TYB
Fabulous morning to all
>>24234844 lb
>Carolyn Limaco DIGS on Satanic cults & Jack Dorsey
NICE.
She had some epic digs, and a soothing voice to walk you through it all.
Hope she is doing alright out there, wherever she might be.
It almost doesn't even feel like it was that long ago. Just had a random related memory of when Titus Frost visited Alefantis' Pegasus Museum.
cheers to YOU
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
February 9, 2026
Miranda Revisited
What is Miranda really like? Visually, old images from NASA's Voyager 2 have been recently combined and remastered to result in the featured image of Uranus's 500-kilometer-wide moon. In the late 1980s, Voyager 2 flew by Uranus, coming close to the cratered, fractured, and unusually grooved moon – named after a character from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Scientifically, planetary scientists are using old data and clear images to theorize anew about what shaped Miranda's severe surface features. A leading hypothesis is that Miranda, beneath its icy surface, may have once hosted an expansive liquid water ocean which may be slowly freezing. Thanks to the legacy of Voyager 2, Miranda has joined the ranks of Europa, Titan, and other icy moons in the search for water, and, possibly, microbial life, in our Solar System.
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mjCdIGbDus
Galactic Wave, Space Weather, Pole Shift | S0 News and frens
Feb.9.2026
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riT9CCSLwIg
https://earthsky.org/sun/sun-activity-archive-for-january-2026/
https://perfscience.com/voyager-2-readings-imply-uranus-was-flooded-by-high-energy-electrons-from-a-huge-solar-wind-event/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZV0opARhM4 (Ray's Astrophotography: HIGHLY ACTIVE Sun in February 2026 — What’s REALLY HAPPENING?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZWM9lrCI08 (Dobsonian Power: 2.8 DAYS TO ORBIT DISASTER!)
https://x.com/StefanBurnsGeo/status/2020529782010659252
https://x.com/MrMBB333/status/2020687721564709248
https://x.com/SchumannBotDE/status/2020875714535313558
https://www.space.com/live/aurora-forecast-northern-lights-possible-tonight-feb-9
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/3-day-geomagnetic-forecast
https://spaceweather.com/
NASA Reveals 153,000mph Comet 3I/ATLAS Is Spewing 'Pristine Ices' As It Exits—What Does It Mean?
09 February 2026, 12:02 PM GMT
3I/ATLAS is back in the viral headlines, as it was for a fleeting moment in late 2025 and early 2026, when humanity's gaze turned once again to a visitor from the depths of space.
This amazing interstellar comet raced through our solar system at astonishing speeds, exceeding 153,000 miles per hour as it neared and then passed its closest point to the Sun before heading back into the darkness between the stars.
Its journey was caught by a bunch of powerful observatories, including NASA's SPHEREx space telescope, which newly recorded unusual activity as the comet exited our solar system.
To scientists, this event was more than a rare happening. The comet's brightening and outgassing revealed ancient, pristine ices and complex molecules that have remained unchanged for billions of years.
3I/ATLAS and the Alien Theories Around It
The story of 3I/ATLAS starts on 1 July 2025, when the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) first detected this strange cosmic visitor.
Its hyperbolic trajectory confirmed that it was not bound to our Sun, meaning it had come from another star system entirely, the third such object ever confirmed after ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.
Now, even before detailed observations could be made, the comet's incredible speed and origin stirred imaginations. Travelling at well over 130,000 miles per hour, which is faster at times than many spacecraft, 3I/ATLAS seemed to defy the ordinary.
Social media was filled with speculation, going from the harmless to the outlandish. Some commentators openly wondered if such an object could be more than a simple comet, pointing to its unusual trajectory and activity as possible evidence of something artificial or engineered, yes, aliens coming to Earth on a comet.
However, mainstream scientists were fast to reject these more sensational ideas.
According to NASA and astronomers worldwide, 3I/ATLAS behaved as a natural comet, showing typical cometary features such as a coma, a nebulous envelope of gas and dust driven off by solar heating, and thought to comprise ice and rocky materials formed around another star.
