TYB
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
August 27, 2025
WISPIT 2b: Exoplanet Carves Gap in Birth Disk
That yellow spot what is it? It's a young planet outside our Solar System. The featured image from the Very Large Telescope in Chile surprisingly captures a distant scene much like our own Solar System's birth, some 4.5 billion years ago. Although we can't look into the past and see Earth's formation directly, telescopes let us watch similar processes unfolding around distant stars. At the center of this frame lies a young Sun-like star, hidden behind a coronagraph that blocks its bright glare. Surrounding the star is a bright, dusty protoplanetary disk the raw material of planets. Gaps and concentric rings mark where a newborn world is gathering gas and dust under its gravity, clearing the way as it orbits the star. Although astronomers have imaged disk-embedded planets before, this is the first-ever observation of an exoplanet actively carving a gap within a disk – the earliest direct glimpse of planetary sculpting in action.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Remembering Hurricane Katrina 20 Years Later
August 27, 2025
20 years ago, Hurricane Katrina tore through the southeastern United States, causing much destruction. This video features thoughts from NOAA staff who were involved in the forecasting and response.
They share their memories of this tragic natural disaster, and the further forecasting advancements since then.
MAX MAYFIELD: Katrina did not even become a… when it came across South Florida, it was only a low-end Category 1 hurricane. We had rain, wind, but it wasn’t devastating.
Then, as it got into the Gulf of Mexico, the bottom dropped out. One of the worst things that can happen is a powerful hurricane that also becomes a large hurricane.
SAMUEL P. DeBOW JR.: So I called my operations center in Tampa, and I said, “What’s the possibility of me flying up into the hurricane?” They said, “You be here tonight, sir. We’re going up at 0800 tomorrow. You’re going in.”
So I flew into the eye of Hurricane Katrina on our NOAA Hurricane Hunter, which is probably one of the most unbelievable things I’ve ever done in my entire life. It was scary. It was exciting.
EDWARD RAPPAPORT: In terms of Katrina, yes, it was an extreme event. But it was the same forecast cycle, same forecast product.
Yes, we ratcheted up what we said during the communications; the risks certainly were greater and over a larger area than many other storms. But it was the same kind of approach. But there are always lessons learned.
One of the lessons learned was despite what was a good forecast we made, especially in the last two or three days before hit it the Gulf coast, and what we thought was adequate – what we call warnings and watches – that even outside the New Orleans area where they have the levee system failure, that there were many lives lost along the Mississippi coast, almost entirely from the storm surge.
ROY CRABTREE: It was just astonishing to see all the damage. Parts of Mississippi were just leveled from it.
You would see shrimp boats just all over everywhere, high and dry, just all over the place. I remember going into New Orleans right after Katrina, and there was just nobody there.
GARY SHIGENAKA: So a lot of the storage facilities and refineries wound up releasing a lot of oil. So it was dealing with basically broad-scale oil spills.
There was probably about eight or nine million gallons of oil that was released as a result of Katrina and Rita. That was all over the state of Louisiana, mostly along the Mississippi River.
NIR BARNEA: Hurricane Katrina, Rita, and after that, it creates a big, huge marine debris problem… There was a need to survey and remove debris.
So money was awarded and the Marine Debris Program was involved. And… and we were part of it.
EDWARD RAPPAPORT: That storm, and some of the others, had because of their storm surge losses prompted us to put a greater emphasis on the science and the communication of storm surge.
It’s not to say that we weren’t doing it already; we’ve known all along that storm surge is a deadly hazard, but it became even more clear with storms like Katrina and ultimately that led to what I consider to be a great advance, if not a breakthrough, in terms of communication of the risk from storm surge in that we…within the past two, three years…we’ve introduced not only a new product, graphical product, but watches and warnings that are explicitly tied to the storm surge hazard.
https://www.noaa.gov/heritage/multimedia/video/remembering-hurricane-katrina
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ9jtYlDYBE
Governor Lombardo Press Office
@Lombardo_Press
Please see the memo related to the August 24 network security incident below.
12:34 PM · Aug 25, 2025
https://x.com/Lombardo_Press/status/1960063186943852680
Governor Joe Lombardo
@JosephMLombardo
The State is working 24/7 to restore all online services safely.
6:17 PM · Aug 26, 2025
https://x.com/JosephMLombardo/status/1960511841442111902
Governor Joe Lombardo
@JosephMLombardo
More information about the State’s ongoing recovery efforts below:
6:20 PM · Aug 26, 2025
https://x.com/JosephMLombardo/status/1960512699739332746
Trump extends control over Washington by taking management of Union Station away from Amtrak
Updated 6:47 AM PDT, August 27, 2025
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that his department is taking management of Union Station, the main transportation hub in Washington, away from Amtrak, in another example of how the federal government is exerting its power over the nation’s capital.
Duffy made the announcement in a statement before he joined Amtrak President Roger Harris at Union Station for the launch of the NextGen Acela, the rail service’s new high-speed train.
The secretary said Union Station, located within walking distance of the U.S. Capitol, had “fallen into disrepair” when it should be a “point of pride” for the city.
“By reclaiming station management, we will help make this city safe and beautiful at a fraction of the cost,” Duffy said.
At the event, Duffy said President Donald Trump has been “pretty clear” about what he wants.
“He wants Union Station to be beautiful again. He wants transit to be safe again. And he wants our nation’s capital to be great again. And today is part of that,” Duffy said.
Duffy echoed the Republican president, who said last week he wants $2 billion from Congress to beautify Washington as part of his crackdown on the city.
The Republican president has sent thousands of National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officials into Washington in a bid to fight violent crime he claimed had strangled the city.
Local police department statistics show violent crime in Washington has declined in recent years, but Trump has countered, without offering evidence, that the numbers were fudged.
National Guard troops have been on patrol inside and outside of Union Station after Trump launched the anti-crime effort earlier this month.
Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were shouted down by opponents of the federal intervention when they visited with troops there last week.
During Wednesday’s train unveiling, Duffy will also talk about what the administration is doing to turn Union Station into a world class transit hub, according to a Transportation Department news advisory.
Duffy had pressed Amtrak about crime at Union Station in a March letter to its chief operating officer and requested an updated plan on how it intended to improve public safety there.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-duffy-union-station-amtrak-management-8c1f5d00ab7591f3f021cf4a9ee8d8e2
NASA’s year-long Mars simulation features vertical farm for astronaut food trials
Wed 27 Aug 2025
Four volunteers are months into NASA's year-long Mars simulation, gathering crucial data on human survival for future Red Planet missions.
Olivia Palamountain reports. Four volunteers are currently midway through more than a year sealed inside NASA's 3D-printed Mars habitat simulator named Mars Dune Alpha.
The second Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analogue (CHAPEA) mission began in spring 2025, confining the volunteers inside the 1,700 sq ft structure at NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston, for 378 days.
The habitat, developed by Danish architecture firm BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), includes private living quarters, a gymnasium, a vertical farm for growing crops, a medical bay and a robotics work area, alongside a 1,200 sq ft "sandbox" filled with red sand that replicates the Martian surface beneath an inflatable dome.
Participants will experience realistic communication delays of up to 22 minutes each way when contacting mission control or family members, matching the time it takes radio signals to travel between Earth and Mars.
