I’m on the hunt for a rock that won’t crumble when I core it. Luckily, there are many rocks to choose from in this area called “Citadelle.” https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/325/the-next-steps-for-sampling-on-perseverance/ https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere/status/1428422303935721472?s=20

We may see more and more of these orbital smashups in the coming years. Yunhai 1-02's wounds are not self-inflicted. In March, the U.S. Space Force's 18th Space Control Squadron (18SPCS) reported the breakup of Yunhai 1-02, a Chinese military satellite that launched in September 2019. It was unclear at the time whether the spacecraft had suffered some sort of failure — an explosion in its propulsion system, perhaps — or if it had collided with something in orbit. We now know that the latter explanation is correct, thanks to some sleuthing by astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, who's based at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. https://www.space.com/space-junk-collision-chinese-satellite-yunhai-1-02?&&-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&-9324-4B91-8682-C7300BAE5580&-bfe1-424d-99a2-4e51be154492

Update on my first sampling attempt: looks like the rock I drilled was too crumbly and broke into small fragments/powder, instead of producing an intact core. Pushing ahead to find my next target, expected to be more like rocks we cored on Earth. https://twitter.com/NASAPersevere/status/1425550518718394369 https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/320/assessing-perseverances-first-sample-attempt/?fbclid=IwAR3dbxS6OVuDUcTkB-q-xinKuwIn1yMmxdqKpzrgsIinZhNxN1tz-Whu5A4 https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/mission/status/319/on-the-eve-of-perseverances-first-sample/

Because of anticipated delays in spacesuit development, it is "not feasible" for NASA to land humans on the moon by the agency's hopeful deadline of 2024, a new report from the agency's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has found. https://oig.nasa.gov/docs/IG-21-025.pdf "These delays — attributable to funding shortfalls, COVID-19 impacts, and technical challenges — have left no schedule margin for delivery of the two flight-ready xEMUs," the report reads. The audit found, in analyzing the suit development at Johnson Space Center in Texas and Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, reviewing NASA finances, program planning and budgeting and more, that "the suits would not be ready for flight until April 2025 at the earliest." https://www.space.com/nasa-moon-landing-2024-spacesuit-oig-feasibility?&&-C57F-4CD3-9A5A-609994E2C5A9&-73B5-4B82-AFDD-357B27769143&-bfe1-424d-99a2-4e51be154492

The Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report addresses the most up-to-date physical understanding of the climate system and climate change, bringing together the latest advances in climate science, and combining multiple lines of evidence from paleoclimate, observations, process understanding, and global and regional climate simulations. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ Changing by the artist Alisa Singer "As we witness our planet transforming around us we watch, listen, measure … respond."

Pale Blue Dot is the farthest photograph of planet Earth ever taken. It was taken on February 14, 1990, by the Voyager 1 space probe from a record distance of about 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles, 40.5 AU), as part of the Family Portrait series of images of the Solar System. In the photograph, Earth's apparent size is less than a pixel; the planet appears as a tiny dot against the vastness of space, among bands of sunlight scattered by the camera's optics. Voyager 1, which had completed its primary mission and was leaving the Solar System, was commanded by NASA to turn its camera around and take one last photograph of Earth across a great expanse of space, at the request of astronomer and author Carl Sagan.

“NATURE ONCE DETERMINED HOW WE SURVIVE… NOW, WE DETERMINE HOW NATURE SURVIVES “ - Sir David Attenborough says at Our Planet Premiere Whatever your opinion or stance on this topic might be, we hope you understand the purpose of this short video and that will encourage you to watch and share “OUR PLANET” and many films alike. Based on the Natural History Series #OurPlanet by WWF | Netflix | Sliverback Films

Breaking Boundaries tells the story of the most important scientific discovery of our time - that humanity has pushed Earth beyond the boundaries that have kept Earth stable for 10,000 years, since the dawn of civilization. The 75-minute film takes the audience on a journey of discovery of planetary thresholds we must not exceed, not just for the stability of our planet, but for the future of humanity. It offers up the solutions we can and must put in place now if we are to protect Earth’s life support systems.

