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Fiction Science Club

AI could make alien contact easier for ‘Project Hail Mary’

Production still from "Project Hail Mary," showing astronaut silhouetted against green and orange planet
An astronaut ventures outside his spacecraft near an alien planet in a scene from "Project Hail Mary." (Sony Pictures / Amazon MGM)

“Project Hail Mary,” a science-fiction novel that’s just been turned into a big-budget, big-screen movie, tells the story of an unlikely astronaut who unexpectedly encounters an alien during a desperate mission to save their respective civilizations.

The astronaut (played by Ryan Gosling in the movie) and the alien have to figure out on the spot whether they’re friends or foes. They also have to come up with a translation system that can accommodate two completely different ways of communicating.

That all makes for a do-or-die space drama reminiscent of “Apollo 13” — but the day is fast approaching when advances in astronomy and artificial intelligence could take a lot of the drama out of alien contact.

Seth Shostak, senior astronomer for the SETI Institute, says he wouldn’t be at all surprised if our first encounter with aliens came in the form of AI-to-AI contact.

“My guess is that the aliens are going to be machines, because that’s what we’re doing, right?” he says in the latest episode of the Fiction Science podcast. “We’re just in the early days of building machines that can do things that humans have had to do in the past. I’m sure that 100 years from now, the most capable intelligence on this planet will not be some sort of soft and squishy biological thing. That’s going to be a machine. And so, if we hear the aliens, I suspect that it’s more than likely that they, too, will be machines.”

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Universe Today

Phew! NASA rules out asteroid smashup on the moon

Graphical comparison of 2024 YR4 lunar impact probabilities as of June 2025 and March 2026
An animated image shows how NASA has refined the probability of a 2032 lunar impact by asteroid 2024 YR4. The first image shows the range of the asteroid's potential locations based on observations made in the spring of 2025 (4.3% impact probability). The second image shows potential locations based on observations made in 2026 (zero percent probability). Credit: NASA / JPL Center for Near-Earth Object Studies.

Here’s one less thing to worry about — or to look forward to: NASA has ruled out any chance that an asteroid called 2024 YR4 will hit the moon in 2032. Last year, the uncertainty surrounding the space rock’s orbital path held out a slight chance of impact, but fresh observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope confirm that it’ll be a miss.

Based on JWST’s readings, which were collected on Feb. 18 and 26, experts from NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory say they expect 2024 YR4 to zoom past the lunar surface at a distance of 13,200 miles on Dec. 22, 2032.

Previous analyses of 2024 YR4’s orbital path were less precise, and had suggested that the asteroid had a 4.3% chance of lunar impact in 2032.

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GeekWire

A quick guide to the total lunar eclipse — and the weather

Three views of total lunar eclipse from March 14, 2025
A photo sequence shows the total lunar eclipse of March 14, 2025. (Sky & Telescope Photo / Edwin L. Aguirre and Imelda B. Joson).

Tonight’s full moon will turn into a red moon during the last total lunar eclipse we’ll be able to see for the next two years — but whether we’ll truly be able to see it with our own eyes depends on the weather. And that’s an iffy proposition for Pacific Northwest skywatchers.

The good news is that total lunar eclipses, unlike a total solar eclipse, can be seen from an entire hemisphere at a time. They occur when the orbital mechanics are just right for Earth to pass directly between the moon and the sun. For about an hour, Earth’s shadow blots out the sun’s rays, except for reddish wavelengths that are refracted by our planet’s atmosphere. That’s what lends the moon its blood-red color.

Tonight’s eclipse begins with a barely discernable penumbral phase at around 1:30 a.m. PT Tuesday, gets into its partial phase at 1:50 a.m. and enters totality at 3:04 a.m. The eclipse’s total phase ends at 4:03 a.m., and the partial phase winds down over the following hour or two.