The crew was selected following an application process that closed in April, and represents the middle mission of three planned CHAPEA experiments, with the third scheduled to begin following this mission's completion in 2026.
The selected participants will receive compensation for their involvement in the mission.
Crew members conduct simulated spacewalks lasting up to six hours using virtual reality headsets whilst walking on special treadmills that replicate Martian terrain.
Daily tasks will include operating drones and rovers, maintaining equipment, conducting scientific experiments, exercising and tending the vertical farm to grow crops such as tomatoes and peppers to supplement freeze-dried meals.
https://www.verticalfarmdaily.com/article/9759826/nasa-s-year-long-mars-simulation-features-vertical-farm-for-astronaut-food-trials/
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-opens-simulated-mars-habitat-to-media-ahead-of-second-mission/
Toyota GR Supra Named Official Pace Car for 2025 NASA Championships
August 25, 2025
GR Supra to Pace the Field at Ozarks International Raceway
PLANO, Texas (Aug. 25, 2025) — The Toyota GR Supra will make its debut as the official pace car for the 2025 National Auto Sport Association (NASA) Championships, marking the third GR Sports car to carry out the duties for NASA’s Nationals.
The event takes place September 4–7, 2025, at Ozarks International Raceway in Gravois Mills, Missouri.
Finished in a bold Toyota GAZOO Racing livery of red, white, and black, the GR Supra will lead the field at the National Auto Sport Association’s (NASA) marquee annual event.
The championship brings together top drivers from 14 NASA regions across the country to compete in 25 classes, culminating in a winner-take-all finale on Sunday.
“At Toyota, our passion for performance and motorsports runs deep, and we’re honored to support grassroots racing through our relationship with NASA,” said Mike Tripp, group vice president, Toyota Marketing.
“We’re especially proud to have the GR Supra pacing the 2025 Championships at Ozarks International Raceway—marking its debut as the official NASA Champs pace car.”
Hundreds of drivers will tackle the 3.97-mile road course at Ozarks, a 19-turn layout that features dramatic elevation changes and technical complexity.
The circuit promises to deliver both a challenging test of driver skill and an exhilarating experience for fans in attendance…both live and via live stream.
The GR Supra pace car highlights Toyota GAZOO Racing’s continued commitment to the enthusiast community.
Through a unique relationship with NASA, every new Toyota GR sports car buyer receives a complimentary one-year NASA membership—including a free High Performance Driving Event (HPDE) track day.
This benefit originated in 2019 exclusively for GR Supra owners and has since expanded to include all GR sports car buyers.
“The relationship between Toyota and NASA has been an incredible way to introduce sports car owners to the world of performance driving in a safe and responsible manner,” said Jeremy Croiset, chief executive officer of NASA.
“We’re especially excited to welcome the GR Supra for the first time as the official pace car for the 2025 NASA Championships at Ozarks International Raceway.
For those who can’t join us at the track, all the action will be streaming live at www.DriveNASA.com.”
Since its launch, the fifth generation Supra has led Toyota’s GR lineup, offering one of the best performance values in the sports car segment.
The 2026 model year will mark the final production run of the GR Supra, available in 3.0, 3.0 Premium and MkV Final Edition trims—all offered with a choice of six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmission.
The limited-run 2026 GR Supra MkV Final Edition will see only 1,300 units available in North America.
Offered in red, black, or white, the MkV Final Edition features a GT4-Style package with matte-finish paint, race-inspired graphics, carbon fiber red mirror caps, dual stainless steel exhaust tips, and a carbon-fiber ducktail spoiler.
Under the hood, all 2026 GR Supra models continue to deliver thrilling performance with a 3.0-liter inline-six, twin-scroll, turbocharged engine producing 382 horsepower and 368 lb-ft of torque.
https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-gr-supra-named-official-pace-car-for-2025-nasa-championships/
Crew Sets Up Liver Tissue Research and Preps for Dragon Reboost
August 26, 2025
Expedition 73 opened the hatch to the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft shortly after its arrival on Monday and has begun unloading advanced science experiments to continue benefitting humans living on and off the Earth.
The International Space Station residents also prepared for next month’s Dragon reboost and kept up lab maintenance and Earth observations.
NASA Flight Engineer Mike Fincke opened Dragon’s hatch following a series of pressure and leak checks about an hour-and-a-half after it docked to the Harmony module’s forward port at 7:05 a.m. EDT on Monday.
Shortly afterward, he was followed inside by NASA Flight Engineers Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) Flight Engineer Kimiya Yui unpacking time sensitive research samples and installing them inside station science freezers for preservation and upcoming analysis.
The station’s newest investigation, MVP Cell-07, or Maturation of Vascularized Liver Tissue Construct in Zero Gravity, was unloaded from Dragon on Monday and is now underway aboard the orbital outpost.
Cardman set up a portable glovebag in Harmony’s maintenance work area and installed experiment modules containing liver tissue into an artificial gravity generator.
The biotechnology investigation will explore how bioprinted, or engineered, liver tissues containing blood vessels behave in microgravity. Results may improve long term health for astronauts and improve quality of life for patients on Earth.
Kim continued unpacking some of the several thousand pounds of crew supplies and lab hardware Dragon delivered on Monday.
Fincke and Yui also removed portable science freezers containing research samples inside Dragon and installed them inside station science freezers.
The trio later joined Cardman at the end of their shift and reviewed plans for Dragon’s upcoming reboost of the space station’s orbit in September.
Dragon will fire its reboost kit, an independent propellant system using two Draco engines, to demonstrate its ability to maintain the orbital outpost’s altitude.
Working in the Roscosmos segment of the orbiting lab, station Commander Sergey Ryzhikov spent his day swapping out computer networking gear while Flight Engineer Alexey Zubritsky activated Earth observation gear and cleaned life support gear.
Flight Engineer Oleg Platonov collected radiation measurements, worked on orbital plumbing tasks, and also activated automated Earth imaging gear for an overnight photography session of the Asian continent.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2025/08/26/crew-sets-up-liver-tissue-research-and-preps-for-dragon-reboost/
Portrait of an Astronaut
Aug 27, 2025
NASA astronaut Zena Cardman poses for a portrait in a photography studio on March 22, 2024, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Cardman is currently aboard the International Space Station, where she perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities.
Recently, she took a robotics test on a computer for the portion of the CIPHER study that measures space-caused changes to her brain structure and function; she also installed high-definition cameras on a spacesuit helmet.
Cardman launched to the space station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission. Members of Crew-11 will contribute to NASA’s Artemis campaign by simulating Moon landing scenarios that future crews may encounter near the lunar South Pole.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/portrait-of-an-astronaut/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/
Reaching Out
Aug 26, 2025
This image released on Aug. 20, 2025, combines new radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array with X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Chandra first released an image of this pulsar and its surrounding hand-shaped nebula in 2009.
The new data provides a fresh view of this exploded star and its environment, which could help scientists understand its peculiar properties and shape.
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/reaching-out/
https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/x-ray-and-radio-go-hand-in-hand-in-new-image/
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/adf333
The Greatest Prank Ever Pulled In Space Really Fooled NASA’s Mission Control
August 26, 2025
Life in space is never boring, but it can certainly be a bit serious. Astronauts are there to work, but so far away from home, even leisure time can feel like it's not really relaxing.
