"I'll buy 10 of those"—NASA science chief yearns for mass-produced satellites

"I'll buy 10 of those"—NASA science chief yearns for mass-produced satellites

fivenewscrypto    mai 20, 2026   

There are more opportunities to access space than ever, thanks to a bevy of commercial rockets, some with reusable boosters, led by SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9. So why is NASA launching fewer telescopes and planetary science missions than it did a quarter-century ago?

The answer is complex. It is not necessarily the money. The space agency's science budget this year is $7.25 billion, roughly the same as it was in 2000, adjusted for inflation. This is despite attempts by the Trump administration to drastically reduce NASA science funding.

In the early months of his tenure, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's focus has been on human spaceflight and the Moon. This isn't terribly surprising given NASA's wildly successful Artemis II mission carrying four astronauts around the Moon last month. Since taking office in December, Isaacman has announced an overhaul of the Artemis program, canceling a space station to be built in orbit around the Moon in favor of construction of a base on the lunar surface.

Read full article

Comments

RFK Jr. forced to withdraw charter that opened CDC panel to anti-vaccine quacks

RFK Jr. forced to withdraw charter that opened CDC panel to anti-vaccine quacks

fivenewscrypto    mai 20, 2026   

A revised charter document for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's influential vaccine advisory committee has been withdrawn by the Health Department over an administrative error, according to a notice published in the Federal Register Tuesday.

The charter's revisions under anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would have allowed Kennedy to appoint dubiously qualified anti-vaccine allies to advise the CDC. It also would have directed the CDC panel to focus on alleged vaccine injuries and risks and welcomed fringe groups and anti-vaccine organizations to participate in developing federal vaccine policy.

Kennedy's move to reshape the CDC panel—the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP—came amid Kennedy's many other attempts to undermine it, as well as a court order to undo that meddling.

Read full article

Comments

In addition to space stations, Vast says it will now build high-power satellites

In addition to space stations, Vast says it will now build high-power satellites

fivenewscrypto    mai 20, 2026   

As part of its plan to develop a private space station, Vast Space built and then launched a small demonstration spacecraft in early November. This vehicle then completed dozens of test objectives with flying colors before making a successful de-orbit three months later.

The mission, which tested power, propulsion, tracking, and a multitude of other technologies needed for Vast's Haven-1 space station, was evidently so successful that the company is ready to use its spaceflight capabilities for other purposes. The Long Beach, California-based company announced Tuesday that it plans to begin selling high-powered satellite buses.

"Every single successful space company is diversified in its products," said Max Haot, chief executive of Vast Space, in an interview. "So for us it really was a question of when, not if."

Read full article

Comments

Ebola outbreak: WHO declares emergency, US restricts travel, American infected

Ebola outbreak: WHO declares emergency, US restricts travel, American infected

fivenewscrypto    mai 20, 2026   

The Ebola outbreak first reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday has seemingly escalated quickly into a large, uncontrolled multinational outbreak.

As of May 17, there were 10 confirmed cases, 336 suspected cases, and 88 deaths in the DRC, as well as two confirmed cases and one death in neighboring Uganda, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has offices in the region. The numbers already put the outbreak within the top 10 Ebola outbreaks recorded by size, though still far from the worst—the 2014–2016 West African outbreak had over 28,000 cases and 11,000 deaths.

International emergency

On Sunday, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), though it noted that it does not meet the criteria for a pandemic emergency. In making the PHEIC determination, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus cited several factors in addition to the immediate large size, including clusters of suspected cases and deaths in multiple DRC health zones, four deaths among healthcare workers, and a lack of apparent links between geographically distant cases and clusters. The features collectively suggest that the outbreak is larger than what is currently being detected and is spreading regionally.

Read full article

Comments

Legal fail: Don’t use AI to sue Facebook users for calling you a bad date

Legal fail: Don’t use AI to sue Facebook users for calling you a bad date

fivenewscrypto    mai 20, 2026   

An attempt to pressure Meta into removing a critical post from a Chicago Facebook group called "Are We Dating the Same Guy" may end in sanctions for lawyers whose takedown arguments appeared to rely on fake AI citations to support doxing claims.

The case had already been dismissed with prejudice by a district court, which ruled there was no way to amend the complaint to possibly save it. But Nikko D'Ambrosio—who accused more than two dozen women of defaming him and blamed Meta for supposedly boosting the post to profit off its "entertainment value"—appealed anyway.

Perhaps he felt confident despite his likely tough odds because he was relying on MarcTrent.AI, a law firm that claims to use AI to "uncover legal opportunities traditional firms miss" and "increase legal success rates by 35 percent through predictive modeling."

Read full article

Comments

One Mars spacecraft, two senators, and a cloud of questions

One Mars spacecraft, two senators, and a cloud of questions

fivenewscrypto    mai 20, 2026   

NASA released a much-anticipated contract solicitation for a Mars-orbiting spacecraft late last week, kicking off what is sure to be a hotly contested and potentially controversial procurement.

At issue is $700 million, already appropriated by Congress, to build a spacecraft, launch it to Mars, and once there to serve as a vehicle to relay communications between the red planet and Earth. But the stakes may be even bigger than this, including the possible resurrection of the recently canceled Mars Sample Return mission.

As part of the new solicitation, NASA says it will conduct the acquisition "as a full and open competition." But will it? That's the question that several people involved with this procurement process are asking. And it could turn messy, quickly.

Read full article

Comments

Australian Aboriginals cared for a dingo's grave for decades

Australian Aboriginals cared for a dingo's grave for decades

fivenewscrypto    mai 19, 2026   

A thousand years ago, the ancestors of today's Barkindji people carefully buried a dingo (or garli, in the Barkindji language) in a mound of shells.

Archaeologists recently studied the burial in what's now New South Wales, Australia. They found that the Barkindji ancestors had buried the dingo with the same care and ceremony as any beloved human member of the community and looked after the grave for centuries. The burial reveals that dingoes were, as Australian Museum and University of Sydney archaeologist and study co-author Amy Way puts it, “deeply valued and loved” by ancient people in Australia.

The long-lost dingo

Five years ago, Barkindji Elder Uncle Badger Bates and National Parks and Wildlife Service archaeologist Dan Witter saw bones eroding out of a road cut in Kinchega National Park, an area along the Baaka, or Darling River, in New South Wales, Australia. Badger recognized the bones as a dingo, lying on its left side in what was once a carefully built mound of river mussel shells.

Read full article

Comments