While some early polarimetric and composition studies suggested 3I/ATLAS may differ from usual solar system comets in its structure and chemical makeup, these differences are seen as intriguing windows into alien environments rather than evidence of anything engineered.
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nasa-reveals-153000mph-comet-3i-atlas-spewing-pristine-ices-it-exitswhat-does-it-mean-1777495
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwqMl8R-IcA
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/how-to-mitigate-global-concerns-of-doomers-fe6c3977af86
https://x.com/konstructivizm/status/2020787001914769703
https://x.com/Nikijohns2020/status/2020634614071796032
https://x.com/drew4worldruler/status/2020578957419245820
https://x.com/camelotQKerry/status/2020794348775051271
https://kerrycassidy.substack.com/p/message-from-captain-mark-richards
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 gets go-ahead for February 11 launch as FAA clears Falcon 9 to fly again
February 9, 2026
After being grounded due to a stage-two anomaly during a Starlink mission, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has been greenlit for a return to flight by the Federal Aviation Administration.
That means that the rocket could lift off with the SpaceX Crew-12 as early as 6:01 a.m. EST on Wednesday, February 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
During its last flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday, February 2, 2026, a Falcon 9 rocket successfully inserted 25 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit, after which it experienced an "off nominal condition" in the second stage.
The FAA was sufficiently accepting of SpaceX’s investigations and cleared the prolific rocket for Wednesday’s launch. "The final mishap report cites the probable root cause was the Falcon 9 stage 2 engine's failure to ignite prior to the deorbit burn.
SpaceX identified technical and organizational preventative measures to avoid a reoccurrence of the event," the FAA stated.
Now that the rocket is cleared to launch with Crew-12 on board, the International Space Station (ISS) will finally be back to its typical complement of seven crewmembers.
The ISS had been running on a skeleton crew of just three following an unprecedented medical evacuation of Crew-11, which prompted NASA to fast-track Crew-12 going into quarantine amongst other preparations for their nine-month mission.
Before undocking from the ISS with his crewmates, Crew-11’s Mike Fincke had passed ISS command to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov at 2:35 p.m. EST on January 12, 2026.
With their departure, only NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos' Sergey Mikaev were left alongside Kud-Sverchkov for space station upkeep and conducting science experiments.
Now, they’ll be joined in their efforts by Crew-12’s NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, as well as Sophie Adenot from the ESA (European Space Agency) and Andrey Fedyaev from Roscosmos.
Per SpaceX, the particular Dragon capsule to be employed for Crew-12 has previously been used for the Crew-4, Ax-2, Ax-3, and Crew-9 missions.
The first stage that is being used for this mission was also used once previously for the deployment of Starlink satellites and will be made to land at Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
NASA is targeting a docking time of 10:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, February 12. Crew-12's mission aboard the ISS will see select crew members conduct new research on the effects of the low-gravity environment of space on astronauts' bodies, complementing NASA’s Artemis program, which has plans for humans to return to the Moon and land on Mars.
To watch the launch and ISS docking live, one can either tune into NASA’s various channels, such as NASA+, Amazon Prime, and the agency’s YouTube channel, or check out SpaceX’s website, the X handle of SpaceX, or their X TV app.
https://starlust.org/nas-as-space-x-crew-12-gets-go-ahead-for-february-11-launch-as-faa-clears-falcon-9-to-fly-again/
https://usaherald.com/nasa-repairs-hydrogen-seals-prepares-artemis-ii-rocket-for-next-fueling-rehearsal-at-kennedy-space-center/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2026/02/08/nasa-conducts-repairs-analysis-ahead-of-next-artemis-ii-fueling-test/
https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/02/08/nasas-spacex-crew-12-answer-questions-from-quarantine/
https://www.c-span.org/event/news-conference/nasa-spacex-crew-12-officials-hold-pre-launch-news-conference/440244
https://nasawatch.com/ask-the-administrator/some-thoughts-on-nasas-new-workforce-directive/
https://nasawatch.com/ask-the-administrator/nasa-announces-a-new-directive-but-wont-let-you-read-it/
Some Thoughts On NASA’s New Workforce Directive
February 8, 2026
I have annotated Jared Isaacman’s new directive “Workforce Directive: Restoring NASA’s Core Competencies“ with some of my thoughts.
