NASA is working to resolve fueling issues with its Space Launch System rocket before the Artemis III mission, which aims to land the first crew on the Moon in over 50 years, according to Ars Technica. Simultaneously, the U.S. military boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, targeting illicit oil connected to Venezuela, as reported by Fortune. Additionally, the U.S. and Iran are scheduled to hold a second round of nuclear talks next week, the Swiss Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday.
NASA is preparing for a second countdown rehearsal for the Artemis II mission as early as next week, according to Ars Technica, to confirm whether technicians have resolved a hydrogen fuel leak that cut short a practice countdown run on February 2. Artemis II is the first crewed flight. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated the agency is looking at ways to prevent the fueling problems that have plagued the rocket before the Artemis III mission.
The U.S. military's operation against the sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean followed the vessel's tracking from the Caribbean Sea, as reported by Fortune. The Pentagon said the boarding was part of an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela. Venezuela has faced U.S. sanctions on its oil for several years, relying on a shadow fleet of tankers to smuggle crude into global supply chains. President Donald Trump ordered a quarantine of sanctioned tankers in December.
The second round of talks between the U.S. and Iran regarding Tehran's nuclear program will be held next week in Geneva, hosted by Oman, according to the Swiss Foreign Ministry, as reported by Fortune. The first round of indirect talks took place on February 6. After the initial discussions, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran that failure to reach an agreement with his administration would be "very traumatic." Similar talks last year broke down in June, leading to a 12-day war on Iran, including U.S. bombing of Iranian nuclear sites. Trump has repeatedly threatened to use force to compel Iran to constrain its nuclear program, and Iran has stated it would respond with an attack of its own.
In other news, according to Fortune, the U.S. geopolitical dominance depends on European allies, even as NATO members increase military spending. Dan Alamariu, chief geopolitical strategist at Alpine Macro, stated that the U.S. and Europe are too intertwined militarily and economically to split. The plausible path is messy coexistence, with periodic trade clashes and gradual European autonomy, alongside continued alignment on Russia, nuclear deterrence, intelligence, and China policy, Alamariu wrote.
Finally, a paper titled "Towards Autonomous Mathematics Research" was submitted to arXiv on February 10, 2026, according to Hacker News. The paper explores recent advances in foundational models and their impact on reasoning.
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