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GeekWire

NASA overhauls moon plan — and Blue Origin may benefit

Illustration: Blue Moon lander on lunar surface
An artist’s conception shows the integrated design for the Blue Moon lander. (Blue Origin Illustration)

NASA is reworking its Artemis moon program to add a test mission for commercial lunar landers in low Earth orbit next year, with a crewed lunar landing to follow in 2028 at the earliest. The revised plan raises the profile of the Blue Moon lander that’s being built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture.

“We’re all in!” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a post to X.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who took up his post last December, announced the schedule shift today. “This is going to be our pathway back to the moon,” he said.

The next step in the pathway is the same as it has been: NASA is getting set to use its giant Space Launch System rocket to launch four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the moon in an Orion capsule. That Artemis 2 mission is currently set for no earlier than April, due to a helium leak that forced this week’s rocket rollback from the launch pad for troubleshooting.

NASA’s previous plan called for following up on Artemis 2 with a crewed lunar landing next year for Artemis 3. However, the development of the SpaceX Starship lander for that mission has proceeded more slowly than expected.

Under the revised architecture, Artemis 3 becomes a crewed orbital test for SpaceX’s Starship and/or Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. The mission could also test the next-generation spacesuits that are being developed for extravehicular activities. The Artemis program’s first crewed lunar landing would follow in 2028, presumably using either Starship or Blue Moon.

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Rubin Observatory revs up its astronomical alert system

Illustration: Data alerts on night sky with Rubin Observatory in the mountains below
Each night, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory issues thousands of alerts about changes in the night sky. (NOIRLab / NSF / DOE-SC Illustration)

An astronomical alert system developed at the University of Washington started off with a bang this week, sending out 800,000 notifications about moving asteroids, exploding stars and other celestial changes detected by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile.

That Feb. 24 surge was just the first wave. Eventually, the Alert Production Pipeline is expected to produce up to 7 million alerts per night. Astronomers will use the system to sift through the torrent of data, zeroing in on events ranging from newly detected asteroids to supernovas, variable stars and active galactic nuclei.

“Rubin’s alert system was designed to allow anyone to identify interesting astronomical events with enough notice to rapidly obtain time-critical follow-up observations,” Eric Bellm, a UW astronomer who leads the Alert Production Pipeline Group for the Rubin Observatory, said today in a news release. “Rubin will survey the sky at an unprecedented scale and allow us to find the most rare and unusual objects in the universe. We can’t wait to see the exciting science that comes from these data.”

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Cosmic Space

Moon rocket goes back to the garage for troubleshooting

SLS rocket and Orion crew spacecraft inside VAB
NASA has returned its Space Launch System rocket and Orion crew capsule to the Vehicle Assembly Building. (NASA Photo / Cory Huston)

NASA rolled the giant rocket that’s slated to launch four astronauts on a round-the-moon trip back to its garage today to troubleshoot a problem with its helium pressurization system.

The Space Launch System rocket, topped by an Orion crew capsule, returned to the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at about 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT), NASA said. It took more than 10 hours for NASA’s crawler-transporter to make the 4-mile trip from Launch Complex 39B.

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GeekWire

Sophia Space raises $10M for orbital computing systems

Illustration: Sophia Space data-processing satellite in orbit
An artist’s conception shows the Sophia 40 TILE satellite, with each tile powered by its own solar panel. (Sophia Space Illustration)

Sophia Space says it has closed a $10 million seed financing round to accelerate the development of orbital computing systems that could serve as the foundation for space-based data processing.

The startup’s tabletop-sized satellite modules, known as tiles, take advantage of a proprietary system that combines solar power generation and radiative cooling. Multiple tiles can be connected into racks to provide scalable computing power in low Earth orbit. The concept is called Thermal-Integrated LEO Edge, or TILE.

“With this seed round, we’re not just building compute modules,” Sophia Space CEO Rob DeMillo said today in a news release. “We’re building the infrastructure for the next era of space-based AI and data processing.”

The investment round was led by Alpha Funds, KDDI Green Partners Fund and Unlock Venture Partners — and builds upon $3.5 million in pre-seed investment. The newly raised cash will support the continued hiring of engineering talent, the further maturation of Sophia’s TILE platform and the formation of strategic partnerships in the orbital computing ecosystem.

