum threat
Why is quantum posing a threat to traditional cryptography?
Conventional encryption methods rely on complex mathematical problems that are currently infeasible for classical computers to solve.
However, quantum computers — with unprecedented computational power — are expected to break these encryption schemes, potentially exposing sensitive data across sectors such as finance, healthcare and government.
This vulnerability has spurred a global race to develop quantum-resistant security solutions.
By working together, Colt, Honeywell and Nokia are planning to “test new ways of protecting encrypted optical network traffic from risks presented when quantum computing potentially breaks through traditional encryption methods”, which it says leaves data vulnerable to cyber threats.
What is Quantum Key Distribution?
One of the most promising advancements in quantum-safe security is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD).
Unlike traditional cryptography, QKD leverages the laws of quantum mechanics to securely share encryption keys between parties.
Any attempt to intercept these keys disrupts their quantum state, immediately alerting both sender and receiver to a security breach.
However, QKD’s adoption has been hampered by a significant limitation: range.
Terrestrial QKD, typically deployed via fibre optic cables, is constrained to distances of about 100km due to signal degradation and noise.
This range is insufficient for global communications, especially for applications requiring ultra-secure, long-distance data transmission.
To combat this issue, Colt, Honeywell and Nokia are looking to space.
By utilising Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, space-based QKD can transmit quantum keys over thousands of kilometers, enabling secure, intercontinental communication links.
This approach not only extends the reach of QKD but also eliminates the need for trusted relay nodes, further enhancing security. This is not the first instance of QKD’s deployment in space, however.
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China’s Micius satellite, the European Space Agency’s EAGLE-1 mission and NASA’s SEAQUE project are just some of several initiatives exploring the use of satellites for quantum-secure communications.
The space-based QKD market, according to Space Insider, is limited in terms of the competitive landscape, as the market is still in the nascent phase and the technology is still in the development/demonstration phase.
It predicts that as activity in the ground-based QKD grows, major players in the sector will turn their focus to space-based QKD technologies.
Colt, Honeywell and Nokia’s foray into space-based quantum-safe cryptography
Colt, Honeywell and Nokia aim to test the practical deployment of QKD via LEO satellites, with a focus on protecting encrypted optical network traffic from quantum attacks.
As well as shooting for the stars, the collaboration will also explore subsea QKD techniques.
“Nokia is helping our customers stay ahead when it comes to securing critical data through resilient defence-in-depth strategies,” says James Watt, Vice President and General Manager of Optical Networks at Nokia.
“Quantum computing brings great promise, but it’s also a potential threat to the encryption models on which society has relied so far.
“This collaboration with Colt and Honeywell shows how space-based quantum-safe technologies can help protect networks, safeguarding sensitive information across every domain against future quantum threats.”
Colt, Honeywell and Nokia are united by a common mission: to help customers harness the transformative power of quantum computing to address critical challenges, all while ensuring robust protection against emerging risks.
“Fundamental to the collaboration between Colt, Honeywell and Nokia is a shared passion and determination to push the boundaries of technology to find solutions which safeguard our customers and help them succeed,” Buddy Bayer, Chief Operating Officer at Colt, adds.
“At Colt, we do everything we can to make life easier for our customers. It’s why we’re taking action now to protect our customers from future cybersecurity risks, tackling tomorrow’s threats, today.”
Honeywell brings decades of aerospace expertise to the table, leveraging its experience from missions like QEYSSat and QKDSat.
“With over five decades of aerospace expertise, Honeywell has witnessed and adapted to the evolution of the global communications landscape,” says Lisa Napolitano, Vice President and General Manager for Space at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies.
“This collaboration represents a significant step forward in securing the future of critical data: designing solutions to enhance resilience, ensuring long-term data security for critical infrastructure and communications systems."
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Chief Master Sgt. of the Space Force visits Buckley SFB
June 2, 2025
Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John Bentivegna, visited Buckley Space Force Base, Colorado, on May 27.