Some of the astronauts take photographs, others play instruments. There’s Samantha Cristoforetti, who cosplayed in orbit, and Scott Kelly, who dressed up as a gorilla.
And then there is Owen Garriott, the greatest prankster who has ever been in orbit.
Before the International Space Station, NASA had Skylab, the first American space station.
There were three missions to Skylab, called, confusingly, Skylab 2, 3, and 4. Garriott was part of Skylab 3, together with Jack Lousma and Apollo 12 astronaut Alan Bean, the fourth man to ever walk on the Moon.
The mission started on July 28, 1973, and it was going to last two months, with the three astronauts keeping a tight schedule of experiments in their floating lab.
There was some drama after launch as one of the modules of their spacecraft developed a leak, and the astronauts developed space sickness for a little while, but their work was crucial for our understanding of the effects of microgravity and more.
They even sent two spiders into space, which showed that space-bound webs are not like the ones on planet Earth.
But a moment of levity came on September 10, 1973, and this is how Garriott told the story in an interview with NASA’s Oral History project in 2000.
As Skylab comes around in orbit to get into radio communication, all of a sudden this female voice comes on the line, and says, "Hello, Houston, this is Skylab.
The capcom, who happened to be Robert [L.] Crippen, said, "Well, hello, Skylab. Who is this?"
This female voice says, "Hi, there, Bob, this is Helen," my wife at the time.
"What are you doing up there?" Crippen asks.
"Well, we just came up to bring the boys a fresh meal, or a hot cooked meal. They haven't had one for quite a while. We thought they might enjoy that."
He says, "How did you get there?"
She says, "Oh, we just flew up. We've been looking at those forest fires that they have all over California. It's a beautiful site from up here."
The female voices says, "Well, I see the boys are floating in my direction. I've got to get off the line. I'm not supposed to be talking to you. See you later, Bob," and then it goes off.
You can imagine the reaction in mission control.
They called to check on the astronauts of Skylab 3 and the wife of one of them – who was clearly not in space – who not only spoke to them but also answered questions and comments about what she saw in orbit!
Neil Hutchinson, one of the flight directors at the time, asked Crippen what was going on, and Crippen could only reply: "You heard it the same time I did. I have no idea. I was just responding to the questions."
So how did Garriott pull it off? Helen’s voice was clearly prerecorded. Garriott planned a script months in advance, thinking of temporary things that might be visible from space, such as wildfires and hurricanes.
Helen recorded her lines with different variations of sights and variations of speakers (either Crippen or Karl Henize on Capcom), with appropriate gaps for Capcom to ask the questions.
The true secret to getting mission control confused was to have a plant there that could match Helen’s prerecorded performance.
Well, not just one: two. Both Crippen and Henize were in on the prank, though it was Crippen who delivered such a convincing performance that for a quarter of a century baffled NASA.
Only in 1998 did Garriott give away his secret. “They never figured it. So we had fun with that.”
If any joker astronaut is planning to deliver a prank, know that this is the bar to aim for.
https://www.iflscience.com/the-greatest-prank-ever-pulled-in-space-really-fooled-nasas-mission-control-80566
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XRuEvxWjEk
Inside NASA’s New Orion Mission Evaluation Room for Artemis II
Aug 26, 2025
As NASA’s Orion spacecraft is carrying crew around the Moon on the Artemis II mission, a team of expert engineers in the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will be meticulously monitoring the spacecraft along its journey.
They’ll be operating from a new space in the mission control complex built to host the Orion Mission Evaluation Room (MER).
Through the success of Orion and the Artemis missions, NASA will return humanity to the Moon and prepare to land an American on the surface of Mars.
Inside the Mission Evaluation Room, dozens of engineers will be monitoring the spacecraft and collecting data, while the flight control team located in mission control’s White Flight Control Room is simultaneously operating and sending commands to Orion during the flight.
The flight control team will rely on the engineering expertise of the evaluation room to help with unexpected spacecraft behaviors that may arise during the mission and help analyze Orion’s performance data.
The Mission Evaluation Room team is made up of engineers from NASA, Lockheed Martin, ESA (European Space Agency), and Airbus who bring deep, expert knowledge of the spacecraft’s subsystems and functions to the mission.
These functions are represented across 24 consoles, usually staffed by two engineers in their respective discipline, often hosting additional support personnel during planned dynamic phases of the mission or test objectives.
Perryman guides the Artemis II Orion Mission Evaluation Room alongside Jen Madsen, deputy manager for Orion’s Avionics, Power, and Software.
With crew aboard, Orion will put more systems to the test, requiring more expertise to monitor new systems not previously flown.
To support these needs, and safe, successful flights of Orion to the Moon, NASA officially opened the all-new facility in mission control to host the Orion Mission Evaluation Room on Aug. 15.
During Artemis II, the evaluation room will operate in three daily shifts, beginning about 48 hours prior to liftoff.
The room is staffed around the clock throughout the nearly 10 day mission, up until the spacecraft has been safely secured inside the U.S. Navy ship that will recover it after splashdown.
Another key function of the evaluation room is collecting and analyzing the large amount of data Orion will produce during the flight, which will help inform the room’s team on the spacecraft’s performance.
“Data collection is hugely significant,” Perryman said. “We’ll do an analysis and assessment of all the data we’ve collected, and compare it against what we were expecting from the spacecraft.
While a lot of that data comparison will take place during the mission, we’ll also do deeper analysis after the mission is over to see what we learned.”
If unplanned situations arise during the mission, the Mission Evaluation Room has additional layers of ability to support any specific need that presents itself.
This includes various engineering support from different NASA centers, Lockheed Martin’s Integrated Test Lab, ESA’s European Space Research and Technology Center, and more.
“We’ll see our spacecraft carrying our crew to the Moon on these screens and still be continuously learning about all of its capabilities,” said Madsen.
The Artemis II test flight will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen around the Moon and return them safely back home.
This first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign will set the stage for NASA to return Americans to the lunar surface and help the agency and its commercial and international partners prepare for future human missions to Mars.
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/artemis/orion/inside-nasas-new-orion-mission-evaluation-room-for-artemis-ii/
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/missions/europe-regains-contact-with-juice-jupiter-probe-ahead-of-crucial-aug-31-venus-flyby
https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Operations/Juice_team_resolves_anomaly_on_approach_to_Venus
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Juice
Europe regains contact with JUICE Jupiter probe ahead of crucial Aug. 31 Venus flyby
August 26, 2025
Europe's most advanced interplanetary space probe lost contact with Earth for nearly a full day leading up to a crucial flyby of Venus that will occur on Sunday (Aug. 31).
The European Space Agency's (ESA) JUICE spacecraft launched atop an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana in April 2023.
The probe is bound for the Jupiter system, where it will study the gas giant and three of its four big Galilean moons — Ganymede, Callisto and Europa.
JUICE (short for "Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer") will reach its target in July 2031 with the help of four gravity-assist planetary flybys, which will increase the probe's velocity and slingshot it toward the outer solar system.
The second of those flybys will occur this Sunday, when JUICE buzzes by Venus — but a communications glitch last month put the preparations for that encounter into jeopardy when the probe unexpectedly went dark.
