Today’s top news
NASA yesterday announced ambitious plans for a return to the moon. Jared Isaacman, the space agency’s chief, announced that the space agency would cancel a planned space station in lunar orbit and send a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Mars to use the parts for a $20 billion permanent base on the moon.
The announcement comes after a major overhaul of NASA’s Artemis program, with the program’s second mission, Artemis II, scheduled to launch on April 1 and return astronauts to the moon. NASA is currently aiming for annual launches, potentially removing SpaceX and Boeing from the mission plan, and targeting two moon landings in 2028.
The new moon base plan, which calls for a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2036 using a fleet of drones and robotic landers, is ambitious to say the least, motivated as much by a desire to stay ahead of China in the new space race as by scientific objectives. It remains to be seen whether it is realistic or just plain insanity.
trend
This year’s wildfire season is already looking quite ominous, with March’s record heatwave causing fires to start unusually early and intensely across the Midwest.
Massive fires are burning across parts of Colorado, parts of the Great Plains and Nebraska, burning more than 600,000 acres (240,000 hectares) in just a few days.
The outbreak, caused by a combination of factors including extreme heat, high winds and low humidity, could serve as an alarming early warning of a dangerous wildfire season to come. And the problem could be exacerbated by staffing shortages at federal disaster response agencies.
3 books to read
Mars secretly harbors gem-like crystals, including rubies and perhaps sapphires. [Live Science]Prominent researcher quits NASA, citing US scientific attacks [Bloomberg]The Iran war has already released staggering amounts of carbon dioxide, with the destruction of schools, homes and buildings being the biggest source. [Live Science]
graph of the day
See that red line? This is the highest global sea surface temperature so far this year, continuing to break daily records set in the unprecedented year of 2024. And this is before a “Super El Niño” event occurs later this year that could push global temperatures to unprecedented heights.
said, said
word of the day
Tarsis — Greek and Latin transliteration of the Hebrew word Tarshish. It is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a rich land on the western edge of the known world. Mars’ Tharsis is a region of high volcanic activity, and strange plumes of underground rock may be accelerating the planet’s rotation.
quote of the day
“America will never give up the moon again.”
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman spoke about the United States’ plans to build a permanent moon base.
fun and games
NASA has announced its most lofty moon ambition yet. But how much do you know about the natural satellites that serve as outposts for space agencies? Take our quiz here.
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