Notices by AkaSci 🛰️ (akasci@fosstodon.org)

The NASA Artemis II mission is targeted for launch as early as Feb. 6.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen will complete a 10-day journey around the Moon and back (no moon landing) to test systems and hardware, in preparation for future lunar landing missions.

It will be the first crewed mission to the vicinity of the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

Launch vehicle: Space Launch System (SLS)
Spacecraft: Orion

https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-invites-media-to-cover-artemis-mission-from-johnson-space-center/
1/n

Trump announced, on social media, that countries that do business with Iran will face a new 25% tariff.

Meaning that American consumers will pay an extra 25% on goods from countries like China and India.

"Trump did not define what qualifies as “doing business” with Iran. Not clear how these new tariffs could work, which countries would be targeted and whether services would also face higher duties."

The mullahs must be quaking in their boots :eyeroll:
https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/12/business/tariffs-trump-iran?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
#UsPol
1/n

Israel is banning around 40 int'l aid orgs from entering Gaza and the West Bank because they failed to meet new security and transparency standards.

Groups like MSF (Doctors w/o Borders), Oxfam, the Norwegian Refugee Council, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, and Rahma Worldwide.

The Israeli has demanded these orgs to provide full disclosure of the identities and roles of their employees, which they have refused to do.

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/11/g-s1-105070/gaza-msf-clinic-israel-aid-groups-ban
https://www.un.org/unispal/document/53-international-ngos-warn-israels-recent-registration-measures-will-impede-critical-humanitarian-action-non-un-document/

SpainSat NG II satellite, owned by Hisdesat and launched on 23 October, 2025, was hit by a "space particle" during orbit raising.

The extent of the damage is unknown but the Jan 2 press release says that "If necessary, SpainSat NG II will be replaced as soon as possible."

The impact occurred at 50,000 km, not LEO. 50,000 km is odd since geostationary orbit altitude = 35,786 km (42,164 km from center of earth).

Space debris or space rock?

@sundogplanets
https://www.indragroup.com/en/news/the-spainsat-ng-ii-satellite-suffers-an-external-impact-during-transfer-to-its-orbital-position

"At least 40 people were killed in the U.S. attack on Venezuela early Saturday, including military personnel and civilians, according to a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe preliminary reports.

An airstrike hit a three-story civilian apartment complex in Catia La Mar and knocked out an exterior wall. The strike killed Rosa González, 80, her family said, and seriously wounded a second person."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/world/americas/venezuela-airstrike-civilian-deaths.html
#UsPol
8/n

Contrast the NYT op-ed with the fawning one in the WaPo -

"What happened in Caracas was a clear reminder that America’s military, intelligence and cyber capabilities are second to none.

This is a major victory for American interests.

Maduro’s removal sends an important message to tin-pot dictators in Latin America and the world: Trump follows through.

Trump offered Maduro several off-ramps. Instead, he will probably die in prison."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/01/03/venezuela-trump-maduro-operation-machado-next/
#USPol
5/n

The NYT has its faults, many of them, but its editorial board has been consistent in calling out the lawlessness of this White House.

"We will hold out hope that the current crisis will end less badly than we expect. We fear that the result of Mr. Trump’s adventurism is increased suffering for Venezuelans, rising regional instability and lasting damage for America’s interests around the world. We know that Mr. Trump’s warmongering violates the law."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/03/opinion/venezuela-attack-trump-us.html
#UsPol
4/n

21st century American imperialism.
#UsPol
7/n

"trump said the U.S. will run Venezuela until a proper transition can take place and that he wasn't afraid of boots on the ground.

U.S. oil companies will head to Venezuela to operate in their oil reserves. The military is set to attack again if necessary to secure the effort.

Oil money will go to Venezuela and the U.S. in the form of 'reimbursement for the damages caused us by that country.'"

trump is not supporting opposition leader María Corina Machado.

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/03/g-s1-104346/trump-venezuela-maduro-press-conference
#UsPol
6/n

Mike Luckovich, editorial cartoonist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, called it 2 weeks ago.

https://bsky.app/profile/mluckovich.bsky.social/post/3ma7lovcfdc2t
https://www.ajc.com/opinion/2025/12/mike-luckovich-raising-suspicion/
#UsPol
8/n

Republican leaders are on board and ready with some 'Jiggery-Pokery' nonsense to justify the "kinetic action" in Venezuela, calling it an act of self-defense.

#UsPol
3/n

"Trump announces that U.S. forces have carried out “a large scale strike against Venezuela” overnight and have captured (kidnapped) President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and flown them out of the country."

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01/03/world/trump-united-states-strikes-venezuela
#UsPol
1/n

Congressional approval? The regime couldn't care less.

News conference today at 11 a.m. by dear leader from Mar-a-Lago, congratulating himself for the "glorious war" for "peace" on earth, in the new year.
🚁 💥
Live updates at https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/venezuela-explosions-caracas-intl-hnk-01-03-26?t=1767435564663

#UsPol #Venezuela
2/n

CBS Evening News is replacing its 38-page handbook on journalistic ethics with a simple 5-point mission statement.

Bullet #4 is
"We love America.
And we make no apologies for saying so. Our foundational values of liberty, equality and the rule of law make us the last best hope on Earth ..."

Very very right-wingish and jingoistic. Probably dictated by the White House.

#UsPol
1/n

Mars rover Curiosity wishes all earthlings a Happy New Year.

Note that the Martian New year (year 0039) will begin on Sep 30, 2026.

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/curiosity-sends-holiday-postcard-from-mars/
1/n

Check out these unbelievably beautiful macro photographs of Slime Moulds by Barry Webb at https://www.barrywebbimages.co.uk/Images/Macro/Slime-Moulds-Myxomycetes

The photograph below of glistening, Comatricha nigra slime moulds won the People's Choice award in the macro category of the British Photography Awards 2025.

Also check out the macro images of fungi at https://www.barrywebbimages.co.uk/Images/Macro/Fungi

Barry's Instagram site: https://www.instagram.com/barrywebbimages/

More about slime moulds at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slime_mold
#Photography
1/n

Putin's personal envoy?
Gaslighter-in-chief?
?

#UsPol
1/n

Here is Elon again using his platform to fling poo and spread disinformation and propaganda to the MAGA masses, with zero regard to the truth, this time against Zohran Mamdani's appointment of Lillian Bonsignore as Commissioner of FDNY, the Fire Department of the City of New York.

Never mind that Bonsignore is a highly qualified person with over 30 years of experience at the FDNY EMS (Emergency Medical Services).

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/zohran-mamdani-fdny-commissioner-lillian-bonsignore/
1/n

In 1827, Mary Somerville was asked to translate LaPlace's Mécanique Céleste, which summed up the then current state of gravitational mathematics.

Somerville produced not just a translation, but a masterpiece aimed at reaching a larger audience by communicating the concepts clearly through simple illustrations and experiments.

The Mechanism of the Heavens (1831) was a tremendous success. It was set as a textbook for undergraduates at Cambridge until the 1880s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Somerville
2/n

Happy Birthday to Mary Somerville (26 Dec 1780 – 29 Nov 1872), the brilliant Scottish scientist, writer, mathematician and science writer.

The word scientist was coined for her.

In an era filled with great men of science but few women, she pioneered the art of presenting science in words that were engaging and accessible to a wide audience.

She predicted the presence of Neptune based on the perturbations of the orbit of Uranus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Somerville
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