This directive does bear a certain similarity to a posting “Recognize, Reward, Inspire” that he made on 16 January 2026 – and the earlier Project Athena document he produced in 2025 before becoming administrator and benefited from some sanity checks during his first month on the job and his road trip to all the NASA centers.
This is a somewhat stream of consciousness ramble on my part (as is usually the case on NASAWatch – and I may fiddle with it). Before I start, there are some prevailing, over-arching, and hard-to-avoid factors: (more below)
NASA lost a lot of expertise from civil servant and contractor layoffs/departures.
Cuts and cancelations of missions and research affected university researchers and students.
The impact of diminished union participation is going to be felt as new employees arrive.
Outright censure of DEI-related efforts has disenfranchised many and soured relations with large external communities.
The newly baselined Schedule P/C for civil servants – with its expanded policy-adherence provisions and severance options – is not exactly the best part of a recruiting portfolio.
The threat of massive threatened NASA budget cuts – realized and reversed reduced NASA’s capabilities.
Society as a whole is under considerable socioeconomic stress – everyone at NASA included and everyone has issues at home to contend with.
Taken together the NASA/space community/family had a rough 2025 and it will take a lot for it to rebound from a year of stress and uncertainty and adapt to new paradigms.
In the mean time NASA will be operating with less capacity of all kinds than it had just one year ago.
The National Space Council is gone. The NASA Advisory council is inert and in limbo. All agency working groups have been cut lose. So external input has shrunk.
NASA has no real strategic plan against which to map all of the changes it is going to make. Every employee should know exactly where they fit in terms of that plan and the changes mentioned below.
If not, and the stove pipes will simply re-emerge, and this will all be a waste of time.
That said …
There is a White House Executive Order Ensuring American Space Superiority
NASA has a national and global branding reach infused with awe and hope and wonder and adventure that few entities can match.
The whole exploring the universe thing is never boring and can be inspirational in a life-altering way – once it is communicated properly.
All that being said (gulp) NASA is about to go back to the Moon with humans for the first time in half a century. How is that not kick-ass exciting? Like I keep saying, for 70% of humanity this will be their first mission to the Moon.
Oh yes, I am working on an audience evaluation for NASA’s Artemis II efforts specifically and its broader efforts overall. I should say plural i.e audiences. NASA tends to aim its usual outreach efforts at its old, mostly unchanged notion of what THEY think their audience should be – without too much though given to the vastly greater diversity of taxpayers, stakeholders, policy makers, fans, detractors, possible new employees, and others that their efforts affect in the real world outside the space bubble. And when it comes to soliciting feedback and doing follow-up on some of its coolest things, well, NASA needs to work on that too.
Some Thoughts On NASA’s New Workforce Directive: Restoring NASA’s Core Competencies
Background
NASA’s ability to deliver on its mission has become increasingly dependent on external vendors and contractors for core functions and workforce talent—from engineering and operations to manufacturing and repair.
While partnerships remain vital, this trend has eroded internal capabilities, increased program risk, reduced flexibility in addressing emergent technical challenges, and added well more than a billion dollars in annual overhead—diverting resources from science and discovery.
Factors contributing to this reliance include concerns over exceeding artificial civil servant hiring ceilings, and assumptions that outsourcing would provide greater workforce flexibility.
Even if these assumptions hold in some cases, the overall effect deprives NASA of critical institutional knowledge, and limits resources essential for mission success.
1/3
—- Keith’s note: these factors are, of course, are trends that have their roots in decades of NASA being jostled around by changing and confusing mandates, uncertain budgets congressional whims, and expanding inefficiencies rampant and unchecked within large aerospace contractors – and the inability of NASA itself to adjust workforce and skillsets to stay in synch with all of this.
