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NASA’s mega moon rocket is ‘unaffordable,’ according to accountability report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

(CNN) — Senior NASA officials say that the agency’s Space Launch System — the massive rocket designed to propel its ambitious Artemis program to establish a base on the moon — is “unaffordable,” according to a report Thursday from the US Government Accountability Office.The report, which breaks down SLS program expenditures, makes the striking admission that senior NASA officials deem the rocket to be unsustainable “at current cost levels,” and it criticizes what the GAO said is a lack of transparency into the program’s ongoing costs. The report does not name which officials — or how many — at NASA made such claims.A spokesperson at NASA’s headquarters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.However, the GAO report does state that NASA “recognizes the need to improve the affordability.”“With input from NASA management, the SLS program has developed a roadmap outlining short-term and long-term strategies that it hopes will result in future cost savings,” the report ...

The first experiment to produce oxygen on another planet has come to an end

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

(CNN) — The first experiment to produce oxygen on another planet has come to an end on Mars after exceeding NASA’s initial goals and demonstrating capabilities that could help future astronauts explore the red planet.The microwave-size device called MOXIE, or Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, is on the Perseverance rover.The experiment kicked off more than two years ago, a few months after the rover landed on Mars. Since then, MOXIE has generated 122 grams of oxygen, equal to what a small dog breathes in 10 hours, according to NASA. The instrument works by converting some of Mars’ plentiful carbon dioxide into oxygen.During the peak of its efficiency, MOXIE produced 12 grams of oxygen an hour at 98% purity or better, which is twice as much as NASA’s goals for the instrument. On August 7, MOXIE operated for the 16th and final time, having completed all its requirements.“We’re proud to have supported a breakthrough technology like MOXIE that could turn local resourc...

Finnish government and top ministers survive confidence votes over racism scandals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

Finland’s government, as well as Finance Minister Riikka Purra and Economy Minister Wille Rydman, survived votes of confidence on Friday after the far-right Finns Party — a governing coalition member — was ensnared in repeated racism scandals this summer.Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s government survived the vote of no confidence after 106 MPs continued to express their support, while 65 voted against. Some 21 MPs submitted blank voting forms and 7 MPs were absent during the entire voting session on Friday. Both far-right populist Finns Party ministers — who have been under fire for making racist slurs and xenophobic remarks — also remain in office. Purra won the vote of confidence by 104 to 65 votes, while 23 MPs handed in blank ballots, Finnish media reported. Rydman’s result was similar, the only difference being that he received the support of two more MPs than Purra.The Finnish opposition called for votes of confidence on Wednesday, after fierce discussions on the go...

Police investigating after bicyclist struck on Southampton Street in Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

Boston police are investigating after a vehicle struck a bicyclist on Southampton Street in Boston late Thursday night. Officers responding to a report of a cyclist struck at the intersection of Southampton and Ellery streets around 11 p.m. found the bicyclist suffering from life-threatening injuries, according to Boston police.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Pedestrian suffers life-threatening injuries after being struck on Stuart Street in Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

An investigation got underway on Stuart Street in Boston overnight after police say a pedestrian was struck and critically injured by a vehicle.Officers responding to a report of a pedestrian struck around 12:15 a.m. Friday found the victim suffering from life-threatening injuries, according to Boston police.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Hurricane Lee barrels through open Atlantic waters as the season’s first Category 5 storm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Lee on Friday charged through warm Atlantic waters as the season’s first Category 5 storm, threatening to unleash heavy swells across the northeast Caribbean.The hurricane is not expected to make landfall, but meteorologists warned it would generate dangerous waves of up to 15 feet (5 meters) across the northern coast of Puerto Rico and other nearby islands. While Lee is on a path that would take it a couple hundred miles (kilometers) northeast of the Caribbean, tropical storm conditions are not forecast for the region.“Although the hurricane is incredibly powerful, its wind field is not particularly large,” the National Hurricane Center said.The hurricane was located about 630 miles (1,015 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands. It had winds of up to 165 miles per hour (270 kilometers per hour) and was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph).Lee is expected to keep strengthening and reach winds of up to 180 m...

Dana Evans will debut new Jordan shoes — designed to reflect the Chicago Sky guard’s style — in tonight’s home finale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

Chicago Sky guard Dana Evans remembers when her love of sneakers began.While playing basketball in elementary school, she found herself attracted to “funky colors” that didn’t match her uniform.“I like to stand out on the court. I’ve always been like that,” she told the Tribune. “My favorite pair that started me on the path of being different was probably customizing my Nike Hyperdunks in all pink.”Evans’ love of sneakers will reach a new height in the Sky’s final regular-season home game Friday against the Minnesota Lynx at Wintrust Arena. She will debut her Jordan Luka 2 player edition (PE) shoe, “The Intro,” a special colorway made for Evans of Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić’s second signature shoe. To celebrate the occasion, the first 400 fans will receive a sky blue T-shirt with Evans’ DE11 logo.For Evans, the shoe is a dream come true.“It means a lot because I like to express...

India seeks a greater voice for the developing world at G20 but the Ukraine war may overshadow talks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — It’s never been easy for the leaders of the world’s largest economies to find common ground, but Russia’s war on Ukraine has made it even harder for the Group of 20 meeting to reach meaningful agreements this year.Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this year’s host, has pledged Ukraine won’t overshadow his focus on the needs of developing nations in the so-called Global South, but the war has proved hard to ignore. As leaders began arriving Friday, Indian diplomats were still trying to find compromise language for a joint communique. Ending the summit without such a statement would underscore how strained relations are among the world’s major powers — and tarnish the image Modi has been trying to cultivate of India as a global problem solver.“New Delhi will not want to distract from the main agenda, which is to address issues of concern for the Global South,” said Nazia Hussain, an associate research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of Intern...

Rescuers may soon try to remove a sick American researcher from 3,000 feet down in a Turkish cave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

TASELI PLATEAU, Turkey (AP) — An American researcher who fell ill almost 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below the entrance of a cave in Turkey has recovered sufficiently for rescue teams to start the process of moving him out, an operation that could last three or four days, a Turkish official was quoted as saying on Friday.Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver, suddenly became ill with stomach bleeding during an expedition with a handful of others in the Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains. Rescuers from across Europe have rushed there to help treat Dickey and to extract him from the cave.“The doctors we sent down were very successful in treating him,” Cenk Yildiz, a regional official from Turkey’s disaster relief agency, AFAD, told the IHA news agency. “We are now in a position to evacuate him.”“This is a difficult operation. It would take a (healthy) person 16 hours to come out. This operation will last at least three or four days,” Yildiz said. “Our prio...

Weekend need to know: TIFF, Drive Fest, Yorkville Run; TTC/road closures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:34:44 GMT

The red carpet is rolled out once again for the Toronto International Film Festival while dual strikes by Hollywood writers and actors are ongoing.Other events are happening in and around the city such as the annual Constantine Yorkville Run, Taste of North York, Taste of The Kingsway, and Drive Fest in Bowmanville.There are no scheduled subway closures this weekend, but there is a late subway opening scheduled on part of Line 2. Road closures also continue around the city for events and construction.Here’s what to do this weekend:Top eventsToronto International Film FestivalThe Toronto International Film Festival kicked off on Thursday on King West and runs until September 17.The festival is happening while dual strikes by Hollywood writers and actors are ongoing.Star-filled premieres and parties remain low due to this work stoppage by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of America.However, some celebrities are exp...