TYB
Alex Jones in They Live
https://x.com/MediaRival/status/2010817059563635016
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/a-rare-alignment-of-3i-atlas-with-the-sun-earth-axis-on-22-january-2026-b1bea4a553f7
https://lweb.cfa.harvard.edu/~loeb/Jan3I.pdf
https://medium.com/@georgegonzalez/reassessing-the-classification-of-interstellar-object-3i-atlas-2c92b6888cbc
https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/3i-atlas-comet-is-probably-not-alien-spaceship-scientists-say
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2026/01/12/3iatlas-comet-insterstellar-alien-spaceship/88098131007/
https://mitechnews.com/science/interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-ignites-debate-as-cia-declines-to-confirm-records/
https://quantumzeitgeist.com/advances-interstellar-object-solar-oberth/
https://x.com/ESA_Webb/status/2011040290308833305
https://x.com/Elvisrad111/status/2010762165314084976
https://x.com/PacoBurguera/status/2011033775497757014
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaxhU7cBAeE (Awaken Zone: 3i Atlas Update Today Breaks Down The Biggest Lie Yet | Steven Greer)
https://x.com/DrStevenGreer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAJnxmr9-qw (Dobsonian Power: 3I/ATLAS AND OUMUAMUA LOEB SCALE UPDATE!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jl97_kHU4SI (The Angry Astronaut: How is this possible?! 3I Atlas changes again!)
https://x.com/Defence12543/status/2011085264488423465
A Rare Alignment of 3I/ATLAS With the Sun-Earth Axis on 22 January, 2026
January 13, 2026
In a new research note that I co-authored with Mauro Barbieri, we point out that on 22 January 2026, the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS will align to within an exceptionally small angle of 0.69 degrees, with the Earth-Sun axis.
This rare alignment provides unique circumstances for measuring a novel effect called `the opposition surge’ for the dust shed by 3I/ATLAS. We characterize the alignment geometry, outline key scientific opportunities, and provide observational requirements for data collection.
Observations before and after the alignment time offer an unprecedented opportunity which may not repeat for decades, for characterizing the albedo, structure, and composition of interstellar matter.
Let us start with some background. On July 1 2025, the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) discovered the interstellar object 3I/Atlas.
Follow-up, as well as pre-discovery, observations validated its hyperbolic orbit with eccentricity e ≈ 6.139 and perihelion distance of q ≈ 1.356AU, confirming its interstellar origin.
Its interstellar velocity relative to the Sun of 57.7 kilometers per second is large in comparison to two other documented interstellar objects, 1I/‘Oumuamua with 26.4 kilometers per second and 2I/Borisov with 32.3 kilometers per second.
Interstellar objects provide unique opportunities for studying materials from other stellar systems, including extraterrestrial technologies.
However, 1I/’Oumuamua did not display traces of gas or dust around it and 2I/Borisov was only observed at phase angles relative to the Sun-Earth axis of α 16 degrees and never near opposition.
Our paper points out that 3I/ATLAS will reach an unprecedented near-opposition alignment on 22 January, 2026 at 13:00 UTC.
At that rare time, Earth will pass nearly between the Sun and 3I/ATLAS. The phase angle α between the Sun- 3I/ATLAS axis and the Sun-Earth axis, will reach a value of 0.69 degrees.
Unlike typical cometary opposition geometries which often last for hours, 3I/ATLAS will maintain α < 2 degrees for approximately one week, between 19–26 of January, 2026.
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Based on its JPL Horizons trajectory, 3I/ATLAS will be on January 22, 2026 at a distance of r = 3.33 AU from the Sun (where 1AU-=Earth-Sun separation), a distance of ∆ ≈ 2.35 AU from Earth, and have a V-band magnitude of V ≈ 16.7 mag.
The phase angle of 3I/ATLAS will remain small in subsequent years as it recedes from the Sun, but its magnitude will be fainter — requiring larger telescope apertures.
For example, in January 2027: α ≈ 1.4 degrees, r ≈ 16 AU, V ≈ 24 mag, and in January 2028: α≈0.8 degrees, r≈28AU, V ≈25mag.
At phase angles α < 10 degrees, most Solar System bodies show a substantial brightness increase, called `the opposition surge’. This surge arises from two physical effects:
• Shadow-hiding: (α 2 degrees): When the Sun, object, and observer are nearly aligned, shadows cast by dust particles are hidden behind the particles. This eliminates dark areas, increasing the object’s brightness.
• Coherent backscatter: (α < 2 degrees): At very small angles, light traveling on reciprocal paths through a dusty medium interferes constructively, creating a narrow brightness spike as a consequence of quantum mechanics.
The surge amplitude is strongly influenced by the scattering albedo of dust grains ω0, as well as by the grain structure and packing.
The angular-width of the surge constrains grain packing, as compact particles show narrow surges with half-width of order a few degrees, while fluffy fractal aggregates show broad surges with half-width of order tens of degrees.
As of now, only one comet has a well measured opposition surge: 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (as reported here). The surge was observed from the Rosetta spacecraft at α = 1.3 to 5 degrees, yielding ∆m = 0.15 ± 0.02 mag and a very dark albedo with ω0 = 0.034 ± 0.007.
For most of the solar system comets, the opposition surge measurements are unavailable or either incomplete because of a large value for the minimum α. The previous interstellar comet 2I/Borisov was never observed below α = 16 degrees, far outside the opposition surge regime.
Cometary dust is processed through its parent proto-planetary disk, and so its microphysical structure might be different from interstellar dust. The opposition surge amplitude and width of 3I/ATLAS could address the following questions:
· Composition: Is the dust shed by 3I/ATLAS dominated by carbonaceous material (low albedo, ω0 ∼ 0.03) or does it retain significant ice fragments (high albedo, ω0 ∼ 0.1–0.3), as suggested in my papers with Eric Keto (here and here) based on its extended anti-tail?
