Short Takes – 6-27-25

China’s Shenzhou-20 astronauts complete second spacewalk to enhance Tiangong space station. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “On June 17, China conducted a pad abort test for its new-generation Mengzhou spacecraft. The low Earth orbit variant of Mengzhou will be able to carry 6-7 astronauts to Tiangong, launching on a new Long March 10A rocket currently in development. While the space station currently hosts crews of three for six-month-long rotations, China is planning to expand the three-module orbital outpost with further modules in the coming years.”

We’re learning more about what weight-loss drugs do to the body. TechnologyReview.com article. Pull quote: “There are other concerns. Weight-loss drugs can help people trim down on fat, but lean muscle can make up around 10% of the body weight lost by people taking them. That muscle is important, especially as we get older. Muscle loss can affect strength and mobility, and it also can also leave people more vulnerable to falls, which are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.”

An exceedingly rare asteroid flyby will happen soon, but NASA may be left on the sidelines. ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: “Other choices, including dragging dual space probes out of storage, the Janus spacecraft, and other concepts that were submitted to NASA a year ago as part of a call for ideas, have already been rejected or simply left on the table. As a result, NASA currently has no plans to study what will be the most important asteroid encounter since the formation of the space agency.”

Trump’s latest rejection of intelligence assessments reflects a long distrust of spy agencies. WSAV.com article. Pull quote: “Given Trump’s skeptical view of intelligence officials, Pfeiffer said, “his initial instinct is to assume that if the intelligence community is telling him something different than he would like it to be, that it’s because they’re trying to undermine him.””