As a result, it is not surprising that multiple programs have experienced suboptimal outcomes in cost and schedule. Multiple prime contractors, hundreds of sub-contractors, tens of thousands of contract employees, and duplicative layers of management create complexity and inefficiency. Variances in policies, tools, and systems across this spectrum further challenge budgets, timelines, and outcomes.
To achieve the President’s national space policy and maintain U.S. leadership in space exploration, NASA must urgently restore and retain in-house engineering, operational, and scientific excellence, and reclaim technical autonomy.
This directive establishes actions to rebuild internal talent, strengthen contractual provisions, and foster a culture of technical resilience.
—- Keith’s note: NASA watched a lot of expertise walk out the door in 2025. Some of it is gone forever. Some of it was not needed anyway. But those who remain survived this activity and are going to need some reassurance that the agency still values them.
But NASA will also need to be finding ways to recruit/entice new people that making a career move to NASA is not going to be yanked away from them.
New (younger) blood is desperately needed. In addition to youthful energy, people with new skill sets that NASA needs – plus expertise from outside the space bubble that the agency itself is probably not even aware that it needs – will need to be brought on board.
And to be brutally honest, the newly-announced Schedule P/C for civil servants – with its expanded policy-adherence provisions and severance options – is not exactly the best part of a recruiting portfolio.
This foundation will be strengthened by contractors in non-core areas and for surge requirements, complemented by our extensive network of international and commercial partners.
Together, we will deliver on NASA’s world-changing mission of science, exploration, and discovery.
Directive Actions
NASA recognizes that contractors have and will continue to play a vital role in achieving mission objectives.
This directive focuses on correcting over-reliance on outsourced engineering and staffing that diminishes NASA’s core competencies and resources essential to agency priorities.
The future state aims to use contracted workforce primarily for limited-term assignments, surge staffing, and specialized functions outside NASA’s core competencies.
—- Keith’s note: having been both a NASA civil servant and contractor employee, one thing always stays with me – how civil servant and contractors interact.
When everyone feels that they are part of a team regardless of their badge and are treated accordingly you get the most benefit. When civil servants treat contractor employees as disposable items you don’t get all that you could otherwise get.
Conversely when contractors see NASA as a endless gravy train to be drained at every possible juncture you also diminish the end results – and reduced resources that would other be available for other things.
This is a two way street. Yes I am being naive that doesn’t mean that I am wrong.
Within 30 days, Center Directors, Mission Directorate leadership, and the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer shall:
—- Keith’s note: between DOGE efforts, buyouts, layoffs etc – much of which was done with little or no strategic planning – with a large amount of fear, uncertainty, and random body counts, NASA has been left with lots of expertise holes. And many of these new hires will be These are term hires – so planning for a long career at NASA may be a little more difficult. These gaps are at all levels. Some are generic, others are very specific. BUT – This is also an opportunity to see if things can be done with fewer choke points – committees, management steps, meetings,etc. That said, NASA is inevitably going to have to hire back expertise – either as civil servants or contractors and look into buying back departed expertise ‘by the yard’, often at a greater expense.
Having just let thousands of people walk out the door this may be harder than it might otherwise have been. But enticing people to come explore the universe can be irresistable.
Conduct a Workforce Assessment:
Identify outsourced or missing technical and operational expertise and provide a proposal to convert core roles to civil service.
Categorize proposal by priority, mapping to core competency and current contracting mechanisms. Emphasize solutions that enable mission execution without introducing additional redundant layers of management.
2/3
Keith’s note: this needs to be done without the hindrance of stovepipes within directorates, missions, a centers, and other divisions of NASA otherwise you may see duplication in hiring where skills might otherwise be shared across new boundaries – and between geographically separate locations.
If NASA can reprogram ancient 70s-era software on Voyager spacecraft in interstellar space then they can make hybrid work happen back on Earth. Right?
Conduct a Work Assessment: Identify engineering, operational, scientific, manufacturing, and other mission-critical work currently outsourced, and provide a proposal for what should be brought in-house, aligned with the workforce assessment.
Keith’s note: NASA does not really have a strategic plan – i.e. a document that is an actual plan with an inherent strategy. Instead, every few years, they make a list of all the things the agency may be doing – or wants to do -and works backward using word salad and pretty graphics to make it all sound like it is the result of strategic planning.
This is done when in fact the ‘strategic plan’ and whatever operating plan it spawns – is a conglomeration of ever changing Administration guidance, congressional priorities, anodyne guidance fom the National Academy and advisory groups, and the end result of lobbying pressure from big aerospace to keep their gravy train going.
If NASA cannot provide a real strategic plan against which to map its needs and priorities then it will have a miserable time trying to reconfigure the agency to meet whatever the agency is supposed to do – and avoid adding capabilities for things it is not supposed to do.
Within 60 days, the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of Procurement, and Office of the Chief Financial Officer shall:
Develop Transition Strategy: Consolidate workforce assessments and create an implementation plan to convert or add targeted roles to civil service, addressing contract changes, renegotiations or terminations, timelines, and cost implications.
Establish Rapid Onboarding Process: Implement streamlined process that ensures candidates can be rapidly brought into civil servant positions without disrupting operational capacity, minimizing gaps in mission-critical support.
Strengthen the Talent Pipeline: In collaboration with the Office of Personnel Management, develop strategies to attract industry and academic talent and embed civil servants with industry partners to accelerate learning and knowledge transfer aligned with national space policy objectives.
Enhance Training Programs: Assess and develop internal training and mentorship initiatives to ensure continuity of knowledge and technical depth across generations of NASA engineers, operations personnel, and technicians.
Focus Internship Opportunities: Develop a plan to expand the current internship program with a focus on standardizing and enhancing experience, to develop in-house technical talent focused on the highest priority agency requirements.
Strengthen Framework for Technical Autonomy
Within 30 days, the Office of Procurement shall:
Ensure Repair and Operation Autonomy: Incorporate right-to-repair provisions in all future and applicable existing contracts, guaranteeing NASA access to specifications, parts, tools, schematics, software, and technical documentation necessary for internal manufacturing, repair, and operations.
Remove Restrictive Clauses: Eliminate contract language requiring NASA-fabricated replacement hardware to be returned to vendors for inspection after delivery of out-of-spec hardware.
Address Intellectual Property Barriers: To the extent reasonable under existing and ongoing procurements, review and propose modifications to eliminate IF restrictions that prevent NASA from performing internal repairs or redesigns, as needed to meet urgent Presidential space policy objectives.
—- Keith’s note: speaking as someone who has been on expeditions to remote, dangerous places (with astronauts and space scientists) and operated sophisticated technology while there – you are simply not going to explore all of these distant worlds with humans if you send people who cannot fix things – and send things that cannot be fixed.
Moreover, you need these people to be able to use back-up methods – some of which rely on simpler technology and basic survival and exploration skills.
You cannot treat your tools as if they were just another black box that you can replace with a call to Amazon or hack with an update you just download.
These skills should be adopted by everyone at NASA – not just the people who climb into the rocket ships. And in seeking new employees, these skills should be a prerequisite part of recruitment and hiring.
3/3
NASA Faces Backlash After Explosive Theory Says Photos Are 'Blurred' To Hide Alien Structures
09 February 2026, 9:17 AM GMT
A fresh storm has erupted around NASA after a theoretical physicist claimed that the agency may be deliberately blurring images of the Moon to conceal artificial structures linked to non-human technology.
The controversial theory has ignited fierce online debate, with supporters demanding transparency and critics calling the claims exaggerated and unsupported.
The controversy arrives as space exploration faces renewed scrutiny amid delays to upcoming lunar missions, fuelling speculation about what future expeditions might uncover on the surface of Earth's nearest celestial neighbour.
Scientist Claims Moon Structures Suggest Non Human Technology
Theoretical physicist Maaneli 'Max' Derakhshani has argued that certain formations on the lunar surface may represent 'technosignatures' rather than natural geological features.