· Grain Structure: Are the grains compact (thermally processed) or fluffy fractal aggregates (pristine molecular cloud material)?
The unique near-opposition geometry of 3I/ATLAS on 22 January, 2026 provides a narrow but well-defined observational window. To maximize the scientific return of community observations, we recommend the following:
· Temporal coverage: Observations should be obtained over a time span of at least ± 4 days around 22 January 2026, when the phase angle remains below 2 degrees. This extended coverage allows separation of phase-angle effects from intrinsic activity variability.
· Photometry: High-precision relative photometry (≲0.03 mag per data point) is required to detect and characterize the nonlinear phase dependence associated with the opposition surge. Consistent aperture sizes and background subtraction methods should be used throughout the observing campaign.
· Multi-band observations: Photometry in at least three broadband filters (e.g., BV R, V RI, gri, riz) would be of great value. The wavelength dependence of the phase curve provides critical diagnostics to distinguish between the shadow hiding and coherent backscattering mechanisms.
· Polarimetry: Linear polarimetric measurements near minimum phase angle would offer a powerful and independent constraint on dust grain structure and multiple scattering effects. Even sparse polarimetric sampling would significantly enhance the interpretation of photometric data.
· Aperture considerations: Given the expected brightness (V ∼ 16.5–17 mag near opposition), telescopes with apertures larger than 1 meter are well suited for precise photometry, whereas larger apertures are required for polarimetric measurements.
Coordinated observations from multiple sites are needed to improve temporal sampling and to mitigate weather-related data gaps. Even partial datasets will contribute meaningfully to constraining the phase-angle behavior of the rare alignment of 3I/ATLAS with the Earth-Sun axis.
Here’s hoping that many observers with access to suitable telescopes will take advantage of the extraordinary fortune that we are about to have through the rare alignment of 3I/ATLAS with the Sun-Earth direction.
Related data can help decipher the nature of the anti-tail jet of 3I/ATLAS and resolve other anomalies — such as its unprecedented polarization properties (as reported here).
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NASA Welcomes Portugal as 60th Artemis Accords Signatory
Jan 12, 2026
Portugal is the latest nation to sign the Artemis Accords alongside 59 other countries in a commitment to advancing principles for the responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond with NASA.
“Portugal joins a cadre of nations building the framework for safe, transparent, and prosperous activity in space,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman in recorded remarks.
“This is our generation’s Golden Age of Exploration. Together, we are advancing innovation, driving international collaboration, and discovering the secrets of the universe.”
Portugal’s Secretary of State for Science and Innovation Helena Canhão signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of the country on Jan. 11.
“2026 is the year in which humans will return to the Moon.
It will mark the beginning of a new era of space exploration, reminiscent of the Portuguese explorers of the past, such as Magellan and his circumnavigation of our planet,” said Hugo Costa, executive director of the recently established Portuguese Space Agency, about the signing.
“As a nation that approaches space sustainability with great care and responsibility, Portugal and the Portuguese Space Agency are proud to join the Artemis Accords and contribute to the sustainable, beneficial, and peaceful use of space for all humankind.”
A ceremony to recognize the signing was held on Monday in the capital city Lisbon, during a semi-annual meeting between the United States and Portugal to discuss cooperation between the two governments.
“This is a meaningful step forward for responsible space exploration,” said U.S. Ambassador to Portugal John J. Arrigo, who participated in the event.
“Shared principles like those in the Artemis Accords are essential to ensuring that space remains a domain of stability, safety, and opportunity for all nations.”
In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.
The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
Signing the Artemis Accords means to explore peaceably and transparently, to render aid to those in need, to ensure unrestricted access to scientific data that all of humanity can learn from, to ensure activities do not interfere with those of others, to preserve historically significant sites and artifacts, and to develop best practices for how to conduct space exploration activities for the benefit of all.
More countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-portugal-as-60th-artemis-accords-signatory/
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords/
https://x.com/MichaelSalla/status/2010854613906551230
Fincke Hands Over Station Command, Crew Preps for Wednesday Departure
January 12, 2026
NASA astronaut Mike Fincke handed over command of the International Space Station to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov at 2:35 p.m. EST today.
The traditional Change of Command Ceremony precedes the targeted departure of Fincke with Zena Cardman of NASA, Kimiya Yui of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos aboard the SpaceX Dragon crew spacecraft.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission is targeted undock from the Harmony module’s space-facing port at 5:05 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
Crew-11 will then complete a parachute-assisted landing inside Dragon to a splashdown off the coast of California less than 12 hours later at about 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15.
NASA and SpaceX support personnel will retrieve Dragon and the crew from the Pacific Ocean and return them to California before the crewmates fly back to their home agencies.
Fincke, with assistance from his three homebound crewmates, packed gear and personal items inside Dragon throughout Monday.
At the end of Monday’s shift, the foursome retrieved computer tablets from inside Dragon and reviewed the steps they will use while departing the station and reentering Earth’s atmosphere.
The three crew members remaining aboard the orbital outpost, Kud-Sverchkov with Chris Williams of NASA and Sergey Mikaev of Roscosmos will await the arrival of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 members Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, both from NASA, Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency), and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos.
Crew-12 is due to launch to the space station in February and join Expedition 74 for a nine-month-long space research mission.
There was still time for science on Monday as Cardman scanned Williams’ arteries with the Ultrasound 2 device and collected his blood pressure measurements.
Next, Williams assisted Cardman as she peered into medical imaging gear to help doctors assess the condition of her retina, cornea, and lens in microgravity.
Afterward, Williams worked with Yui and treated microbe samples in the Kibo laboratory module’s Life Science Glovebox, exploring the use of ultraviolet light to disinfect spacecraft surfaces.
Cosmonauts Kud-Sverchkov and Mikaev focused on maintenance Monday servicing electronic and ventilation systems then inventorying hardware throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment.
