Short Takes – 3-24-25

Fram2 Selects 22 Science and Research Experiments to Further LongDuration Space Exploration. F2.com press release. Pull quote: “Fram2 is the first polar-orbit human spaceflight mission designed to fly over the Earth’s polar regions. It is named after the Fram ship, which was built in the 1800s and helped explorers first reach the Earth’s polar regions. Fram is Norwegian for “Forward” and was the name of the legendary ship designed to function in the icy polar waters used by some of the first crews to explore the Arctic in the late 1800s. The Fram2 crew consists of Mission Commander Chun Wang, Vehicle Commander Jannicke Mikkelsen, Mission Pilot Rabea Rogge, and Mission Specialist and Medical Officer Eric Philips. Each crewmember has significant experience exploring and capturing the polar regions and brings a unique expertise and perspective to support Fram2.”

Xofluza better for treating bird flu than Tamiflu, in mice. CEN.ACS.org article. Pull quote: “Mehle also notes that the US government funded the initial research behind Xofluza’s target in the 1970s and ’80s. “The ability of Xofluza to inhibit a brand-new virus strain that threatens the human population is the perfect example of how fundamental research programs have boosted our pandemic preparedness,” he says.”

Concerns about espionage rise as Trump and Musk fire thousands of federal workers. APNews.com article. Pull quote: “One particularly novel concern involves the fear that a foreign agent could set up a fake job interview and hire former federal officials as “consultants” to a fake company. The former federal workers would be paid for their expertise without even knowing they were supplying information to an enemy. Russia has paid unwitting Americans to do its business before.”

Europe’s War in Ukraine. ForeignAffairs.com article. Pull quote: “The fundamental question underpinning Europe’s ability to shoulder the burden of its security—beyond the extent to which this effort is actively obstructed by U.S. policy—is will. As already mentioned, funding existing European commitments to NATO would have brought spending above three percent of GDP for most members. Achieving a rapid expansion of defense industrial capability to sustain Ukraine in addition to regenerating military forces would see the cost grow even higher. So far, European states have been reluctant to commit resources.”

Shenzhou-19 astronauts complete third spacewalk, install final debris shielding on Tiangong. Spacenews.com article. Pull quote: “Cai and Song installed space debris protective shielding to the outside of the Wentian module, completing the deployment of shielding carried out across a series of missions and EVAs. The pair also installed extravehicular auxiliary facilities and conducted inspection of extravehicular equipment and systems. The latter task included Cai riding Tiangong’s robotic arm to the specific points on the space station’s exterior, conducting photographic inspections.”

Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Federal Register FDA meeting notice. Summary: “In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announces the following meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This meeting is open to the public. Time will be available for public comment.” Meeting date: April 15^th, 2025.

Firefly Aerospace Selects Blue Origin’s Honeybee Robotics to Provide Rover for Lunar Mission to Gruithuisen Domes. FireFlySpace.com press release. Pull quote: “As part of Firefly’s third mission to the Moon, Honeybee’s rover will help investigate the subsurface composition of the Gruithuisen Gamma Dome carrying elements of NASA’s Lunar Vulkan Imaging and Spectroscopy Explorer (Lunar-VISE) suite. Lunar-VISE has multiple instruments, including two cameras attached to Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander that will characterize the landing site and rover traverse as well as an infrared multi-spectral camera system and a spectrometer attached to Honeybee’s rover that will measure gamma ray and neutron emissions.”