A communications ping with the deep space antenna in Cebreros, Spain, failed to establish a connection with JUICE on July 16, according to ESA.
The routine comms protocol is designed to maintain confirmation of the satellite's telemetry and onboard systems status.
When the probe failed to check in, mission operators were left scrambling to troubleshoot the issue as the probe's Venus encounter quickly approached.
"Losing contact with a spacecraft is one of the most serious scenarios we can face," said JUICE Spacecraft Operations Manager Angela Dietz in an Aug. 25 ESA statement.
After ruling out a malfunction in the communications infrastructure on the ground, engineers narrowed the problem down to two possibilities: a misalignment with JUICE's medium-gain antenna or an issue with the comms system's amplifier.
Mission managers feared that JUICE went into a protective safe mode and were left with two possible paths toward resolution, according to the ESA statement:
Transmit commands "blind" to JUICE's presumed location along its flight path, in the hopes of triggering an activation command through a backup low-gain antenna, or wait two weeks for the spacecraft to automatically reset its communications systems.
And, given the closing distance between JUICE and Venus, mission operators determined the latter was an untenable strategy.
“Waiting was not an option,” Dietz said. Doing so, she added, "would have meant delaying important preparations for the Venus flyby."
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JUICE is currently flying about 125 million miles (200 million kilometers) from Earth, on the opposite side of the sun. At that distance, messages to the spacecraft and back take a 22-minute round trip.
Over the course of 20 hours, mission operators attempted to force-realign JUICE's medium-gain antenna, succeeding after their sixth transmission. Once communications were reestablished, the spacecraft was found to be in a healthy condition.
Technicians traced the malfunction to a glitch in JUICE's timing software that was responsible for powering the probe's communications amplifier on and off at the appropriate times. They issued a fix to prevent the issue from happening again
With communications reestablished, the team was able to begin preparations JUICE's upcoming Venus flyby on schedule.
JUICE's closest approach to the solar system's second planet is expected to occur at 1:28 a.m. EDT (0728 GMT) on Sunday.
The probe will steal a small fraction of Venus' orbital momentum, helping propel it toward its next planetary flyby in September 2026, when JUICE will fly a quick loop around Earth.
JUICE's first gravity assist came from an August 2024 pass of Earth and the moon, which set the spacecraft on its current trajectory toward Venus.
Another flyby of Earth will take place in January 2029, which will ultimately grant JUICE the velocity it needs to rendezvous with Jupiter in July 2031.
Ganymede, Callisto and Europa are all thought to harbor oceans of liquid water beneath their icy shells, making them excellent places to hunt for past or present signs of alien life.
If all goes according to plan, JUICE will spend about 2.5 years in orbit around Jupiter, completing 35 passes of the gas giant's icy Galilean moons.
At the end of the mission, JUICE operators intend to alter the spacecraft's flight path to enter orbit around Ganymede, which will make the ESA probe the first spacecraft to orbit any of Jupiter's moons.
Unlike the stunning visuals transmitted during JUICE's first Earth/lunar flyby, Sunday's flight past Venus won't return any photos of the "morning star" planet. Because of heat limitations, mission operators are powering down the spacecraft's sensors.
ESA will likely release a statement following the scheduled flyby.
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Scientists discover minerals in asteroid Ryugu that are older than Earth itself
August 26, 2025
Asteroid Ryugu is proving to be one of the most scientifically valuable time capsules in the solar system.
A recent study of microscopic grains collected from Ryugu by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft found the tiny space rock harbors minerals that formed long before Earth itself — minerals that have been preserved in pristine condition for billions of years.
Using cutting-edge X-ray imaging tools, researchers from the Brookhaven National Laboratory examined the chemistry of the asteroid samples in extraordinary detail, revealing a mixture of minerals and elements that trace back to the asteroid's ancient parent body, according to a statement from the laboratory.
"These clues begin to tell a story about the starting materials of the asteroid and their early interactions with fluids," officials said in the statement.
"This information helps to better define the sequence of fluid activity and processes that led to the current composition of Ryugu and other carbonaceous asteroids."
Ryugu is a carbon-rich near-Earth asteroid thought to have originated in the cold outer reaches of the solar system. More than 4.7 billion years ago, its parent body was gently warmed by a chemical process known as radioactive decay.
That subtle heating melted ices like water and carbon dioxide, releasing fluids that seeped through the rock. The fluids triggered chemical reactions that left behind a diverse mineral assemblage — some familiar to Earth, others entirely foreign.
Using only two tiny pieces of the asteroid — one grain from its surface and the other from its subsurface — researchers identified carbonates such as manganese-bearing dolomite and ankerite, iron-rich minerals like pyrrhotite and magnetite, copper sulfides, phosphorus-bearing hydroxyapatite, a mineral found in human teeth and bones, and a rare phosphide mineral not found on Earth.
There were also traces of selenium, sulfur, silicon and calcium. The wide array of minerals points to a rich interplay of fluids and chemistry that unfolded in the asteroid billions of years ago, long before our planet's crust had stabilized.
Because Earth's earliest rocks have been destroyed by tectonics and erosion, Ryugu provides an unparalleled window into the conditions that existed during planetary formation.
The returned samples could therefore also reveal whether the asteroid may have delivered water and organic ingredients that helped jump-start life on Earth.
"Earth is constantly changing, and, over time, its natural processes have erased most of the chemical clues about how the solar system first formed," officials said in the statement.
"Asteroids like Ryugu preserve this important piece of the solar system’s history."
Asteroid sampling missions are rapidly gaining momentum as space agencies recognize the unmatched scientific value of returning pristine material from the early solar system.
Japan's Hayabusa and Hayabusa2 missions set the stage, successfully retrieving samples from asteroids Itokawa and Ryugu, while NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission recently delivered material from asteroid Bennu — which researchers hope to study using the same X-ray techniques.
Comparing Bennu and Ryugu could reveal key differences in how carbon-rich asteroids formed, altered and transported life's essential building blocks across the early solar system.
More asteroid sampling projects are on the horizon: JAXA's MMX mission will target the Martian moon Phobos, for instance, while future concepts aim to capture samples from metallic asteroids or even comets.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/asteroids/scientists-discover-minerals-in-asteroid-ryugu-that-are-older-than-earth-itself
https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=222568
https://www.space.com/space-exploration/harassment-at-antarctic-research-bases-could-spell-problems-for-moon-mars-outposts
https://nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/USAP%20SAHCS%20Findings%20Report_Final_7.15.25.pdf
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02484-z
https://www.nsf.gov/stopping-harassment/sahpr
Harassment at Antarctic research bases could spell problems for moon, Mars outposts
August 27, 2025
More than 40 percent of respondents to a new survey experienced a sexual assault or sexual harassment during recent Antarctic research expeditions, according to the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
Antarctica is a common analog for spaceflight or stay on a future moon base or Mars settlement due to its remote nature. NSF pledged to work with its own participants, as well as to share information with other organizations working in remote environments, for assessment, prevention and follow-up.
"NSF is committed to fostering and maintaining a culture free from sexual violence wherever NSF-funded activities are conducted, including in Antarctica," a spokesperson told Space.com over email about the report, which was released in July.