Platonov assisted the duo amid his departure preparations.
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/01/12/fincke-hands-over-station-command-crew-preps-for-wednesday-departure/
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-spacex-invite-media-to-watch-crew-12-launch-to-space-station/
https://www.space.com/news/live/astronaut-medical-evacuation-on-iss-jan-13-2026
https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/01/13/iss-gains-new-commander-as-crew-11-prepares-midweek-departure/
Scott free
NASA Invites Media to Cover Artemis Mission from Johnson Space Center
Jan 12, 2026
Media accreditation is open to attend Artemis II mission activities at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Johnson is where flight controllers in mission control will manage the test flight after liftoff of the first crewed Moon mission under the agency’s Artemis campaign.
Targeted to launch no earlier Friday, Feb. 6, the Artemis II mission will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon and back to test the systems and hardware, which will return humanity to the lunar surface.
After launch day, NASA will host daily briefings at Johnson throughout the mission with agency managers and mission experts. The briefings will be streamed on NASA’s YouTube channel.
International media without U.S. citizenship must apply to cover the mission in person at Johnson by 5 p.m. CST Friday, Jan. 16. U.S. media must apply by Friday, Jan. 30. Media representatives must apply by contacting the NASA Johnson newsroom at jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online.
Due to high interest, in-person space is limited. Credentialed media will receive a confirmation email if approved.
Those who are accredited to attend the Artemis II launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are not automatically accredited to attend events at Johnson and must receive a separate confirmation for activities in-person at NASA Johnson.
As part of a Golden Age of innovation and exploration, Artemis will pave the way for new U.S.-crewed missions on the lunar surface in preparation to send the first astronauts to Mars.
https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-cover-artemis-mission-from-johnson-space-center/
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/
Hubble Nets Menagerie of Young Stellar Objects
Jan 13, 2026
A disparate collection of young stellar objects bejewels a cosmic panorama in the star-forming region NGC 1333 in this new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
To the left, an actively forming star called a protostar casts its glow on the surrounding gas and dust, creating a reflection nebula.
Two dark stripes on opposite sides of the bright point (upper left) are its protoplanetary disk, a region where planets could form, and the disk’s shadow, cast across the large envelope of material around the star.
Material accumulates onto the protostar through this rotating disk of gas and dust, a product of the collapsing cloud of gas and dust that gave birth to the star. Where the shadow stops and the disk begins is presently unknown.
To the center right, an outflow cavity reveals a fan-shaped reflection nebula. The two stars at its base, HBC 340 (lower) and HBC 341 (upper), unleash stellar winds, or material flowing from the surface of the star, that clear out the cavity from the surrounding molecular cloud over time.
A reflection nebula like this one is illuminated by light from nearby stars that is scattered by the surrounding gas and dust.
This reflection nebula fluctuates in brightness over time, which researchers attribute to variations in brightness of HBC 340 and HBC 341. HBC 340 is the primary source of the fluctuation as the brighter and more variable star.
HBC 340 and HBC 341 are Orion variable stars, a class of forming stars that change in brightness irregularly and unpredictably, possibly due to stellar flares and ejections of matter from their surfaces.
Orion variable stars, so named because they are associated with diffuse nebulae like the Orion Nebula, eventually evolve into non-variable stars.
In this image, the four beaming stars near the bottom of the image and one in the top right corner are also Orion variable stars. The rest of the cloudscape is studded with other young stellar objects.
NGC 1333 lies about 950 light-years away in the Perseus molecular cloud, and was imaged by Hubble to learn more about young stellar objects, such as properties of circumstellar disks and outflows in the gas and dust created by these stars.
New images added every day between January 12-17, 2026! Follow @NASAHubble on social media for the latest Hubble images and news and see Hubble's Stellar Construction Zones for more images of young stellar objects.
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-nets-menagerie-of-young-stellar-objects/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/hubble-news/hubble-social-media/stellar-construction-zones/
https://x.com/NASAHubble
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/a-plume-of-bright-blue-in-melissas-wake/
A Plume of Bright Blue in Melissa’s Wake
Jan 13, 2026
Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on October 28, 2025, as a category 5 storm, bringing sustained winds of 295 kilometers (185 miles) per hour and leaving a broad path of destruction on the island.
The storm displaced tens of thousands of people, damaged or destroyed more than 100,000 structures, inflicted costly damage on farmland, and left the nation’s forests brown and battered.
Prior to landfall, in the waters south of the island, the hurricane created a large-scale natural oceanography experiment.
Before encountering land and proceeding north, the monster storm crawled over the Caribbean Sea, churning up the water below.
A couple of days later, a break in the clouds revealed what researchers believe could be a once-in-a-century event.
On October 30, 2025, the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this image (right) of the waters south of Jamaica.
Vast areas are colored bright blue by sediment stirred up from a carbonate platform called Pedro Bank. This plateau, submerged under about 25 meters (80 feet) of water, is slightly larger in area than the state of Delaware.
For comparison, the left image was acquired by the same sensor on September 20, before the storm.
Pedro Bank is deep enough that it is only faintly visible in natural color satellite images most of the time. However, with enough disruption from hurricanes or strong cold fronts, its existence becomes more evident to satellites.
Suspended calcium carbonate (CaCO3) mud, consisting primarily of remnants of marine organisms that live on the plateau, turns the water a Maya blue color.
The appearance of this type of material contrasts with the greenish-brown color of sediment carried out to sea by swollen rivers on Jamaica’s southern coast.
As an intense storm that lingered in the vicinity of the bank, Hurricane Melissa generated “tremendous stirring power” in the water column, said James Acker, a data support scientist at the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center with a particular interest in these events.
Hurricane Beryl caused some brightening around Pedro Bank in July 2024, “but nothing like this,” he said. “While we always have to acknowledge the human cost of a disaster, this is an extraordinary geophysical image.”
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Sediment suspension was visible on Pedro and other nearby shallow banks, indicating that Melissa affected a total area of about 37,500 square kilometers—more than three times the area of Jamaica—on October 30, said sedimentologist Jude Wilber, who tracked the plume’s progression using multiple satellite sensors.
Having studied carbonate sediment transport for decades, he believes the Pedro Bank event was the largest observed in the satellite era. “It was extraordinary to see the sediment dispersed over such a large area,” he said.
The sediment acted as a tracer, illuminating currents and eddies near the surface. Some extended into the flow field of the Caribbean Current heading west and north, while other patterns suggested the influence of Ekman transport, Wilber said.
The scientists also noted complexities in the south-flowing plume, which divided into three parts after encountering several small reefs. Sinking sediment in the easternmost arm exhibited a cascading stair-step pattern.
Like in other resuspension events, the temporary coloration of the water faded after about seven days as sediment settled. But changes to Pedro Bank itself may be more long-lasting.
“I suspect this hurricane was so strong that it produced what I would call a ‘wipe’ of the benthic ecosystem,” Wilber said. Seagrasses, algae, and other organisms living on and around the bank were likely decimated, and it is unknown how repopulation of the area will unfold.
Perhaps most consequentially for Earth’s oceans, however, is the effect of the sediment suspension event on the planet’s carbon cycle.
Tropical cyclones are an important way for carbon in shallow-water marine sediments to reach deeper waters, where it can remain sequestered for the long term.
At depth, carbonate sediments will also dissolve, another important process in the oceanic carbon system.
Near-continuous ocean observations by satellites have enabled greater understanding of these events and their carbon cycling.
Acker and Wilber have worked on remote-sensing methods to quantify how much sediment reaches the deep ocean following the turbulence of tropical cyclones, including recently with Hurricane Ian over the West Florida Shelf.
Now, hyperspectral observations from NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission, launched in February 2024, are poised to build on that progress, Acker said.
The phenomenon at Pedro Bank following Hurricane Melissa provided a singular opportunity to study this and other complex ocean processes—a large natural experiment that could not be accomplished any other way.
Researchers will be further investigating a range of physical, geochemical, and biological aspects illuminated by this occurrence. As Wilber put it: “This event is a whole course in oceanography.”
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Circinus Galaxy (Hubble and Webb Compass Image)
January 13, 2026
This image shows two views of the Circinus galaxy, one captured by the Hubble Space Telescope and the other by the James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRISS (Near-Infrared Imager and Slitless Spectrograph.
It shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.
The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky.
Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).
The scale bars are labeled in parsecs and light-years.
This image shows optical and invisible near-infrared wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors.
The color key shows which filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.
https://science.nasa.gov/asset/webb/circinus-galaxy-hubble-and-webb-compass-image/
https://science.nasa.gov/asset/webb/circinus-galaxy-zoom/
https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/johnson/a-quarter-century-in-orbit-science-shaping-life-on-earth-and-beyond/
https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/iss-research/dna-sequencing-in-space-timeline/
A Quarter Century in Orbit: Science Shaping Life on Earth and Beyond
Jan 12, 2026
For more than 25 years, humans have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, conducting research that is transforming life on Earth and shaping the future of exploration.
From growing food and sequencing DNA to studying disease and simulating Mars missions, every experiment aboard the orbiting laboratory expands our understanding of how humans can thrive beyond Earth while advancing science and technology that benefit people around the world.
Unlocking new cancer therapies from space
The space station gives scientists a laboratory unlike any on Earth. In microgravity, cells grow in three dimensions, proteins form higher-quality crystals, and biological systems reveal details hidden by gravity.
These conditions open new ways to study disease and develop treatments.
Astronauts and researchers have used the orbiting laboratory to observe how cancer cells grow, test drug delivery methods, and examine protein structures linked to diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
One example is the Angiex Cancer Therapy study, which tested a drug designed to target blood vessels that feed tumors. In microgravity, endothelial cells survive longer and behave more like they do in the human body, giving researchers a clearer view of how the therapy works and whether it is safe before human trials.
Protein crystal growth (PCG) is another major area of cancer-related study. The NanoRacks-PCG Therapeutic Discovery and On-Orbit Crystals investigations have advanced research on leukemia, breast cancer, and skin cancers.
Protein crystals grown in microgravity produce larger, better-organized structures that allow scientists to determine fine structural details that guide the design of targeted treatments.
Studies in orbit have also provided insights about cardiovascular health, bone disorders, and how the immune system changes in space—knowledge that informs medicine on Earth and prepares astronauts for long missions in deep space.
By turning space into a research lab, scientists are advancing therapies that benefit people on Earth and laying the foundation for ensuring crew health on future journeys to the Moon and Mars.
Farming for the future
Feeding astronauts on long-duration missions requires more than packaged meals. It demands sustainable systems that can grow fresh food in space.
The Vegetable Production System, known as Veggie, is a garden on the space station designed to test how plants grow in microgravity while adding fresh produce to the crew’s diet and improving well-being in orbit.
To date, Veggie has produced three types of lettuce, Chinese cabbage, mizuna mustard, red Russian kale, and even zinnia flowers.
Astronauts have eaten space-grown lettuce, mustard greens, radishes, and chili peppers using Veggie and the Advanced Plant Habitat, a larger, more controlled growth chamber that allows scientists to study crops in greater detail.
These plant experiments pave the way for future lunar and Martian greenhouses by showing how microgravity affects plant development, water and nutrient delivery, and microbial interactions.
They also provide immediate benefits for Earth, advancing controlled-environment agriculture and vertical farming techniques that help make food production more efficient and resilient in challenging environments.
First year-long twin study
Understanding how the human body changes in space is critical for planning long-duration missions. NASA’s Twins Study offered an unprecedented opportunity to investigate nature vs. nurture in orbit and on Earth.
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly spent nearly a year aboard the space station while his identical twin, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, remained on Earth.