The rover continues to explore Jezero Crater while the team assesses today’s activities. Data sent to Earth by NASA’s Perseverance rover after its first attempt to collect a rock sample on Mars and seal it in a sample tube indicate that no rock was collected during the initial sampling activity. The rover carries 43 titanium sample tubes and is exploring Jezero Crater, where it will be gathering samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and dust) for future analysis on Earth. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-perseverance-team-assessing-first-mars-sampling-attempt

Climate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points. The research found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents that researchers call the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The currents are already at their slowest point in at least 1,600 years, but the new analysis shows they may be nearing a shutdown. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/05/climate-crisis-scientists-spot-warning-signs-of-gulf-stream-collapse?fbclid=IwAR3Uvu8IqO1Mi7XmZ6WKVhZkYGHok3Y6DPAW_W-Bam528iuaF-5jJpnI3Yk https://futurism.com/the-byte/plot-the-day-after-tomorrow-actually-happening?fbclid=IwAR0k9_k9FBcAl_51E7-OoRVX9ape6P7kH1LKUD7HBqlQkK5qzwLCyK5sXP8

The AMOC - Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is driven by dense, salty seawater sinking into the Arctic ocean, but the melting of freshwater from Greenland’s ice sheet is slowing the process down earlier than climate models suggested. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01097-4 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01097-4.epdf?sharing_token=fCU6fed454HZQXSstMsezNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0ODQw4Na6S4LwvIIwjZ_S3NdBoG6pi8c5NBfIwoUKp1VAfbSfrMzrb0iHzsa8RoOriAyIbFfv2NdFYlOWAP_u8GNi04esr5H82r3z0JBGkkuwsvu-6bpKfEcF-5iB1_sCVs61ILuw6q94g_DwZOHjlpkultTrj9ulqdLxROydV5t5UVgBnF_8rDV-2LgnpXLA6v_sbVXov8NKNev5p3XglX5zT81srM7M-A0QtTPYbmfoDSaEuHhIVTlg3e5hhEOsWxX09KTKA0l8vJVgSaEIbx6GtlX5PpAQ49qzG_Y0s-BiVt8_evjuQaI8ulFvZQQ9X8_1f1tIIMQbbMiZMWM0LreXvyEYeut9veZJ_eVTyZBsnw_nD23e0OkyEKbkdV939FkrObLSKJbT20DTD3eKRl&tracking_referrer=www.theguardian.com

Breaking Boundaries tells the story of the most important scientific discovery of our time - that humanity has pushed Earth beyond the boundaries that have kept Earth stable for 10,000 years, since the dawn of civilization. The 75-minute film takes the audience on a journey of discovery of planetary thresholds we must not exceed, not just for the stability of our planet, but for the future of humanity. It offers up the solutions we can and must put in place now if we are to protect Earth’s life support systems.

Astronomy and Astrophysics Abstract Context. Reports on the detection of methane in the Martian atmosphere have motivated numerous studies aiming to confirm or explain its presence on a planet where it might imply a biogenic or more likely a geophysical origin. Aims. Our intent is to complement and improve on the previously reported detection attempts by the Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) on board the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO). This latter study reported the results of a campaign that was a few months in length, and was significantly hindered by a dusty period that impaired detection performances. Methods. We unveil 640 solar occultation measurements gathering 1.44 Martian years worth of data produced by the ACS. Results. No methane was detected. https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2021/06/aa40389-21/aa40389-21.html https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8976/first-you-see-it-then-you-dont-scientists-closer-to-explaining-mars-methane-mystery/?fbclid=IwAR2Mgf0VGloD6KJZu9-hJKYnxBiAFtTApBX-ykROdTWbUllv2Hehitq7lwM#.YPq4iOpPM0s.facebook https://www.space.com/exomars-orbiter-no-methane-on-mars?&&&+&&m_i=zsAzeI54rX3Pe_TIgm_VFGnMPwEriNmMTp9YsX3ofUXgEWm_X4uEq9PU5Q7UH8i76DieROCTGXDVpC6vJmmZhfbrwX_aaVT_9SEyw1Wzzw&lrh=edaf1a4ffd73a80ad5c91ba8edf4edca278f1868b88d020d5892b61a0cafb337&M_BT=4085303886639