NASA is working to resolve fueling problems with its Space Launch System rocket before the Artemis III mission, while also preparing for a second countdown rehearsal for the Artemis II mission, according to Ars Technica. The agency is also grappling with challenges to its cultural authority, as the scientific community faces funding pressures and political attacks on expertise, according to Nature News.
The Artemis III mission is slated to be the first crewed mission to land on the Moon since the Apollo program, more than 50 years ago, according to Ars Technica. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency is looking at ways to prevent the fueling problems that have plagued the Space Launch System rocket. 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, according to Ars Technica.
Meanwhile, the scientific community is confronting challenges to its cultural authority, according to Nature News. Funding is under pressure, expertise is subject to political attack, and vaccine skepticism and disputes over climate policy are rife. This is often interpreted as a problem of the public, rather than of science itself, according to Nature News.
In other news, world leaders met in Munich to discuss the future of Europe, according to NPR Politics. NPR's Leila Fadel asked Kurt Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, for his takeaways following this year's Munich Security Conference.
Also, a recent study showed that Mars was warm and wet billions of years ago, contrasting with another theory that this era was mainly cold and icy, according to Ars Technica. The finding has implications for the idea that life could have developed on the planet at this time. 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, according to Ars Technica.
Finally, the image of a 7-foot-tall, ape-like creature covered in black fur walking upright in the Northern California woods in 1967 continues to intrigue, according to Ars Technica. The image has been endlessly copied in popular culture, but its authenticity remains debated. One group of people, dubbed Bigfooters, is so intrigued by the image, according to Ars Technica.
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