By comparing the twins before, during, and after the mission, researchers examined changes at the genomic, physiological, and behavioral levels in one integrated study.
The results showed most changes in Scott’s body returned to baseline after his return, but some persisted—such as shifts in gene expression, telomere length, and immune system responses.
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The study provided the most comprehensive molecular view to date of how a human body adapts to spaceflight. Its findings may guide NASA’s Human Research Program for years to come, informing countermeasures for radiation, microgravity, and isolation.
The research may have implications for health on Earth as well—from understanding aging and disease to exploring treatments for stress-related disorders and traumatic brain injury.
The Twins Study demonstrated the resilience of the human body in space and continues to shape the medical playbook for the Artemis campaign to the Moon and future journeys to Mars.
Simulating deep space
The space station, which is itself an analog for deep space, complements Earth-based analog research simulating the spaceflight environment.
Space station observations, findings, and challenges, inform the research questions and countermeasures scientists explore on Earth.
Such work is currently underway through CHAPEA (Crew Health and Performance Exploration Analog), a mission in which volunteers live and work inside a 1,700-square-foot, 3D-printed Mars habitat for about a year.
The first CHAPEA crew completed 378 days in isolation in 2024, testing strategies for maintaining health, growing food, and sustaining morale under delayed communication.
NASA recently launched CHAPEA 2, with a four-person crew who began their 378-day simulated Mars mission at Johnson on October 19, 2025.
Building on lessons from the first mission and decades of space station research, they will test new technologies and behavioral countermeasures that will help future explorers thrive during long-duration missions, preparing Artemis astronauts for the journey to the Moon and laying the foundation for the first human expeditions to Mars.
Keeping crews healthy in low Earth orbit
Staying healthy is a top priority for all NASA astronauts, but it is particularly important while living and working aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Crews often spend extended periods of time aboard the orbiting laboratory, with the average mission lasting about six months or more.
During these long-duration missions, without the continuous load of Earth’s gravity, there are many changes to the human body. Proper nutrition and exercise are some of the ways these effects may be mitigated.
NASA has a team of medical physicians, psychologists, nutritionists, exercise scientists, and other specialized medical personnel who collaborate to ensure astronauts’ health and fitness on the station.
These teams are led by a NASA flight surgeon, who regularly monitors each crew member’s health during a mission and individualizes diet and fitness routines to prioritize health and safety while in space.
Crew members are also part of the ongoing health and performance research being conducted to advance understanding of long-term spaceflight’s effects on the human body.
That knowledge is applied to any crewed mission and will help prepare humanity to travel farther than ever before, including the Moon and Mars.
Sequencing the future
In 2016, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins made history aboard the orbital outpost as the first person to sequence DNA in space.
Using a handheld device called the MinION, she analyzed DNA samples in microgravity, proving that genetic sequencing could be performed in low Earth orbit for the first time.
Her work advanced in-flight molecular diagnostics, long-duration cell culture, and molecular biology techniques such as liquid handling in microgravity.
The ability to sequence DNA aboard the orbiting laboratory allows astronauts and scientists to identify microbes in real time, monitor crew health, and study how living organisms adapt to spaceflight.
The same technology now supports medical diagnostics and disease detection in remote or extreme environments on Earth.
This research continues through the Genes in Space program, where students design DNA experiments that fly aboard NASA missions.
Each investigation builds on Rubins’ milestone, paving the way for future explorers to diagnose illness, monitor environmental health, and search for signs of life beyond Earth.
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NASA astronaut sends message to Trump administration as he files a lawsuit against Pete Hegseth
11:57 13 Jan 2026 GMT
President Donald Trump has enough on his plate right now, what with temporarily leading Venezuela, threatening to take over Greenland, and the ever-present fear that Russia will make a move against the USA.
Away from concerns that we're on the verge of World War III, he's got a political civil war to deal with, as one top Democrat has launched a lawsuit against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Senator Mark Kelly is known as a retired Navy captain and former NASA astronaut, who you might remember as the guy who was once tipped to replace Joe Biden and once attempted to sneak a gorilla costume onto the ISS.
Kelly is also no friend of the Republican Party, having previously been branded a 'traitor' to America by Elon Musk, and was seemingly threatened with execution by President Donald Trump when he encouraged fellow members of the military to ‘refuse illegal orders’.
This case comes in response to Pentagon proceedings that plan to demote Kelly from his rank and cut his pension benefits.
Hegseth sent a formal warning to Kelly over "seditious statements” he made when telling service members to defy orders. Kelly has now referred to this 'chilling' threat and taken it to court, saying his freedom of speech rights have been violated.
Filed in Washington DC, the lawsuit maintains that a video made by Kelly and five other Democratic members who are all military or intelligence veterans was protected free speech.
The 46-page filing accuses the Department of Defense, the US Navy, Hegseth, and Navy Secretary John Phelan of 'trampling' the constitutional protections of Kelly, Senator Elissa Slotkin, and House members Jason Crow, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Chrissy Houlahan.
It maintains that Hegseth is trying to take down the “bedrock principles of our democracy."
Announcing the lawsuit, a defiant Kelly said: "His [Hegseth] unconstitutional crusade against me sends a chilling message to every retired member of the military:
if you speak out and say something that the president or secretary of defense doesn’t like, you will be censured, threatened with demotion, or even prosecuted.
"Hegseth wants our longest-serving military veterans to live with the constant threat that they could be deprived of their rank and pay years or even decades after they leave the military just because he or another secretary of defense doesn’t like what they’ve said.
“That’s not the way things work in the United States of America, and I won’t stand for it."
Highlighting President Trump's November 2025 Truth Social post that said the Kelly video was "seditious behavior punishable by death," the lawsuit alleges that the POTUS "publicly accused…Kelly of sedition and treason and demanded punishment."
Saying that Hegseth 'echoed' these accusations, it continued: "The outcome of any subsequent ‘review’ of…Kelly’s grade, even assuming it could lawfully proceed, is foreordained."
