Swapna Krishna

Ok here’s the thing — Mike absolutely asked me about this and I forgot completely and then I’m driving and listening to the audiobook (I bought both to alternate between the two because EMILY WOO ZELLER how could I not) and I heard “Vice Admiral Swapna Krishna” and I was like wait WHAT

Here’s the thing about Pluto. I don’t care if it’s a planet. I do care if there’s a clear scientific definition of a planet, whether that encompasses Pluto or not.

Plus, given that Pluto is the only planet (and to be clear, it’s still a planet! It’s just a dwarf planet) discovered by an American, this whole thing feels very political at a time when NASA’s science budget is being slashed.

Here’s the thing about Pluto. I don’t care if it’s a planet. I do care if there’s a clear scientific definition of a planet, whether that encompasses Pluto or not.

If the scientific community expands the definition of a planet to include Pluto, that’s great. But that definition should then also include similar bodies like Eris and Ceres as planets.

This rather creepy photo is Artemis II’s heat shield underwater, as taken by the U.S. Navy. This is the first photo we have of the heat shield, and upon initial examination it doesn’t seem to have the char loss that Artemis I’s had.

(If you want to read the release yourself: www.nasa.gov/missions/nas...)

NASA's Office of the Inspector General issued a report today on the status of the spacesuits that will both replace the aging suits on the ISS and be the suits used on the lunar landing. We've known it's delayed, and this report doesn't refute that.

Basically it says that if the new spacesuits (built by Axiom) adhere to the same schedule as previous spacesuits, they won't be ready until 2031. That being said, Axiom is taking steps to reduce delays -- but even so it's not looking likely they'll be ready for a 2028 landing

Voyager 1 has had another instrument shutdown. On Friday, the team at JPL sent the command to shut off of the low energy charged particle instrument. That means that there are now only two operational science instruments on the spacecraft. science.nasa.gov/blogs/voyage...

The spacecraft operates on what are basically nuclear batteries — radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs) that convert decaying isotopes into electricity. That means that there as there’s less material to work with, Voyager 1 loses around 4 watts of power every year.

My 7 year old has been working on something secret for a few days. This afternoon he came into my office with this.

Oh and here’s what’s on the back

My 7 year old has been working on something secret for a few days. This afternoon he came into my office with this.

If you're confused about skip entry (Artemis I) vs loft entry (Artemis II) for the heat shield (www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...) this imagery from NASA might help: