One passenger died from a suspected heart attack and 30 others were injured when a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore encountered severe turbulence, prompting the plane to divert to Bangkok.
China sent three astronauts to the Tiangong space station for a six-month mission. The spacecraft Shenzhou-18, carrying the astronauts, lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The astronauts included Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu, all former air force pilots. Tiangong can house a maximum of three astronauts for months at an orbital altitude of up to 450 km. China has been launching two crewed missions to Tiangong per year since 2021.
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The first total solar eclipse in seven years was visible in Mexico, with the path of totality stretching through the United States and Canada. The eclipse lasted up to 4 1/2 minutes, with eerie effects leading up to totality. Over 32 million people in the U.S. live within the path of totality, with experts recommending the use of protective solar glasses. Eclipses can last anywhere from 10 seconds to 7-1/2 minutes.
A total solar eclipse will occur over a heavily populated area of North America, lasting up to 4 minutes and 28 seconds. The eclipse will be visible along a path starting in Mexico, crossing through the United States, and into Canada. Millions of people are expected to witness the event, with some cities along the path of totality including Mazatlan, San Antonio, and Montreal. Eclipse viewers are advised to use protective solar glasses to prevent eye damage. Eclipse veterans describe the moments before totality as foreboding, with shadows becoming crisp and sunshine taking on an eerie quality.
The Air Swipe Bag, a collaboration between Coperni and Professor Ioannis Michaloudis, debuted at Coperni’s Fall/Winter 2024 runway show during Paris Fashion Week. The bag is made from silica aerogel, a material developed by NASA and known as the lightest solid material on Earth. Michaloudis, who is the founding dean at the American University of Cyprus, has been exploring the use of silica aerogel in art and fashion. The Air Swipe Bag, crafted in just 90 days, is lightweight, nearly transparent, and durable, capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and pressures. Its light-blue color is due to light refracting through the material’s nanopores. The project highlights the potential for interdisciplinary collaboration between science and art, aiming to redefine design boundaries and promote sustainability in fashion.
Elon Musk stated in a video interview that his ketamine prescription has been beneficial for Tesla’s investors, as it helps him manage a condition similar to depression. He mentioned that from Wall Street’s perspective, execution is what matters and argued that Tesla’s valuation is as much as the rest of the car industry combined. A Wall Street Journal investigation had previously reported Musk’s use of drugs, raising concerns about potential violations of federal policies that could affect SpaceX’s government contracts. Musk responded to these concerns by stating he agreed to three years of random drug testing by NASA, with no trace quantities of drugs or alcohol found. He confirmed having a doctor’s prescription for ketamine, taking a small amount every other week.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket, aimed at future astronaut missions to the moon and beyond, nearly completed a full test flight on its third attempt, cruising through low orbit before being destroyed upon return to Earth. The spacecraft lost communication during atmospheric re-entry and was presumed lost either due to burning up, disintegration, or crashing into the sea. Despite this, the test marked a significant step in the development of Starship, crucial for both SpaceX’s satellite launch business and NASA’s moon program. The two-stage spacecraft, composed of the Starship vessel and Super Heavy rocket booster, launched from Texas, reaching altitudes of 145 miles (234 km). SpaceX’s approach involves pushing spacecraft to failure to refine improvements, indicating Starship is still far from operational readiness. Elon Musk envisions Starship for lunar and Mars missions and as a replacement for the Falcon 9 rocket in commercial launches.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket, aimed for moon and beyond missions, nearly completed a test flight but disintegrated upon re-entry to Earth. This was its third attempt, achieving further progress than previous tries. The spacecraft lost communication during re-entry near the Indian Ocean, an hour after launching from Texas. Despite not attempting a core objective of re-igniting one of its engines, the test flight achieved several goals including successful stage separation, payload door operation in orbit, and propellant transfer in space. However, it failed to demonstrate the return of its Super Heavy rocket booster, a key part of SpaceX’s reusability strategy. SpaceX plans at least six more test flights this year, pending regulatory approval. The company must report and correct failures before each new flight as per Federal Aviation Administration requirements. Starship is central to SpaceX’s future goals and NASA’s Artemis moon program.
A spacecraft built and flown by Texas-based company Intuitive Machines successfully landed near the moon’s south pole, marking the first U.S. touchdown on the lunar surface in over fifty years and the first ever by the private sector. The landing, which took place at about 6:23 p.m. EST, involved the uncrewed six-legged robot lander named Odysseus. This event is part of NASA’s goal to send commercially flown spacecraft for scientific missions to the moon ahead of a planned return of astronauts later this decade. Initial communications issues raised concerns about the lander’s condition, but it was later confirmed that Odysseus is upright and transmitting data. The landing site is believed to be at a crater named Malapert A near the moon’s south pole. This mission represents the first controlled descent to the lunar surface by a U.S. spacecraft since Apollo 17 in 1972 and is a significant milestone under NASA’s Artemis lunar program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon and eventually conduct human flights to Mars.
NASA’s miniature robot helicopter Ingenuity, which achieved the first powered flight on another planet in 2021, can no longer fly, marking the end of its mission. Ingenuity experienced communication issues and had a bent carbon fiber rotor blade. Originally intended for a 30-day mission with five flights, Ingenuity completed 72 flights over nearly three years, flying a distance 14 times greater than initially planned.