"NSF is dedicated to keeping the USAP [U.S. Antarctic Program] community safe."
In a report in Nature, a scientist and past participant in NSF polar work said the survey is "an important step" towards addressing issues with harassment.
"Surveys like this play a critical role in documenting lived experiences that have too often been ignored or minimized," said Asa Rennermalm, a physical geographer and polar scientist at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Nature's report added that NSF (like NASA) has been threatened with large budget cuts by the White House, and the entire government is also being targeted by the Trump administration for matters relating to diversity, equity and inclusion.
These two factors, the Nature report added, make it unclear to what capacity NSF can respond to the findings.
The NSF spokesperson told Space.com, however, that the foundation pledged to use the survey results "as a way to ensure continuous program improvement based on lived experiences," particularly because of the quality of the data collection.
Antarctica is an example of an isolated, confined environment — just like a spacecraft or a potential future base on the moon or Mars.
A term for such locations, Isolated, Confined, and Extreme environments (ICE), simply put, includes zones where humans must work in an operational (and often dangerous) environment far from the usual supports of home.
Submarines, research bases and spacecraft are some examples of ICE and there are decades of studies regarding how to support individuals in these environments, according to a separate 2021 study in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
The teams that will work best in ICE should be properly screened and selected to deal with "leadership, coping and interpersonal skills training … during and after long-duration missions," the authors of the 2021 study said.
The study was co-authored by the University of Southern California's Lawrence Palinkas and the University of British Columbia's Peter Suedfeld, who are frequently cited among both ICE researchers and space scientists.
Generally speaking, NASA has spent decades integrating studies of ICE to improve conditions for its astronaut training and living.
For example: ISS crews are put through many rounds of ICE environment training before leaving, including working in caves, underwater habitats, and wilderness excursions.
Astronauts in space speak with a psychologist at least once every two weeks, according to the Canadian Space Agency. Long-duration astronauts in particular are given rest days to pursue hobbies, call family or friends, and generally to relax.
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Antarctic scrutiny
Regarding Antarctica, USAP has been under recent scrutiny by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
The committee started an investigation after a 2022 report by NSF and partners, concerning sexual assault and harassment during NSF activities in Antarctica.
The House committee found "serious deficiencies" in 2024 with how NSF was managing USAP, and made recommendations for remedies.
(The committee has also, more generally, investigated sexual assault, sexual harassment, blacklisting and similar activities in scientific programs since 2017.)
The new NSF survey, done alongside several external partners, canvassed 2,760 individuals who deployed with the NSF Office of Polar Programs between 2022 and 2024. Roughly 25% of those canvassed, or 679 people, completed the survey.
Participants, however, were asked to complete different inventories that had their own response rates.
For example, 521 individuals completed a "victimization inventory", in which 40.7% of respondents said they had experienced at least one instance of sexual assault or sexual harassment.
Among the victimization respondents, the survey found that more than half of those affected by these incidents (59%) were female. Responses were nearly evenly split (48% and 52%) between those deployed less than a year, and those deployed for between one and four years.
A "bystander inventory" generated 572 responses, in which nearly 70% (68.7%) of respondents said they had witnessed an incident of sexual assault or sexual harassment.
Nearly half (44.5%) said the most recent incident they witnessed was part of a series of issues. (Broadly speaking, assault or harassment was classified into four categories by NSF: as "sexual harassment and stalking", "unwanted sexual attention", "sexual coercion, and "sexual assault.")
NSF emphasized to Space.com that the Antarctic survey was not meant to be representative "of the specifics of spaceflights," but the spokesperson noted that sharing the results may allow "other organizations operating in remote environments [to] learn and benefit from our approach."
"It is essential to conduct a needs assessment or data collection to inform and guide strategic efforts, ensuring they are grounded in the strengths of an organization while also assessing risk factors that are specific to your environment and community," the spokesperson added. "While prevention efforts can be adapted, it is critical to understand the dynamics of the participants."
Recommendations of the Antarctic survey, in NSF's words, include:
Decrease the prevalence of victimization and bystander incidents.
Increase both formal reporting and informal disclosures by decreasing barriers to reporting and improving trust, and accountability.
Increase positive norms related to intervening as a bystander.
Decrease norms that support and encourage behaviors.
Increase recognition of problem behaviors that can lead to perpetration of behaviors.
Increase supervisors' engagement in and initiation of SA/SH prevention efforts.
The foundation has already implemented some of the report recommendations, including case tracking of incidents and better bystander intervention training. More details are available in a memorandum about the report.
"We are carefully reviewing the recommendations, and considering our next steps to ensure that we continue to take effective actions within our available resources," the spokesperson added.
For example, NSF said the program office is ready to assist those participants who experienced sexual assaults, and has a dedicated web page available for reporting and other needs.
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https://www.military.com/daily-news/2025/08/26/air-guard-transfers-space-force-appear-likely-senators-backtrack-effort-stop-it.html
Air Guard Transfers to Space Force Appear Likely as Senators Backtrack on Effort to Stop It
August 26, 2025 at 6:08pm ET
New amendments added to Congress' must-pass annual defense policy bill would allow the Space Force to take over certain state-controlled Air National Guard space units – despite protests from every governor in the country and existing legislation to create a Space National Guard instead.
Two amendments submitted earlier this month, sponsored by Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, would allow the planned transfer of Air National Guardsmen with space missions to the active-duty Space Force as soon as October.
Notably, Hickenlooper and Crapo introduced the bill earlier this year that would reverse such a move and, instead, establish a Space National Guard.
Also, President Donald Trump said in August 2024 on the campaign trail that "as president, I will sign historic legislation creating a Space National Guard."
Last year, outrage poured in from 55 governors of states and territories, more than 120 lawmakers, and National Guard advocates over Legislative Proposal 480 – a Biden administration-era move that went around existing U.S. law and state governors to transfer Air National Guard units with space-related missions into the active-duty Space Force instead.
Following Trump's campaign promise to create a Space National Guard, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both the House and Senate made efforts to stop such a move and create a new reserve component.
But that effort, which appeared to have presidential and congressional support, seems to be losing steam. Spokespeople for the White House did not respond to Military.com's questions asking whether Trump was still dedicated to his campaign promise.
The new amendments proposed by Crapo and Hickenlooper include language that allows the planned transfer of nearly 600 Guardsmen to the active-duty Space Force on "a one-time, voluntary basis."
The legislation seeks to establish a "future precedent" that such a move can't take place outside of existing laws, which require approval and consent from state governors.
"The transfer authorized under this section shall not occur until after the secretary of the Air Force has engaged in sustained consultation with the governors of affected states and submitted to the committees on armed services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on findings and recommendations related to the transfer of units and voluntary transfers of personnel from the Air National Guard and into the Space Force resulting from such consultation," according to one of the amendments.
The amendments would still have to be added to the annual National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, and would have to be passed by Congress and signed by the president to become law.
Despite his amendment, Crapo told Military.com in a statement that he remains opposed to the legislative proposal to transfer Air Guardsmen to the Space Force.
"Although I remain opposed to LP480 and its move to strip governors' authority over their National Guard units, I am working with my colleagues on an agreeable path forward that ensures if the transfer goes forward, it does not set precedent," Crapo told Military.com in a statement.
