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Landing on the moon ranks among the most formidable endeavors humanity has pursued. Perhaps that’s part of what motivates us to persist.
Long before astronauts are slated to make their return to the lunar terrain, a series of robotic adventurers are propelling the aspirations of private firms targeting a moon landing.
For Intuitive Machines, 2025 represents a renewed opportunity for success following the landing of its Odysseus spacecraft on the moon in February 2024, which unfortunately toppled over.
Regardless of the outcome of that company’s forthcoming mission and numerous other lunar projects, 2025 is set to be an exhilarating year for the next stage of the new moon race.
Two separate lunar missions launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this week, each having its unique journey and mission as they advance toward the silvery celestial body.
Firefly Aerospace, based in Texas, is en route with its Blue Ghost mission, which includes the company’s inaugural lunar lander aimed at an ancient volcanic formation to gather soil samples using a Lunar PlanetVac.
Simultaneously, Ispace, located in Tokyo, dispatched Resilience, an upgraded version of the Hakuto-R spacecraft that crash-landed on the moon in 2023. A mini rover is aboard, along with a small red artwork titled “Moonhouse,” among other artifacts.
Blue Ghost is anticipated to attempt a landing on March 2, whereas Resilience is expected to conserve power and take four to five months to reach its destination.
Following a few attempts and delays, Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin successfully propelled its New Glenn rocket into space for the first time on Thursday. This rocket, which could emerge as a rival to SpaceX, carried a technology demonstration for Blue Ring, a spacecraft designed to haul satellites deeper into space.
On the same day, SpaceX’s Starship executed its most ambitious test flight to date. The corporation managed to capture the rocket booster as it returned to Earth. However, the Starship spacecraft itself detonated, resulting in debris that disrupted flights across the Caribbean. The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded Starship while it investigates reports of property damage in Turks and Caicos.
Additionally, India became the fourth nation to successfully achieve an uncrewed docking between two small vessels, named Target and Chaser, in space. This accomplishment is vital if the country aspires to construct its own space station and place an Indian astronaut on the moon.
Fingernail-sized pygmy seahorses rank among the tiniest vertebrates on Earth, yet British marine biologist Richard Smith brings their vibrant world to life in vivid detail.
Smith embarked on his research of these elusive beings in the early 2000s. While seahorses are widely recognized for forming lifelong pair bonds, he discovered that a certain species of pygmy seahorse located near the Indonesian island of Sulawesi exhibits polygamous behavior.
He spent hours underwater each day observing a female he affectionately named Josephine, which had three potential mates.
Seahorses are among the few animals in which the male bears the eggs, laid by the female, and later gives birth. Smith’s photographs, featured in a recent publication, even captured the stretch marks of one male seahorse that bore Josephine’s offspring.
In 1747, Royal Navy surgeon James Lind found the remedy for scurvy when he tested treatments on a group of 12 sailors in what is regarded as the first controlled clinical trial of contemporary times.
However, he may have drawn inspiration from a relatively obscure instrument maker named Francis Hauksbee the Younger, who was the nephew of Sir Isaac Newton’s lab assistant.
Merely four years prior to the scurvy investigation, Hauksbee penned a proposal that outlined a methodology for conducting a controlled trial involving 12 subjects while taking into account their diets and long-term health outcomes. Upon comparison of Lind’s and Hauksbee’s study designs, modern researchers discovered a recurring theme.
Plans by the biotech firm Colossal Biosciences to create replicas of extinct species such as the woolly mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger in the forthcoming decade create the impression that de-extinction may occur within our lifetime.
Genetics and traditional breeding practices have already been employed by Grazelands Rewilding in the Netherlands to establish herds of tauros cattle, the present-day equivalent of the aurochs, a species depicted in ancient cave art.
Colossal Biosciences has garnered millions in funding, thanks to notable investors including athletes and celebrities. However, many challenges and concerns surround the notion of revitalizing animals lost to history.
“This is not de-extinction; it’s about genetically engineering a new organism to theoretically assume the roles of an existing (living) organism,” stated Melanie Challenger, deputy co-chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in the UK. “Throughout the process, various intricate ethical issues arise.”
These captivating tales may spark a journey of curiosity:
— Scientists are initiating a new initiative to gain a deeper understanding of “dark” oxygen, seemingly generated by potato-sized metallic boulders resting on the seafloor. This project could unveil the potential for life beyond our planet.
— Inspired by moon rovers, a robot named Adam capable of transporting heavy produce across challenging landscapes and cutting grass could revolutionize the practices of Japan’s aging agricultural community.
— Researchers have recently identified a “supergiant” crustacean, whose head bears a striking resemblance to Darth Vader’s helmet from the “Star Wars” movies, near the shore of Vietnam.
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