Bentivegna is no stranger to Buckley SFB as he previously served here on three separate occasions.
He was stationed there as a ground systems operator in 1998 and then returned a few years later as the Mission Management Division superintendent in 2007.
In his final term, he served as the 460th Operations Group superintendent in 2013.
“I love the mission, and I love the people,” Bentivegna said. “So, it is always great to come back and still see some familiar faces.”
This visit wasn’t just a routine tour; it was a catalyst for connection with the Guardians, Airmen and civilians who enable the country to contest and control the space domain.
Bentivegna specifically recognized support function Airmen for the value they bring to Space Base Delta 2’s warfighter mission by amplifying the Guardian spirit and projecting lethality in today’s highly contested environment.
“The CMSSF’s visit reaffirmed the critical role Airmen play in executing the U.S. Space Force mission,” explained Chief Master Sgt. Marlene Locks, SBD 2 senior enlisted leader.
“Our Airmen remain essential to our success—enabling operations, sustaining readiness and driving innovation across every function that supports space superiority.”
After integrating with Buckley SFB leadership, Bentivegna received briefings and tours highlighting the installation’s pivotal role in defending U.S. interests in space.
The tours showcased the diverse support avenues that are the linchpin to Buckley SFB’s 24/7, no-fail mission.
From the vigilant defenders of the 460th Security Forces Squadron to the nurturing caretakers of the 460th Force Support Squadron’s Youth Center, Bentivegna witnessed the dedication and professionalism that defines Team Buckley.
“You are all operators regardless of the badge you wear and the AFSC you have,” Bentivegna said.
“When I met with the medical group, we discussed the innovative ways they are looking at readiness from a health perspective that allows Guardians to be employed in place during their commit phase.
They are enabling us to be able to do that and they are critical in that role. It is a different type of warfighting that we are doing.”
At the heart of the visit was a group lunch where Bentivegna engaged personally with Guardians and Airmen. He listened to their experiences, answered questions and expressed his gratitude for their contributions to the mission.
“There is sacrifice that comes along with being a member of the profession of arms,” said Bentivegna. “But the rewards are priceless.
The pride we have in the work we do…I see that in the men and women of Buckley SFB, and I am proud to have gotten a chance to connect with them directly.”
The day ended with demonstrations from both the 460th SFS’s Combat Arms Training and Maintenance unit and the Military Working Dogs, showcasing the installation’s commitment to readiness, lethality and the warrior ethos.
“We look at Buckley SFB as a power projection platform that enables the other occurring missions.”
Bentivegna explained, “When we think about the amount of combat power, the amount of intelligence and the amount of considerations for national security; they are executed from this little patch of land.”
The CMSSF’s visit reinforced the critical nature of support missions’ direct impact on maintaining space dominance.
The time Bentivegna spent interacting with Guardians and Airmen at the tactical level reminded them that their efforts are seen, valued and essential to securing the future of the United States.
“The men and women who are actually doing the work are inspiring and important,” said Bentivegna. “Thank you for everything that you do for your nation. Stay strong and Semper Supra!”
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4203392/chief-master-sgt-of-the-space-force-visits-buckley-sfb/
Over 500,000 people affected by floods in Himalayan region
3 Jun, 2025 09:59
Heavy floods in the Himalayan region of India have caused at least 36 deaths and affected more than 500,000 people, the authorities and media said on Monday.
Landslides, floods, and lightning storms have hit the northeastern region, media said. The authorities reported that more than a thousand tourists trapped in the state of Sikkim were evacuated on Monday.
Army rescue teams saved around 500 people stranded in flooded areas in the state of Meghalaya, Reuters reported. Persistent heavy rainfall in several regions has caused transport disruptions, including road, rail, and ferry services.
Three army personnel were killed and nine others went missing after a landslide struck a military camp in Chhaten in Sikkim on Sunday, Hindustan Times reported.