A spokesperson for Crapo did not respond to questions about how the amendments fall short of creating a Space National Guard, which was the aim of his bill introduced earlier this year.
Hickenlooper, in a statement to Military.com, advocated for a Space National Guard and, similar to Crapo, said the amendments aim to stop the situation created by Legislative Proposal 480 from happening again.
"It's been the duty of governors for over a century to maintain the readiness of their National Guard units," said Hickenlooper. "A Space National Guard is in America's best interest.
If the Department of Defense chooses to proceed with LP480, we put bipartisan guidance in place so it doesn't set a precedent."
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It was unclear whether the House will take up a similar approach to the controversial transfer plans. As of Tuesday, no similar amendments had been submitted to the House Rules Committee.
The National Guard Association of the United States, one of the military's biggest lobbying organizations, made the creation of a Space National Guard and the repeal of Legislative Proposal 480 one of its biggest priorities last year.
The organization said the transfer would cause the military to lose talent – with one survey earlier this year showing that only 8% of Air National Guardsmen want to transfer to the active-duty Space Force.
"It was said this will only happen one time. It'll never happen again," John Goheen, a National Guard Association spokesperson, told Military.com. "So, what the senators are doing, is they're ensuring the door is closed."
Despite the looming transfer, National Guard Association of the United States officials said they are still pushing for the creation of a Space National Guard. "We have not given up on that fight," Goheen added.
A July 30 memo from Air Force Secretary Troy Meink, reviewed by Military.com and confirmed as authentic and accurate by service officials, detailed the plan to transfer the Air National Guard units to the Space Force.
Units set to be transferred, according to the memo, include: the 213th Space Warning Squadron from Alaska; the 148th Space Operations Squadron and 216th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron from California; the 137th Space Warning Squadron and 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron from Colorado; the 114th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron from Florida; the 150th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron and 109th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron from Hawaii; and the 126th Intelligence Squadron from Ohio.
"These space functions currently performed by the ANG will transfer to the Space Force effective 1 October, 2025," a Department of the Air Force spokesperson told Military.com.
Meanwhile, the Space Force is still working to create its own, unique part-time, active-duty service model that was supposed to be similar to a reserve component, but applications aren't anticipated to be opened until 2026, Military.com previously reported.
But, in practice, the part-time service path is shaping up to be vastly different from the Guard and reserves.
In a town hall earlier this month, Space Force and Air Force Reserve senior leaders explained the part-time service model to the 310th Space Wing at Schriever Space Force Base, Colorado.
The news release from the town hall specified that "part-time assignments are designed to offer flexibility to Guardians whose life circumstances may change – not to serve as a career path like the reserve."
"We recognize the current capacity that you are in," Col. Matthew Holston, the Space Force's Personnel Management Act integration director, said in the news release.
"So, what we've done is put some caveats in there to allow for a slightly elongated opportunity, and potentially more opportunities to serve in a part-time work role."
"However, our long-term vision is not necessarily this career-long, part-time work role," he said.
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Ukrainian strikes on key oil pipeline are ‘terrorism’ – Moscow
26 Aug, 2025 19:45
Continued Ukrainian attacks on the Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil to European consumers are nothing short of terrorism, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stated.
Built in the 1960s and spanning 4,000km (2,485 miles), Druzhba (‘friendship’) is one of the world’s longest pipeline networks, connecting oil fields in Russia and Kazakhstan with refineries in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Poland.
Speaking on Monday, Zakharova said that attacks on energy infrastructure “are classified as terrorist acts under international law and in many national jurisdictions,” as quoted by TASS.
The diplomat insisted that while “all strikes on civilian infrastructure, especially energy facilities, should be condemned by everyone,” Kiev’s Western backers were looking the other way, effectively condoning Ukrainian attacks.
Hungary and Slovakia, which depend on Russian oil supplies, were the only EU countries to denounce the attacks.
Speaking at a press conference in Kiev on Sunday, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky said that “we have always supported friendship with Hungary, but now the very existence of this friendship depends on Budapest’s position.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban interpreted the remark, taken as a play on the pipeline’s name, as a “threat,” according to a report by Magyar Nemzet on Monday.
He further accused Zelensky of using energy supply disruptions as leverage in an apparent attempt to force Budapest into reversing its opposition to Ukraine’s EU membership bid.
Unlike most EU countries, Budapest has refused to provide military aid to Kiev, and has been a vocal critic of the bloc’s sanctions against Russia.
Hungary’s relations with Ukraine have been steadily deteriorating in recent years, with Budapest accusing Kiev of discriminating against the Hungarian ethnic minority in Western Ukraine.
Last week, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar similarly denounced “unacceptable” Ukrainian attacks on his country’s energy security.
Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Kiev’s forces have repeatedly targeted Russian energy facilities and pipelines, including the TurkStream conduit, which supplies natural gas to Turkish consumers and several European countries.
They have also targeted Russian nuclear power plants on multiple occasions.
https://www.rt.com/russia/623574-ukraine-drone-strike-rostov-on-don/
Ukrainian drone hits residential building in Russia
27 Aug, 2025 11:17
Ukraine launched yet another wave of drone attacks on several Russian regions overnight, The Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Wednesday morning.
One strike sparked a massive fire in a residential building in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
Russian air defense units are said to have intercepted and destroyed a total of 27 UAVs across the country, including 15 over Rostov Region.
In Rostov-on-Don, acting Governor Yury Slusar reported that a blaze broke out on the roof of a four-story apartment building after a Ukrainian drone crashed into it.
Emergency services extinguished the fire, which damaged about 250 square meters of the roof. Slusar said 15 residents were evacuated to a temporary shelter but stressed that no one was injured.
He said that drones had been intercepted in several places in the region, including Taganrog, Novoshakhtinsk, Neklinovsky, Myasnikovsky, Millerovsky, and Chertkovsky districts.
According to preliminary assessments, drone fragments damaged several private houses, cars, and power lines. Local authorities will begin evaluating the damage to property during the day, Slusar said.
The governor emphasized that the main priority was the safety of civilians, adding that “the most important thing is that no one was hurt.”
In recent months, Ukrainian forces have intensified their long-range drone operations, targeting residential areas and key infrastructure across Russia.
National air defense units regularly report intercepting dozens or even hundreds of drones in a single day. However, falling debris often results in civilian casualties and significant damage to private property.
Moscow has responded to Kiev’s attacks with high-precision strikes on Ukrainian military-related facilities, maintaining that its operations are never directed at civilians.
The latest Ukrainian attacks come as Kiev is under growing domestic and international pressure to reach a negotiated settlement with Moscow.
https://www.rt.com/russia/623574-ukraine-drone-strike-rostov-on-don/
Trump envoy sets new timeframe for ending Ukraine conflict
27 Aug, 2025 00:23
US special presidential envoy Steve Witkoff has said Washington hopes to see the Ukraine conflict resolved by the end of 2025, citing Moscow’s “peace proposal on the table” and ongoing meetings with Russian and Ukrainian representatives.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Witkoff said he will be “having meetings all this week” on Ukraine and other global conflicts, “and we hope to settle them before the end of this year.”
In a follow-up interview with Fox News, Witkoff said that although Trump had expressed frustration with both Moscow and Kiev, the Russian side has at least “put a peace proposal on the table.”