According to his analysis, some structures appear unusually geometric, including formations said to reach up to 30 metres in height and more than 100 metres in length.
One alleged T-shaped object has drawn particular attention, with Derakhshani claiming that erosion alone cannot explain such symmetry.
He suggested that the probability of artificial structures existing on the Moon could be greater than fifty per cent, a claim that has quickly spread across social media and alternative science communities.
Allegations That NASA Blurs Images Spark Public Backlash
Derakhshani's theory suggests that NASA may be obscuring parts of lunar photographs under the framework of national security rules.
He referenced the 1958 Space Act, which allows the agency to classify discoveries that could impact United States security interests.
Critics of NASA argue that blurred images or altered visuals could hide evidence of extraterrestrial technology.
However, many astronomers and space analysts strongly dispute this idea.
They note that several international space agencies and independent satellites also capture lunar imagery, making it difficult for a single organisation to conceal large scale structures without detection by other countries or researchers.
Experts And Astronomers Challenge The Extraordinary Claims
Professional astronomers have responded with scepticism, pointing out that consumer grade telescopes lack the resolution needed to detect small buildings or detailed structures on the Moon.
Scientists also emphasise that the lunar surface has been mapped by multiple nations including China, India and European space agencies.
Also, high-resolution images from various missions have consistently shown natural rock formations shaped by impacts and erosion.
Comparisons have been drawn to the famous 'Face on Mars', which initially appeared artificial but was later revealed as a natural formation when photographed at closer range.
Critics argue that unusual shapes can easily be misinterpreted by the human brain when viewing distant landscapes.
Artemis Delays And Growing Conspiracy Narratives
The controversy has gained traction at a time when NASA faces delays to its Artemis II and III missions following technical issues including hydrogen leaks.
Some conspiracy theorists claim that the slower timeline may be linked to hidden discoveries on the Moon, although there is no evidence supporting this idea.
Online discussions have grown increasingly polarised, with some users insisting that multiple countries would expose any attempt to hide alien technology while others continue to speculate about secret findings.
Analysts warn that viral theories often thrive during periods of uncertainty in space exploration, blending genuine curiosity with sensational claims that capture public imagination.
As debates continue, scientists stress the importance of relying on verifiable data and peer reviewed research rather than speculation when assessing extraordinary lunar discoveries.
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nasa-faces-backlash-after-explosive-theory-says-photos-are-blurred-hide-alien-structures-1777417
https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1qymsvl/nasa_blurs_moon_images_to_hide_artificial/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOmrBWjyUtc
Mars Organics Can’t Be Fully Explained by Geological Processes Alone, NASA Study Says
Feb 9, 2026
Known non-biological sources, from meteorites to surface chemistry, fall short of accounting for organic compounds detected by NASA’s Curiosity rover, according to a new study published in the journal Astrobiology.
In 2025, planetary scientists reported the detection of long-chain alkanes at concentrations of roughly 30 to 50 parts per billion in the ancient Cumberland mudstone in Gale crater, Mars.
They proposed that the alkanes were derived from thermal decarboxylation of fatty acids during analysis by Curiosity’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument.
In a new study, Dr. Alexander Pavlov from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and his colleagues argue that the measured values are merely a lower limit, because most of the original organic material was likely destroyed by radiation over tens of millions of years.
The Cumberland mudstone may originally have contained between 120 and 7,700 parts per million of long-chain alkanes or their fatty-acid precursors before it was exposed at the surface.
“To reach this conclusion, we combined lab radiation experiments, mathematical modeling, and Curiosity data to ‘rewind the clock’ about 80 million years — the length of time the rock would have been exposed on the Martian surface,” the researchers said.
“This allowed us to estimate how much organic material would have been present before being destroyed by long-term exposure to cosmic radiation: far more than typical non-biological processes could produce.”
The scientists also assessed whether known non-biological processes could explain the unusually high inferred abundance of long-chain alkanes.
According to the study, delivery by meteorites and interplanetary dust particles is insufficient by many orders of magnitude, given the estimated sedimentation rates and the inability of dust particles to penetrate lithified rock.