It's true that Trump's Truth Social appeared to include reshared messages saying "HANG THEM” like “GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD!!”
Kelly says he's 'respectfully' asking the courts to find Hegseth and the Pentagon's actions unlawful and unconstitutional, adding that courts need to "preserve the status of a coequal Congress and an apolitical military."
Refusing to back down, Kelly concluded: "There are few things as important as standing up for the rights of the very Americans who fought to defend our freedoms."
At the time of writing, there has been no response from Hegseth or the White House.
https://www.uniladtech.com/science/space/nasa-astronaut-lawsuit-pete-hegseth-trump-administration-482693-20260113
https://x.com/MacFarlaneNews/status/2010780365732958260
Department of War Announces $1 Billion Direct-to-Supplier Investment to Secure the U.S. Solid Rocket Motor Supply Chain
Jan. 13, 2026
The Department of War (DoW), working in partnership with L3Harris Technologies, today announced the signing of a letter of intent outlining agreed-upon investment terms pivotal to expanding the production capacity of U.S. solid rocket motors.
The announcement marks the first direct-to-supplier partnership of this kind, with the DoW committing to a $1 billion convertible preferred equity investment in L3Harris' Missile Solutions business, which will become a separate company as part of this transaction.
This partnership positions the DoW and L3Harris to negotiate multi-year procurement framework agreements for solid rocket motors, vital to several critical munitions, pending Congressional authorization and appropriations.
An Initial Public Offering (IPO) is planned in the second half of 2026, providing the US government the opportunity to benefit on this unique investment framework. This investment will expand production capacity of a critical node to national security and the munitions industrial base.
The terms of the agreement scale up the domestic supply chain for solid rocket motors by providing the upfront investment and stability needed to increase production, modernize facilities, and bolster industrial resilience.
This is a direct outcome of the Department's new Acquisition Transformation Strategy and its "Go Direct-to-Supplier" initiative. The strategy calls for the Department to negotiate and invest directly with critical suppliers to save money and time, while proactively managing the single points of failure.
Under the framework of this unique strategic investment model, the Department of War will make a $1 billion convertible preferred equity investment as the anchor investor in L3Harris' new Missile Solutions company.
The terms of the agreement establish the basis for the creation of the new, publicly traded company focused purely on missile solutions.
This direct investment from the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) authority resources solid rocket motor production, a critical node in the munitions supply chain.
Since its acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne, now Missile Solutions, L3Harris has significantly increased solid rocket motor capacity.
The investment from the DoW, along with sustained, long-term demand, will support Missile Solutions' rapid expansion of capacity for the DoW's critical missile programs, such as PAC-3, THAAD, Tomahawk, and Standard Missile.
"We are fundamentally shifting our approach to securing our munitions supply chain," said Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment.
"By investing directly in suppliers we are building the resilient industrial base needed for the Arsenal of Freedom. This direct-to-supplier model is a crucial step toward replenishing stockpiles, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence by ensuring the availability of critical components."
This partnership with L3Harris marks another critical achievement for the Department's Munitions Acceleration Council, which was established to rapidly identify and remove structural barriers, like supply chain vulnerabilities, to scaling weapons production and to translate urgent operational demand into executable, long-term industrial capacity.
Collaboration between a number of DoW components continue to drive forward and advise unique investment approaches to strengthen our industrial base, including the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, the Economic Defense Unit, the Office of Strategic Capital, and the Military Departments.
https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4376463/department-of-war-announces-1-billion-direct-to-supplier-investment-to-secure-t/
War Department Launches AI Acceleration Strategy to Secure American Military AI Dominance
Jan. 12, 2026
The Department of War today launches a transformative Artificial Intelligence Acceleration Strategy that will extend our lead in military AI deployment and establish the United States as the world's undisputed AI-enabled fighting force.
Mandated by President Trump, this acceleration strategy will unleash experimentation, eliminate legacy bureaucratic blockers, and integrate the bleeding edge of frontier AI capabilities across every mission area to usher in an unprecedented era of American military AI dominance.
"We will unleash experimentation, eliminate bureaucratic barriers, focus our investments and demonstrate the execution approach needed to ensure we lead in military AI," said Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. "We will become an 'AI-first' warfighting force across all domains."
The Department is taking a wartime approach to delivering capabilities, with an emphasis on three tenets: warfighting, intelligence and enterprise operations.
This approach will strengthen battlefield decision-making, rapidly convert intelligence data and modernize daily workflows, all in direct support of more than three million DoW personnel.
The catalyst for this acceleration will be seven Pace-Setting Projects (PSPs), each with a single accountable leader and aggressive timelines. These PSPs will establish a new AI execution standard for the entire Department:
Warfighting
Swarm Forge: Competitive mechanism to iteratively discover, test, and scale novel ways of fighting with and against AI-enabled capabilities – combining America's elite warfighting units with elite technology innovators.
Agent Network: Unleashing AI agent development and experimentation for AI-enabled battle management and decision support, from campaign planning to kill chain execution.
Ender's Foundry: Accelerating AI-enabled simulation capabilities - and sim-dev and sim-ops feedback loops - to ensure we stay ahead of AI-enabled adversaries.
Intelligence
Open Arsenal: Accelerating the TechINT-to-capability development pipeline, turning intel into weapons in hours, not years.
Project Grant: Enabling transformation of deterrence from static postures and speculation to dynamic pressure with interpretable results.
Enterprise
GenAI.mil: Providing Department-wide access to frontier generative AI models, like Google's Gemini and xAI's Grok, for all DoW personnel at Information Level (IL-5) and above classification levels.
Enterprise Agents: Building the playbook for rapid and secure AI agent development and deployment to transform enterprise workflows.
This AI Acceleration Strategy is driving a major expansion of AI compute infrastructure through targeted investments and will unlock access to the data that gives the War Department an asymmetric edge.