He acknowledged that territorial concessions “may not be something that the Ukrainians can take,” but argued that the Trump administration had brought the sides closer to agreement than ever before.
“There’s a peace proposal on the table,” Witkoff reiterated.
“We’re at this place where we think the end is in sight… we have technical teams working on it and we’re hopeful that by the end of this year, and maybe quite a bit sooner, we actually can find the ingredients to get to that peace deal.”
According to Witkoff, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed a clear desire to end the conflict and discussed Moscow’s position in depth with Trump during their historic Alaska summit earlier this month.
While no details of any potential deal were made public, Moscow has long insisted that a sustainable settlement can only be achieved if Kiev agrees never to join NATO, undergoes demilitarization and denazification, and recognizes the new reality on the ground.
This includes the status of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as part of Russia – territories that voted to join the country in referendums in 2014 and 2022.
Witkoff emphasized that any decision on territorial concessions would be for Ukraine to make, and suggested the issue would be tied to long-term security guarantees.
He noted that he would meet Ukrainian officials in New York this week and stressed that Washington maintains daily communication with Moscow.
Recent reports have indicated that ongoing discussions include Kiev potentially ceding its remaining positions in Donbass in exchange for yet-to-be-defined Western commitments.
Witkoff further claimed “we may end up seeing a bilateral meeting” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, adding that Trump might be “needed at the table to finish a deal.”
Putin has not ruled out meeting Zelensky, but insisted a meeting could only follow tangible progress in negotiations.
Moscow has also questioned Zelensky’s legitimacy, citing his expired presidential term and warning that any deals he signs could be overturned by his successor.
https://www.rt.com/news/623561-witkoff-ukraine-peace-deal/
Ukraine peace talks must stay confidential – Kremlin
27 Aug, 2025 12:49
Public discussion of the details of Ukraine peace negotiations could harm the process, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday when asked what compromises Russia might be prepared to offer.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told NBC News last week that Moscow is ready to “show some flexibility” on Ukraine after the recent Alaska summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
US Vice President J.D. Vance later told the same program that Trump’s “energetic diplomacy” had convinced Moscow to offer “significant concessions.”
Peskov reiterated that the Putin-Trump talks marked a diplomatic breakthrough but stressed that Moscow intends to keep details of the negotiations confidential.
”Talking about the specifics publicly and outside of the broader context of the conflict would hardly be beneficial for our common goal. We believe such work should be done privately, if we are to produce results,” he said.
Lavrov was repeatedly pressed on NBC’s Meet the Press about whether Putin would commit to direct talks with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky.
The foreign minister reminded the host that Putin had not ruled out such a meeting, but insisted it would need to be meaningful.
”Yes, he [Putin] is ready to meet, but no, we cannot meet just for him [Zelensky] to have a picture and to say that, ‘now I am legitimate’,” Lavrov said.
Russia’s top diplomat was referring to the expiration of Zelensky’s presidential mandate last year. Moscow has raised questions about the legality of any international agreements he might sign.
Peskov reinforced Lavrov’s remarks, saying any top-level contacts between Russia and Ukraine “need to be properly prepared to be resultful.”
He added that Russia “remains committed to resolving the Ukraine conflict, preferably through peaceful political-diplomatic means.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/623576-ukraine-conflict-compromise-kremlin/
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/rkl2fchtxg
Thousands flee Gaza City as IDF gears for offensive, Hamas campaign pushes to keep them inside
August 27, 2025 08:12
The IDF said Wednesday it is completing construction of two new food and aid distribution centers in southern Gaza, part of what it called ongoing efforts to expand humanitarian access in the enclave as fighting intensifies around Gaza City.
A military spokesperson said that once the sites are finished in the coming days, the total number of distribution centers in the territory will rise to five.
The army said a facility in Rafah’s Tel al-Sultan neighborhood would be replaced by the two new centers, a move intended to “improve service and ensure safer distribution.”
The military described the project as coordinated in recent months between Israel’s political leadership, the U.S. administration, the army’s Southern Command and COGAT, the unit that oversees Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories.
According to the army, since late May, more than 2.3 million weekly food packages have been distributed to families through the four centers already operating.
“IDF, through COGAT and under the direction of the political echelon, will continue to enable humanitarian aid in Gaza while making every effort to ensure food is delivered in an orderly manner to residents and does not fall into the hands of Hamas,” the army statement said.
The announcement came as Israel continues preparations for an expected ground push into Gaza City.
In a separate message earlier Wednesday, the army’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, urged residents of northern Gaza to move south, rejecting what he called “false rumors” that there is no space available.
“Before transitioning to the next phase in the war, I wish to confirm that there are vast empty areas in the southern Strip, just as is the case in the central camps and in Al-Mawasi,” Adraee said.
“These areas are free of tents. Evacuating Gaza City is inevitable, and every family that moves south will receive the maximum humanitarian assistance, which is now being prepared.
The IDF has begun bringing in tents and preparing areas for humanitarian distribution centers.”
Palestinian and United Nations officials said the Gaza Strip was in need of around 1.5 million new tents.
Israeli tanks retreated from the edge of Gaza City later on Wednesday to the Jabaliya area, where they have been operating for months, although bombardments on three of the city's eastern suburbs - Shijaiyah, Zeitoun and Sabra - continued.
Hamas-controlled Gaza health authorities said Israeli fire had killed at least 20 people across the enclave.
As negotiations remain stalled, Hamas has launched a campaign urging residents of Gaza City not to evacuate, telling them to leave “only to paradise.”
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Officials in Gaza’s Hamas-run Ministry of Communications said that more than 900,000 residents have left the city following new evacuation orders but insisted “the south cannot absorb them.”
Local authorities, also controlled by Hamas, claimed shelters and tent camps are now filled beyond 96% capacity, warning that “any attempt to move south endangers the lives of those fleeing.”
Hamas is seeking to prevent the mass displacement of civilians, who serve as a human shield for the terrorist group’s fighters operating in the city.
The IDF, for its part, continues preparatory operations in Gaza City, dropping leaflets calling on residents to leave their homes or the makeshift tents where many have relocated.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would reenter negotiations to end the war and secure the release of all hostages "under conditions acceptable to Israel.” However, an Israeli delegation has yet to be dispatched to Doha or Cairo.
Publicly, Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will pursue only a comprehensive deal, while Hamas has signaled readiness to accept a framework advanced by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff—at least according to Witkoff himself.
After months in which Israel pressed for that very framework, officials have shifted course.
In an interview late Tuesday, Witkoff said Hamas had accepted the proposal but argued the group did so only after deliberate delays, which he blamed for the collapse of the talks.
Under the proposal, 10 hostages would return alive along with the bodies of 18 others during a 60-day ceasefire, during which negotiations for the broader agreement Netanyahu now demands would continue.
Netanyahu now supports holding negotiations alongside ongoing military operations. The proposed deal, which includes U.S. guarantees that Israel would not resume fighting after a 60-day truce, remains stalled.
Rather than debating the substance of the agreement, the sides are locked in disputes over the terms for launching talks and where they would take place.
Still, Witkoff expressed optimism, saying he expects a deal to be reached before the end of the year, though uncertainty hangs over how many hostages might survive until then.
The Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss operational plans for Gaza, which have already been approved by the smaller Security Cabinet. Meanwhile, at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting—devoted solely to an annual National Security Council briefing required by law—Netanyahu briefly addressed the issue, saying, “I have instructed that we deal only with negotiations for the return of all hostages and the end of the war, according to Israel’s five conditions.”
At a press conference earlier this month, Netanyahu laid out those five principles for ending the war: dismantling Hamas’ military capabilities; returning all hostages, living and dead; demilitarizing the Gaza Strip; maintaining Israeli security control over the territory; and establishing a civilian administration that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority.
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IDF downs Houthi missile, triggering air-raid sirens in Jerusalem area
Aug. 27, 2025
The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday morning intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen, the military stated.
The attack, which took place around 5:30 a.m., triggered air-raid sirens for some 1.5 million Israelis, including in large population centers like Jerusalem and Beit Shemesh, as well as in the Judean Foothills area.
Israel’s Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said it had not received any reports about casualties or fallen shrapnel.
The Houthis have been launching ballistic missile and drone attacks on the Jewish state since the Hamas-led invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Since the end of the latest ceasefire in Gaza on March 18, the Iran-backed group has fired over 70 ballistic missiles and over 20 drones at the Jewish state.
The IDF attacked several key locations in Yemen on Sunday, including in the capital Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah, after the Houthis on Friday evening for the first time launched a missile with a cluster warhead at Israel.
It was initially believed the interception failed because it had fragmented in mid-air. Shrapnel fell near a home but no one was hurt.
The warhead comprised 22 smaller warheads; an identical missile was launched at Israel by Iran during the two countries’ 12-day war in June, according to Israel’s Channel 12 News.
The army said the targets of Sunday’s strike included a military compound housing the presidential palace, the Asar and Hizaz power plants, and a fuel storage facility, all of which it said were used by the regime to support its terrorist attacks.
https://www.jns.org/idf-downs-houthi-missile-triggering-air-raid-sirens-in-jerusalem-area/
https://twitter.com/JNS_org/status/1960530924916912198
'A significant source of knowledge': IDF kills Hamas's head of General Security Apparatus in Gaza
Updated: AUGUST 27, 2025 16:24
The Israeli Air Force last Friday struck and killed Mahmoud al-Aswad, who served as Hamas's General Security Apparatus leader in the Gaza Strip, the military announced the following Wednesday.
Aswad operated as the terrorist organization's general security leader for Western Gaza, with the military describing him as a "significant source of knowledge" for Hamas.
The strike was conducted following IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) intelligence.
Additionally, IDF soldiers operated in Jabalya and the outskirts of Gaza City, dismantling terrorist infrastructure and killing Hamas personnel, amid the upcoming operation to take over Gaza City.
In the northern city, the IDF's Givati Brigade under the 162nd Division struck a terror cell and located a weapons storage facility, the military added.
IDF activities in southern Gaza
Meanwhile, in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli soldiers killed a number of Hamas terrorists who advanced towards the troops in Khan Yunis.
The terrorists were killed with the assistance of the IAF. Also in Khan Yunis, a maritime weapons storage facility and a repair site were struck by the IAF.
Additionally, the night before Wednesday's operation saw the establishment of the IDF's 607th Engineering Battalion, which the military stated was "established following the lessons learned following October 7," and that they "began operating for the first time in the Gaza Strip under the command of the Givati Brigade Combat Team."
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-865433
Venezuela deploys warships, drones to counter approaching US destroyers
Last Update: Wednesday, 27 August 2025 6:43 AM
Venezuela has deployed warships and drones along its coast in response to the US stationing three destroyers aimed at pressuring President Nicolás Maduro.
In a video on social media, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino announced a “significant” drone deployment as well as naval patrols along its Caribbean coast, including “larger vessels further north in our territorial waters.”
The move comes amid escalating tensions with Washington, as the US has dispatched three destroyers and an amphibious squadron—carrying about 4,000 Marines—off the coast of Venezuela, allegedly to curb drug trafficking.
According to an American source who spoke to AFP on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump was dispatching two additional ships to the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug cartels.
A guided missile cruiser, the USS Erie, and a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, the USS Newport News, are due in the region next week, the source added.
Caracas and its allies call the patrols a direct threat to Venezuela’s sovereignty.
On Tuesday, Caracas petitioned the United Nations to intervene in the dispute by demanding “the immediate cessation of the US military deployment in the Caribbean.”
The Trump administration has also escalated its pressure campaign, increasing the reward for Maduro’s capture to $50 million, claiming that he is “one of the world’s largest narco-traffickers,” an allegation roundly rejected by Caracas.
Maduro has responded by mobilizing 4.5 million members of the Bolivarian Militia and ordering a 30-day suspension of drone flights nationwide, in order to thwart US threats of war against his country.
Venezuela and the US severed formal diplomatic relations in 2019 after the latter backed opposition leader Juan Guaido in the Latin American country’s presidential election.
Sanctions have also been imposed to pressure the Venezuelan leader to step down in favor of the opposition leader, whom the US and its Western allies have recognized as the country’s legitimate president.
Maduro, however, has secured a third term in office after Venezuela’s National Electoral Council declared him the winner of last year’s presidential election.
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/08/27/753836/Venezuela-deploys-warships,-drones-to-counter-approaching-US-destroyers
Polish city becomes first to deploy drones against mosquitoes
Aug 26, 2025
Wrocław has become the first city in Poland to use drones in an effort to fight mosquitoes.
The geography, climate and numerous reservoirs in Wrocław, Poland’s third largest city, create ideal conditions for mosquito breeding, which the authorities already attempt to combat using environmentally friendly sprays.
With the help of drones, city officials say they can now reach less accessible areas and apply the sprays more precisely and effectively.
Wrocław’s mosquito population control programme was first launched in 1998. It involves the annual monitoring of nearly 300 sites between March and October, so that officials can identify where to spray biological agents that specifically target mosquito larvae.
Urban reservoirs are also stocked with fish – such as tench and crucian carp – that feed on the larvae, with scientists advising on how to avoid disrupting local ecosystems.
The city says that, although its use of biological sprays has a neutral effect on plants and animals, drones will allow the programme to operate even more effectively.
“Drones allow us to reach places where humans cannot go – oxbow lakes, reed beds and marshy areas. This allows us to carry out treatments faster and more accurately,” said drone operator Piotr Jawień.
While the use of drones to target mosquito larvae is currently only a pilot project, officials say it could become a permanent tool if trials prove successful.
Similar drone technology has already been trialled abroad. French broadcaster RFI reported earlier this year that AI-powered drones are being used in Ghana and Sierra Leone to identify and eliminate mosquito breeding grounds in efforts to prevent malaria outbreaks.
The Wrocław authorities also regularly publish advice for residents on how to limit mosquito breeding.
That includes covering or regularly emptying containers of rainwater, introducing small fish to garden ponds to eat larvae, and planting mosquito-repelling herbs such as lavender, mint and basil.
Officials say mosquito levels in the city remain stable this year despite recent rainfall, with spraying already carried out on 17 hectares in parks and river valleys.
https://notesfrompoland.com/2025/08/26/polish-city-becomes-first-to-deploy-drones-against-mosquitoes/