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GeekWire

Helium problem forces NASA to delay moon mission

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and troubleshooting team at launch pad with SLS rocket in background
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, far left, accompanies a troubleshooting team at the Artemis 2 launch pad. (NASA Photo)

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says the giant rocket set to send four astronauts around the moon for the history-making Artemis 2 mission must be rolled back from its launch pad to troubleshoot a technical problem.

The 10-day mission, previously scheduled for as soon as March, is now postponed until April at the earliest. “I understand people are disappointed by this development,” Isaacman said in a posting to X. “That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA, who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor.”

The technical issue cropped up just days after a successful launch-pad rehearsal at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Data from the Space Launch System rocket’s upper stage registered an interruption in the flow of helium, which is used to pressurize the propellant tanks and purge the engines. “Last evening, the team was unable to get helium flow through the vehicle,” Isaacman wrote today. “This occurred during a routine operation to repressurize the system.”

Isaacman said the helium pressurization system worked correctly during this week’s wet dress rehearsal. For what it’s worth, a problem with a helium valve cropped up during preparations for the uncrewed Artemis 1 round-the-moon mission in 2022, leading NASA managers to take corrective actions.

The current problem could be due to a failure at any of several points in the helium system. “Regardless of the potential fault, accessing and remediating any of these issues can only be performed in the VAB,” said Isaacman, referring to the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building where the SLS and its Orion crew capsule were stacked for launch.

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GeekWire

NASA completes rehearsal for Artemis moon launch

SLS rocket illuminated by lights at launch pad
NASA's Space Launch System rocket stands on its Florida launch pad. (NASA Photo / Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA counted down to T-minus 29 seconds during a smooth rehearsal for a historic launch that could send astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than half a century.

The run-through at Launch Complex 39B, at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, was known as a wet dress rehearsal because it involved filling up the propellant tanks on NASA’s Space Launch System, a 322-foot-tall rocket that made its debut with 2022’s uncrewed Artemis 1 mission.

The only major component that was missing at the launch pad was the crew. NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, the commander for the Artemis 2 mission, said in a posting to X that he was watching the proceedings from Launch Control.

Once NASA reviews the results of the two-day rehearsal, mission managers will decide whether to give the final go-ahead for the Artemis 2 crew’s 10-day trip around the moon and back.

Lori Glaze, acting associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said the space agency is targeting March 6 for liftoff. “Every night I look at the moon, and I see it, and I get real excited because I can really feel she’s calling us,” she told reporters today. “And we’re ready.”

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Universe Today

Report blames NASA and Boeing for Starliner screw-ups

Starliner in the dark desert
Boeing’s Starliner space capsule sits in the New Mexico desert after its uncrewed return to Earth in 2024. (Boeing Photo)

Nearly two years after Boeing’s botched Starliner mission to the International Space Station, NASA put the mishap in the same category as the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle disasters — and said the spacecraft wouldn’t carry another crew until dozens of corrective actions are taken.

Based on the findings from an independent panel’s 311-page report, NASA classified the crewed test mission in 2024 as a Type A mishap, primarily because five of the thrusters in the Starliner spacecraft’s propulsion system failed during the capsule’s approach to the ISS. The crew was able to regain control of four of those thrusters, but NASA decided not to send astronauts back to Earth on the Starliner due to safety concerns.

Instead, the craft was flown back for a landing without crew, three months after the docking. The two astronauts who rode Starliner to orbit were stuck aboard the station for more than nine months while they waited for a ride back home inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule.

Today’s report faults NASA’s leadership as well as Boeing’s team for the mission’s failings.

“Starliner has design and engineering deficiencies that must be corrected, but the most troubling failure revealed by this investigation is not hardware,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, who took over as the space agency’s chief in December, wrote in a letter to NASA employees that was also posted to X. “It is decision-making and leadership that, if left unchecked, could create a culture incompatible with human spaceflight.”

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