The Department will bring in top American AI talent through initiatives like the Office of Personnel Management's "Tech Force" initiative and will empower small, accountable teams to attack complex AI integration opportunities.
The War Department will eradicate woke DEI from our AI capabilities and ensure our military has objective, mission‑first systems that will guarantee decision superiority and warfighting advantage in this AI era.
"Speed defines victory in the AI era, and the War Department will match the velocity of America's AI industry," said Emil Michael, Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering.
"We're pulling in the best talent, the most cutting‑edge technology, and embedding the top frontier AI models into the workforce — all at a rapid wartime pace."
Grounded in the core tenets of warfighting, intelligence and enterprise operations – and following President Trump's direction – the War Department will accelerate America's Military AI Dominance by becoming an AI-first warfighting force across all domains.
https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/4376420/war-department-launches-ai-acceleration-strategy-to-secure-american-military-ai/
https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4376486/war-department-swat-team-removes-barriers-to-efficient-ai-development/
https://media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/2003855671/-1/-1/0/ARTIFICIAL-INTELLIGENCE-STRATEGY-FOR-THE-DEPARTMENT-OF-WAR.PDF
Astronaut Brains Change Shape in Space
January 12, 2026
Over the past half-century of manned spaceflight, scientists have learned a lot about how the human body responds once freed from the confines of Earth’s gravity.
Vertebrae drift farther apart, bones lose density, muscles atrophy, and fluids tend to migrate toward the head. But what about the brain?
According to new research published today in PNAS, human brains actually move and change shape in space.
Scientists came to that conclusion after studying MRIs conducted on 26 astronauts before and after spending time in microgravity.
Overall, they found that astronaut brains shifted backward, upward, and rotated toward the back following spaceflight.
Of course, detecting displacement of a gelatinous organ surrounded by fluid in microgravity might not seem like brain surgery (or rocket science). So, the scientists decided to go further, looking at changes in specific regions of the brain as well.
In fact, that’s where things got interesting. They found that different areas of astronauts’ brains were displaced more than others, and sometimes in a different direction than the brain overall.
Interestingly, the specific regions with the largest displacements were those responsible for sensorimotor functions.
In astronauts who spent more than a year in space, the supplementary motor cortex—that is, the part of the brain responsible for planning and coordinating movements—moved upward more than other brain regions.
Some of these changes affected astronauts’ abilities on Earth as well. Bigger movements in the posterior insula, which processes bodily sensations, were associated with greater declines in balance, post-flight.
Thankfully, these changes weren’t permanent—astronauts’ brains recovered around six months after their feet were back on terra firma.
https://nautil.us/astronaut-brains-change-shape-in-space-1261144/
https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2505682122
https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/01/you-can-now-reserve-a-hotel-room-on-the-moon-for-250000/
https://www.gru.space/wp
https://www.gru.space/reserve
You can now reserve a hotel room on the Moon for $250,000
Jan 12, 2026 3:04 PM
A company called GRU Space publicly announced its intent to construct a series of increasingly sophisticated habitats on the Moon, culminating in a hotel inspired by the Palace of the Fine Arts in San Francisco.
On Monday, the company invited those interested in a berth to plunk down a deposit between $250,000 and $1 million, qualifying them for a spot on one of its early lunar surface missions in as little as six years from now.
It sounds crazy, doesn’t it? After all, GRU Space had, as of late December when I spoke to founder Skyler Chan, a single full-time employee aside from himself. And Chan, in fact, only recently graduated from the University of California, Berkeley.
All of this could therefore be dismissed as a lark. But I must say that I am a sucker for these kinds of stories. Chan is perfectly earnest about all of this.
And despite all of the talk about lunar resources, my belief is that the surest long-term commercial activity on the Moon will be lunar tourism—it would be an amazing destination.
So when I interviewed Chan, I did so with an open mind.
Who are the customers?
Like many younger people, Chan grew up wanting to become an astronaut. But along the way, in high school and later college, he came to believe that he could lead a more impactful life by enabling everyone to go to space, not just himself.
“I realized I was born in this time where we can actually become interplanetary, and that is probably the singular most impactful thing one person could do with their time,” Chan said.
“So I charged towards building the systems necessary and technology to enable that future. That’s actually what led me to go to Berkeley to study electrical engineering and computer science.”
He had some interesting experiences in college, interning at Tesla to write vehicle software, and building a NASA-funded 3D printer that launched into space. Chan also had a stunning realization about the Moon.
There were all of these people building cool technology to get humans to the Moon. But he realized that the vast majority of this activity was backed by two pillars: the US government and billionaire-funded companies.
Who, he wondered, was the ultimate customer for these services? And were there actually any commercial customers for what was being sold?
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“I realized we needed to create a third pillar: the space tourism industry,” he said. “We could extend a proven market to the Moon, and build the first hotel there.
And then once we build the hotel on the Moon, we can build out our structures, you know, roads, warehouses, and bases. And then we can repeat that on Mars. So that’s what I decided to do.”
He graduated in May 2025, a year early.
Yeah, this does sound pretty crazy, but…
The GRU in the company’s name, by the way, stands for Galactic Resource Utilization. The long-term vision is to derive resources from the Moon, Mars, asteroids, and beyond to fuel human expansion into space.
If all that sounds audacious and unrealistic, well, it kind of is. But it is not without foundation. GRU Space has already received seed funding from Y Combinator, and it will go through the organization’s three-month program early this year.
This will help Chan refine his company’s product and give him more options to raise money. Regarding his vision, you can read GRU Space’s white paper here.
Presently, the company plans to fly its initial “mission” in 2029 as a 10-kg payload on a commercial lunar lander, demonstrating an inflatable structure capability and converting lunar regolith into Moon bricks using geopolymers.
With its second mission, the company plans to launch a larger inflatable structure into a “lunar pit” to test a scaled-up version of its resource development capabilities.