Atmospheric production of organic haze is also unlikely, because early Mars probably lacked the methane-rich conditions required to generate substantial haze deposition.
The authors also examined hydrothermal processes that can produce hydrocarbons under certain conditions.
While lab experiments show that long-chain organic molecules can form hydrothermally, the mineralogy of the Cumberland mudstone indicates it did not experience the high temperatures associated with such reactions.
The findings suggest a more speculative possibility: that some or all of the original organic material could have been produced by a hypothetical ancient Martian biosphere.
“We agree with Carl Sagan’s claim that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and understand that any purported detection of life on Mars will necessarily be met with intense scrutiny,” the researchers said.
“In addition, in practice with established norms in the field of astrobiology, we note that the certainty of a life detection beyond Earth will require multiple lines of evidence.”
“Nevertheless, our approach has led us to estimate that the Cumberland mudstone conservatively contained 120-7,700 parts per million of long-chain alkanes and/or fatty acids before exposure to ionizing radiation.”
“We argue that such high concentrations of long-chain alkanes are inconsistent with a few known abiotic sources of organic molecules on ancient Mars, namely delivery of organics by interplanetary dust particles and meteorites, atmospheric fallout and deposition from photochemical haze, and organic production from serpentinization and Fischer-Tropsch reactions on the Red Planet.”
“In contrast, it is not unreasonable to hypothesize that an ancient Martian biosphere would be capable of producing this level of complex organic enrichment in Martian mudstone deposits, and that allochthonous delivery of hydrothermally synthesized organics could have contributed to the abundance of alkanes found in the Cumberland mudstone.”
https://www.sci.news/space/mars-organics-14541.html
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15311074261417879
and don't stop til ya hit the bottom
Artemis Base Camp by Pierre Carril, ESA
Sunday, February 8, 2026
Concept renders for Artemis Base Camp by French scientific illustrator Pierre Carril, commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2019.
The concept depicts Artemis Base Camp having dome-shaped human habitats covered with a layer of lunar regolith for radiation and impact protection, interconnected transparent geodesic domes housing hydroponic gardens for food and oxygen generation, and vast deployable solar arrays capturing near-constant sunlight at the lunar south polar region to power the outpost.
Astronauts in ESA-marked spacesuits oversee robotic construction rovers building the lunar base.
NASA's international Artemis Base Camp, with ESA as a major partner, is a planned long-term outpost on the lunar south pole, envisioned as the cornerstone of sustainable human exploration under the Artemis program, with establishment targeted for the 2030s.
Situated near craters like Shackleton for access to water ice in permanently shadowed regions and areas of near-continuous sunlight for solar power, the initial base would include a fixed Foundation Surface Habitat to accommodate up to four astronauts for stays of one to two months, a pressurized rover for extended surface traverses, an unpressurized Lunar Terrain Vehicle for mobility, power systems (including potential nuclear options), in-situ resource utilization for producing essentials like oxygen and propellant from lunar regolith, and supporting infrastructure for scientific research and technology testing to pave the way for Mars missions.
As of early 2026, with Artemis II crewed preparations advancing toward a March launch, the concept remains NASA's blueprint for transitioning from short landings to permanent lunar presence.
A competing project – International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) – is being developed under Chinese leadership and targets the lunar south pole region in the 2030s, starting robotic before permanent habitability post-2035 and full expansion by ~2050.
https://www.humanmars.net/2026/02/artemis-base-camp-by-pierre-carril-esa.html
Annular 'ring of fire' solar eclipse February 2026: Live updates
February 9, 2026
The next solar eclipse will be an annular solar eclipse on Feb. 17, 2026.
During an annular solar eclipse, the moon covers a majority of the sun, leaving a distinct ring of light, hence the nickname 'ring of fire' eclipse.
We're just over a week away from the first solar eclipse of 2026! An annular solar eclipse will take place on Feb. 17, 2026.
During this dramatic event, the moon will slide in front of the sun but won't cover it completely, leaving a glowing 'ring of fire' around the edges.
That dramatic view will only be visible from a remote part of Antarctica, where up to 96% of the sun will be eclipsed for a little over 2 minutes — meaning very few people on Earth will witness annularity in person.
More people will see a partial solar eclipse, with the moon covering a smaller portion of the sun across Antarctica, parts of southern Africa and the southern tip of South America.
https://www.space.com/news/live/annular-solar-eclipse-february-2026-live-updates-what-to-know
Evidence of a subsurface lava tube on Venus
9-Feb-2026
Volcanic activity is not unique to Earth: traces of volcanic activity, such as lava tubes, have been found on Mars and the Moon.
Now, the University of Trento has demonstrated the existence of an empty lava tube even in the depths of Venus, a planet whose surface and geology have been largely shaped by volcanic processes.
The cave was identified through radar data analysis as part of a project funded by the Italian Space Agency. The discovery was published by Nature Communications.
"Our knowledge of Venus is still limited, and until now we have never had the opportunity to directly observe processes occurring beneath the surface of Earth’s twin planet.
The identification of a volcanic cavity is therefore of particular importance, as it allows us to validate theories that for many years have only hypothesized their existence," explains Lorenzo Bruzzone, the coordinator of the research, full professor of Telecommunications and head of the Remote Sensing Laboratory at the Department of Information Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Trento.
"This discovery contributes to a deeper understanding of the processes that have shaped Venus’s evolution and opens new perspectives for the study of the planet," he adds.
Finding lava tubes outside the Earth is not easy. Because they form underground, these caves usually remain hidden and can only be spotted when part of their roof collapses, creating a pit visible on the planet’s surface.
These collapses may reveal both the presence of a lava tube and a possible entrance to it.
On Venus, the search is even more challenging, since the planet is covered by thick clouds that block direct views of the surface with standard cameras, forcing scientists to rely on radar images.
Between 1990 and 1992, a Synthetic Aperture Radar, an instrument aboard NASA's Magellan spacecraft, mapped the surface of Venus.
"We analyzed Magellan's radar images where there are signs of localized surface collapses using an imaging technique that we have developed to detect and characterize underground conduits near skylights.
Our analyses revealed the existence of a large subsurface conduit in the region of Nyx Mons, the area named after the Greek goddess of the night.
We interpret the structure as a possible lava tube (pyroduct), with an estimated diameter of approximately one kilometer, a roof thickness of at least 150 meters and an empty void deep of no less than 375 meters," says Bruzzone.
The physical and atmospheric parameters of Venus could favor the formation of lava tubes.
In fact, Venus has a lower gravity and a denser atmosphere than Earth, which would favor the rapid creation of a thick insulating crust immediately after the lava flow leaves the vent.
The lava tube that has been identified appears to be wider and taller than those seen on Earth or predicted for Mars. It falls at the upper end of what scientists have suggested (and in one case actually observed) on the Moon.
This is not surprising, since Venus has lava channels that are larger and longer than those observed on other planets.
"The available data allow us to confirm and measure only the portion of the cavity close to the skylight.
However, analysis of the morphology and elevation of the surrounding terrain, together with the presence of other pits similar with the one studied, supports the hypothesis that the subsurface conduits may extend for at least 45 kilometers.
To test this hypothesis and identify additional lava tubes, new higher-resolution images and data acquired by radar systems capable of penetrating the surface will be required.
The results of this study are therefore very important for future missions to Venus, such as the European Space Agency’s Envision and NASA’s Veritas.
Both spacecraft will carry advanced radar systems capable of capturing higher-resolution images, allowing scientists to study small surface pits in greater detail.
In addition, Envision will carry an orbital ground penetrating radar (Subsurface Radar Sounder) capable of probing Venus’s subsurface to depths of several hundred meters and potentially detecting conduits even in the absence of surface openings.
Our discovery therefore represents only the beginning of a long and fascinating research activity," he concludes.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1115497
https://www.space.com/astronomy/venus/venus-may-have-an-underground-tunnel-carved-by-volcano-eruptions
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68643-6