The state of Assam has reported the highest number of fatalities, as well as 15 rivers rising above the danger mark, according to the Times of India.
“We are facing a lot of challenges. I have a child, their bed is submerged in water. What will we do in such a situation? We keep ourselves awake throughout the night,” ANI quoted Silchar resident Sonu Devi as saying.
In the northeastern state of Manipur, over 19,000 people have been impacted by floods after several rivers overflowed and embankments were breached due to heavy rainfall over the past four days.
The death toll from floods and landslides in Arunachal Pradesh has risen to ten, and in Mizoram, mudslides have caused the blockage of 212 roads, according to an official bulletin cited by AP.
At least five people have died due to landslides, house collapses, and other rain-related incidents in Mizoram, including three Myanmarese refugees, according to a Hindustan Times report.
https://www.rt.com/india/618578-over-500000-people-affected-by/
https://twitter.com/easterncomd/status/1929483575218380850
Russian and Ukrainian chief negotiators held secret private meeting
2 Jun, 2025 22:14
Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia’s diplomatic delegation at the Istanbul talks, held a private bilateral meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, which played an “important role” in preparing the general session of negotiations on Monday.
The second round of direct talks between Moscow and Kiev concluded on Monday after more than an hour. Prior to the formal session, Medinsky and Umerov held an unannounced meeting that helped facilitate the broader negotiations.
“There was a meeting. It played an important role in the preparation of the general session,” Medinsky told reporters, without offering further details. A source who requested anonymity told RT that the private conversation lasted around two and a half hours.
During the talks in Istanbul, both sides exchanged memorandums outlining their respective proposals for resolving the conflict. Kiev’s delegation took Russia’s draft document for review and is expected to issue a formal response at a later date, Medinsky said following the session.
The two sides also agreed to their largest prisoner-of-war exchange to date, according to Medinsky.
The swap will involve all sick and severely wounded POWs, as well as all prisoners under the age of 25, and “will include at least 1,000 people from each side, possibly more,” the presidential aide noted.
In addition, Moscow will unilaterally return the remains of 6,000 Ukrainian service members to Kiev next week to allow for a proper “Christian burial,” he added.
Russia has also proposed a multi-day ceasefire in several frontline areas to facilitate the recovery of fallen soldiers’ bodies and prevent potential disease outbreaks as temperatures rise with the onset of summer.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618567-russian-ukrainian-secret-meeting/
Moscow is awaiting Kiev’s reaction to its draft memorandum on resolving the conflict
3 Jun, 2025 12:10
Expecting immediate breakthroughs in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine would be “incorrect,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
His remarks come after the second round of revived negotiations between Moscow and Kiev was held in Istanbul on Monday.
After the talks, both sides announced that they had agreed to conduct the largest prisoner exchange to date and indicated that direct contact would continue.
The two delegations also exchanged draft memorandums outlining a roadmap towards an eventual peace deal.
Commenting on the talks, Peskov emphasized on Tuesday that the “issue of regulation is extremely complex and consists of a large number of nuances.”
“The project of the memorandum we submitted to the Ukrainian side contains many provisions, including multi variability, all aimed at eliminating the root causes of this conflict and moving towards a sustainable resolution trajectory,” the spokesman said.
Peskov stressed that given the complexities of the negotiations, it would be “incorrect to expect any immediate solutions or breakthroughs here.”
However, he noted that certain agreements have nevertheless been reached, including a new prisoner swap.
The spokesman stated that Russia is now expecting Ukraine’s response to the memorandum that was submitted on Monday.
Moscow’s memorandum, which was made public after the negotiations, contains a number of demands, including Ukrainian neutrality, international recognition of Russia’s new territories, and military restrictions for Kiev.
Specifically, it demands that Kiev withdraw all troops from the regions that have joined Russia – Crimea, the Donbass republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye regions – while formally recognizing these areas as Russian territory.