The first hotel, an inflatable structure, would be launched in 2032 and would be capable of supporting up to four guests at a time.
The next iteration beyond this would be the fancier structure, built from Moon bricks, in the style of the Palace of the Fine Arts.
One question I had was: Why have a hotel at all? Presumably, the company’s customers will be riding to the Moon inside SpaceX’s Starship, which will have plenty of interior room and proven life support equipment by the time tourists are flying aboard it (if they ever do).
“SpaceX is building the FedEx to get us there, right?” Chan said. “But there has to be a destination worthy to stay in. Obviously, there is all kinds of debate around this, and what the future is going to be like.
But our conviction is that the fundamental problem we have to solve, to advance humans toward the Moon and Mars, is off-world habitation.
We can’t keep everyone living on that first ship that sailed to North America, right? We have to build the roads and structures and offices that we live in today.”
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These Fuel Cells Could Provide Life Support in Space
Jan 13, 2026
GROTON, Conn. — Nimbus Power Systems today announced the successful completion of shock and vibration tests on an advanced, gravity-independent fuel cell technology.
The tests simulated the anticipated mechanical loads, including launch, for NASA’s upcoming Artemis crewed missions to the Moon.
The fuel cell met all performance targets throughout the tests, demonstrating the system’s structural and operational readiness for future flight integration, according to the company.
Fuel cells react oxygen and hydrogen to produce electricity, heat, and potable water, three vital resources for crewed space operations.
Nimbus' water management technology removes product water via a combination of capillary and hydraulic forces that are uncompromised by the space environment.
This water management advantage decreases system complexity and offers significant mass savings, resulting in more reliable and affordable space operations.
“These test results reflect the successful collaboration between Blue Origin and Nimbus Power Systems on advanced Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology specifically tailored to space applications,” said John Couluris, senior VP of lunar permanence at Blue Origin.
'We continue to leverage the latest advances in Nimbus’ terrestrial fuel cell technology to accelerate Blue Origin’s in-house fuel cell solutions for in-space and lunar products."
Blue Origin currently licenses Nimbus Power System's fuel cell technology for its Blue Moon Lunar Lander program and other space applications.
NASA will use the Blue Moon lander for its Artemis campaign to safely send astronauts from lunar orbit to the Moon’s surface and back for expeditions on the lunar surface.
Nimbus develops fuel cell systems for the heavy-duty mobility, aerospace, and stationary power markets.
The company primarily provides high-efficiency replacements for heavy-duty engines currently serving these markets.
https://www.ien.com/product-development/news/22958310/these-fuel-cells-could-provide-life-support-in-space
Quantum cameras could remake space-based intelligence
January 12, 2026 11:05 PM ET
Can quantum physics enable better, cheaper, faster satellite photos? In a month or two, a startup will test a “quantum camera” for space-based imaging.
If it works, it could slash the cost of missile defenses and give smaller NATO allies and partners spy-satellite capabilities that were once exclusive to major powers.
Funded in part by NASA and DARPA, the Boston-based Diffraqtion is testing a radically different way to make images from photons.
You might think that the cameras on the world’s most expensive satellites are fundamentally different from what your grandfather used to take old movies.
But whether using chemicals and paper or chargeable transistors on a circuit, the process of deriving images from the behavior of photons has changed little in more than a century.
That is one reason why space-based image collection—especially at high resolution—is incredibly expensive.
It’s also why Johannes Galatsanos, Diffraqtion’s co-founder and CEO, uses the term “quantum camera” rather than “photography.”
“You basically have light coming through a lens; it hits a sensor, and then that sensor takes a JPEG, an image, and then you can view it… or you can run AI on top, right, and detect things,” Galatsanos said.
“Whether in space with high-resolution digital cameras or old-fashioned pinhole cameras, that process hasn’t [changed].”
That traditional method limits what can effectively be photographed based on diffraction, the process by which light beams pass through an aperture.
It’s also a reason why high-resolution imaging satellites, like the WorldView-3, are large and heavy: like a telescope, they are mostly glass lenses and empty space.
This is a reason why launches cost an average of about $50 million per satellite, and why why only a few countries have access to high-resolution satellite imagery.
Quantum science opens the possibility of collecting images using sensors that don’t require the same dense, heavy components. One of Diffraqtion’s cameras is the size of a small suitcase, launchable for just half a million dollars..
That just might be the key to shooting down highly maneuverable hypersonic missiles, as envisioned by the White House’s Golden Dome effort.
The method proposed by Diffraqtion might lower the cost of the imaging systems on space-based interceptors, or even reduce the number needed to do the job.
“You have more area coverage, you can look at more targets at the same time, and so on,” said Galatsanos.
The idea effectively reverses the process of deriving an image from photonic data. But in quantum science, the simple act of observing quantum behaviors changes them.
That’s useful for things like quantum encryption because it means that the message changes—obviously so—when intercepted. But it is also what makes quantum “photography” impossible.
Saikat Guha, another co-founder and the company’s chief science officer, has spent several years describing a new method for deriving information from quantum behaviors related to light.
This method does not “observe” the photons in the traditional sense, nor does it act like a bed of capacitors or a sheet of film.
Instead, it uses AI to model the optical field; so, rather than treating the scene as a blurry picture on a sensor, Guha’s method treats the arriving light itself as the ‘thing’ to be measured via quantum mathematics.
“What we do is [take] light as it comes to us. The visible light coming—we don't capture it, so there's no observation. But we transform the light, and at the end, when we have done the transformation, then we capture it.
So we still retain the entire information of the photon as it traverses through the camera. And at the very, very end, we can observe the outcome of that processing,” said Galatsanos.
Galatsanos says that a wide constellation of quantum camera satellites won’t be possible before 2030. But if the hypothesis proves out next month, it could change all aspects of space satellite imaging.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2026/01/quantum-cameras-could-remake-space-based-intelligence/410636/