Aboard the International Space Station, the crew complement reached its full capacity on Valentine's Day as a Crew Dragon spacecraft docked, bringing the total number of astronauts to seven, according to Ars Technica. Meanwhile, back on Earth, political tensions continue to simmer, as a partial government shutdown began Saturday due to disagreements over immigration oversight, as reported by Fortune. In other news, NASA is working to resolve fueling problems with its Space Launch System rocket before the Artemis III mission, and a "small" federal security force will remain in Minnesota after an immigration enforcement crackdown, according to NPR News. Finally, a recent study suggests that ancient Mars was warm and wet, not cold and icy, Ars Technica reported.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft arrived at the ISS on Saturday evening, with the hatches opening at 5:14 pm ET (22:14 UTC). The arrival of four new astronauts as part of the Crew 12 mission – Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway of NASA, Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency, and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos – brought the total number of crew on board the space station to seven, according to Ars Technica. The number of astronauts living on board the station fluctuates over time, depending on crew rotations and private astronauts making shorter stays.
Back on Earth, a partial government shutdown began Saturday after congressional Democrats and the Trump administration failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security through September, Fortune reported. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens by federal officers in Minneapolis last month. Congress is on recess until Feb. 23, and both sides appear dug into their positions.
NASA is also facing challenges. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Saturday the agency is looking at ways to prevent the fueling problems plaguing the Space Launch System rocket before the Artemis III mission, Ars Technica reported. Artemis III is slated to be the first crew mission to land on the Moon since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago. As for Artemis II, which remains on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after missing a launch window earlier this month, NASA is preparing for a second countdown rehearsal as soon as next week to confirm whether technicians have resolved a hydrogen fuel leak that cut short a practice countdown run February 2.
In Minnesota, White House border czar Tom Homan said a "small" federal security force will remain "for a short period of time" after the immigration enforcement crackdown ends, according to NPR News. "We already removed well over 1,000 people, and as of Monday-Tuesday, we'll remove several hundred more. We'll get back to the original footprint," Homan said, speaking on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday. Exceptions beyond that footprint, he said, will include agents who will remain to finish investigations.
Finally, a recent study suggests that Mars was warm and wet billions of years ago, contrasting with the theory that this era was mainly cold and icy, Ars Technica reported. The latest paper relates to Mars during a time called the Noachian epoch, which extended from about 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago. This finding has implications for the idea that life could have developed on the planet at this time.
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