Ukraine must also enshrine neutrality and non-nuclear status, withdraw from conflicting international treaties, disband nationalist armed groups, and limit its military capabilities.
The proposal also requires Ukraine to ensure rights for Russian-speaking citizens, make Russian an official language, end religious persecution, ban Nazi and nationalist organizations, and lift sanctions on Russia.
According to the proposal, a final peace treaty between Moscow and Kiev can only be signed after elections are held in Ukraine and endorsed by a legally binding UN Security Council resolution.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618588-kremlin-comments-ukraine-talks/
Russian retaliation ‘inevitable’ – Medvedev
3 Jun, 2025 14:01
Russia will “inevitably” respond to recent Ukrainian attacks on its territory despite continuing diplomatic efforts to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated on Tuesday.
His comments follow suspected acts of Ukrainian sabotage on railways in Russia and drone strikes on multiple Russian airfields at the weekend.
Despite this, Russian officials traveled to Istanbul on Monday for another round of direct negotiations with Ukrainian representatives.
In a social media post, Medvedev addressed domestic calls for a more forceful military response, declaring that Russian retaliation was “inevitable.”
“Our army is on an active offensive and will continue its push forward. Everything that needs to be blown up will be, and those who need to be eliminated will be,” he wrote.
Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, said the Istanbul negotiations were necessary “for our victory to be most swift and the full elimination of the neo-Nazi authorities” in Kiev.
During the talks, Moscow proposed two possible routes toward a ceasefire and suggested a brief halt in the fighting to allow military units to retrieve bodies from the battlefield.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky called Russian negotiators “idiots” for proposing the idea, asserting that a ceasefire should solely serve to prevent further loss of life.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called Zelensky’s remarks “awkward” and “unfortunate,” saying they undermined efforts to move the talks forward.
Moscow also offered to return the remains of over 6,000 deceased Ukrainian soldiers. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who is leading Kiev’s delegation, said Kiev would reciprocate by returning the same number of Russian military casualties.
Vladimir Medinsky, a presidential aide heading Russia’s team, said Moscow agreed to accept all remains offered in return.
Kiev consented to direct negotiations with Moscow last month under pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has expressed exasperation with both parties and warned that Washington could “walk away” from mediation efforts if progress stalls.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618595-medvedev-rataliation-kiev-inevitable/
Ukrainian attacks trigger power outages in Russia – officials
3 Jun, 2025 00:41
The Ukrainian military launched drone strikes on multiple Russian regions late Monday evening, causing a complete blackout in Zaporozhye Region and leaving parts of Kherson without electricity, according to local governors.
The attack damaged high-voltage equipment in the northwestern part of Zaporozhye, resulting in a region-wide outage, Governor Evgeny Balitsky wrote on Telegram shortly before midnight.
“Healthcare facilities have been switched to backup power sources,” Balitsky noted.
Some 600,000 households across 457 settlements in the Zaporozhye Region were still without electricity as of 7 am Tuesday, regional authorities said, emphasizing that efforts are underway to restore power via alternative routes as quickly as possible.
At 12:18am, Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo reported that a similar Ukrainian drone strike had targeted a new substation in the Genichesky District, cutting power to a large portion of the region.
“More than 104,000 people and 44 socially significant facilities” across roughly 150 settlements were affected, Saldo said. “All critical facilities were connected to backup power supplies,” he added.
The strikes came just hours after Moscow and Kiev concluded the second round of direct peace talks in Istanbul, during which the sides exchanged memorandums outlining their respective proposals for resolving the conflict.
According to the Russian memorandum, a “final settlement” would require international recognition of the former Ukrainian territories as parts of Russia and a full withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from those areas.
The Ukrainian memorandum, as reported by Reuters, rejects Moscow’s key demands, including recognition of the newly incorporated Russian regions, a commitment to neutrality, and limitations on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces.
Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, along with the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, formally joined Russia following referendums held in the fall of 2022. Crimea voted to rejoin Russia in 2014 after the Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618569-ukraine-attacks-power-outage/
Zelensky calls Russian negotiators ‘idiots’
2 Jun, 2025 23:54
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has lashed out at the Russian delegation taking part in the Istanbul talks, dismissing Moscow’s proposal for a temporary ceasefire to allow the sides to recover the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Following the second round of direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev held in Türkiye on Monday, the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky, proposed a short-term truce in several areas along the front line.
“We want to create the conditions for the bodies to be collected and handed over for Christian burial,” Medinsky stated. He said this would help prevent disease outbreaks and facilitate the dignified collection of the dead.
Zelensky rejected the idea at a Q&A session with Ukrainian and foreign journalists, reiterating his demand for a longer ceasefire.
“They [the Russians] are ready for a ceasefire for two to three days to pick up the dead from the battlefield. I think they are idiots,” he said, arguing that any truce should be aimed at saving lives, not retrieving bodies.
According to Medinsky, Russia has already committed to unilaterally transferring the remains of 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers and officers.
“We have identified all who we could, held DNA tests, and found out who they are,” the Russian presidential aide said.
Zelensky downplayed Medinsky’s position, calling him a low-level official who “does not even understand technical things.”
He claimed that these exchanges already occur between Ukrainian and Russian units without any formal agreements or ceasefires. “It just happens,” he said.
He also urged the US to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to pressure it into accepting Kiev’s demands.
Ukraine has demanded a full ceasefire of at least 30 days as a precondition for any substantive peace talks. The provision was reportedly included in draft proposals submitted during the negotiations, according to Reuters.
Russia has rejected the idea, warning that a pause would only allow the Ukrainian forces to regroup and prepare for renewed hostilities.
Zelensky has a history of offensive remarks toward the Russian negotiating team.
Ahead of the first round of talks in May, he described them as “a theater prop,” a comment that drew condemnation from Moscow.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618568-zelensky-russian-delegation-idiots/
Zelensky claims he has been invited to NATO summit
3 Jun, 2025 11:01
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has claimed he has been invited to attend this year’s NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague.
Media reports earlier suggested that the US is opposed to Zelensky’s potential participation due to concerns he could be “disruptive.”
Zelensky made the announcement on Monday after attending sessions of a NATO event in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with leaders from Eastern and Northern Europe.
During a virtual press briefing, Zelensky said he received a formal invitation from Rutte for the summit, scheduled for June 24-25 in the Netherlands.
NATO’s stance that Ukraine’s path towards membership is “irreversible” is cited by Russia as one of the key factors behind the ongoing hostilities between the two nations.
The New York Times reported last week that Zelensky’s attendance in The Hague was uncertain and might be scaled back.
US President Donald Trump has taken a “dismissive” stance toward the Ukrainian leader, the newspaper said, meaning NATO officials fear the event could be disrupted rather than “cordial.”
Officials told the NYT that organizers have contemplated skipping a session of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a forum where “allies sit with Ukraine as equals.”
Italy’s ANSA news agency reported that NATO is preparing a “very concise program” in order to minimize the risk of alienating Trump.
Bloomberg said the summit’s primary focus will be on boosting defense spending by member nations, in line with demands from Washington.
Tensions between Trump and Zelensky escalated in February during the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the US to finalize a minerals deal.
The meeting devolved into a heated exchange, with Trump, US Vice President J.D. Vance, and Zelensky clashing on camera.
Zelensky criticized the US leadership for renewing diplomatic ties with Russia, although the minerals deal was ultimately signed in late April.
Last month, Kiev agreed to resume direct negotiations with Moscow, a move encouraged by the Trump administration as part of efforts to broker a ceasefire.
During the latest round of talks in Istanbul on Monday, Russian negotiators offered to return the bodies of 6,000 deceased Ukrainian soldiers as a gesture of goodwill.
https://www.rt.com/russia/618585-zelensky-nato-leaders-summit/
he might've just had a sniff