Separate Russian space station now in doubt. Plus, the T. rex fight; the invasive spiders spreading through the U.S.; potato farmers try astronomical tourism
| In today’s newsletter, a separate Russian space station is now in doubt. Plus, the T. rex fight; the invasive spiders spreading through the U.S. … and scientific support for the idea our life really does pass before our eyes before we die. | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY IRINA SPECTOR/GCTC/NASA | | By Victoria Jaggard, SCIENCE Executive Editor
An astronaut returning from the International Space Station hardly ever makes headlines these days. After more than 20 years of operations, getting humans to and from orbit has become routine. But the world will be watching when NASA’s Mark Vande Hei (shown above) touches down at the end of March: He’s headed to Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz capsule in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Spacefaring nations including the U.S. and the U.K. swiftly condemned the invasion and imposed sanctions on Russia that are having widespread effects. For one, the Russian space agency Roscosmos operates one of the station’s core segments, prompting concern about continued cooperation on board.
Yes, among the far-reaching consequences of Moscow’s unprovoked attack may be disruptions in space exploration.
Of course, any worries about space missions pale in comparison to the tragedy unfolding on the ground, as Ukrainian people are forced to fight for their homes, take refuge in bunkers, and flee across borders. What’s more, the situation with the ISS has so far generated mostly bluster. Despite a fiery Twitter rant by the Roscosmos director-general, NASA is sticking to the cool but firm message that nothing on board the station will change.
A similar row erupted over the Atlas V rocket, a workhorse that has successfully launched multiple missions for NASA. These rockets use Russian-made engines. But rocket operator United Launch Alliance says they won’t be affected by sanctions since all the engines they need are already in the U.S., and they know how to use them.
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 | | IMAGE BY ESA | | However, the European Space Agency’s Mars ambitions may see a delay. The ExoMars rover (illustrated above) is a joint project between ESA and Roscosmos, and the invasion makes its planned launch this year very unlikely, ESA officials said Monday. Because of the planetary alignments needed, the next launch window for any Mars-bound craft won’t open until 2024.
The invasion’s biggest impact on spaceflight may actually be to Roscosmos, Eric Berger writes for Ars Technica. Russia’s space program was already facing monetary woes driven in part by a decline in U.S. dollars. NASA no longer needs Soyuz flights to get humans into orbit now that commercial spaceflight has taken off. And now there are heightened economic sanctions on Moscow.
“Without investment,” Berger writes, “the country is unlikely to be able to afford any semblance of deep-space activities or the creation of its own space station.”
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| Hidden colors: Your naked eye could not catch this view with the true colors of the Milky Way and diffuse nebulae. Photographer Babak Tafreshi used an astrophotography camera with a long exposure to get this view from the Canary Islands. “There is a physical explanation for every color in this image,” says Tafreshi, whose image yielded more than 140,000 likes on our Instagram page in a week. The technology is worlds apart from ancient astronomy, which mixed mythology with the science.
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 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK WIDHALM, FIELD MUSEUM LIBRARY/GETTY | | A Tyrannosaurus struggle: For more than two decades, the Field Museum in Chicago has displayed a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton nicknamed Sue (pictured above). But if a provocative new study is correct, Sue has been mislabeled. Three paleontologists argue that the T.rex should be broken into three species with two new names: T. regina and T. imperator, from the Latin for “queen” and “emperor.” Other Tyrannosaurus experts largely disagree. Read more about the controversy in Michael Greshko’s story.
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 | | ILLUSTRATION BY ANDREW FAZEKAS | | The moon and the planets: On Thursday and Friday morning, early risers looking toward the low southeast at dawn can catch the planets Saturn and Mercury in a tight conjunction (illustrated, above left). Don’t forget to check out two more bright planets, Venus and Mars, a bit higher in the sky, too. Early Monday evening, watch the waxing crescent moon pair with Uranus in the southwest; use binoculars to hunt down the faint green planet (pictured, at upper right). Read more about the small wonders unlocking the secrets of our solar system. — Andrew Fazekas
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 | | Comedy is always a good way of communicating science to people. Science has a really big image problem and part of that is because we don’t know how to talk to people. … Who cares if we dumb down so long as we are not communicating incorrect information? | | | Ella Al-Shamahi
| | Paleontologist, stand-up comic, Nat Geo Explorer | | |
 | | PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL SALOPEK | | Wishing on the stars: In the remote Chinese village of Geomeigu, humble farmhouse walls are decorated with gaudy murals of planets, solar systems, and comets. A cistern is reimagined as a flying saucer (pictured above). The potato farming community—home to the largest optical telescope in China— is banking on its observatory, high elevation, dark starry nights, and lack of light pollution to become a hub for astronomical tourism. “In the future, the plan is to make our village famous as China’s best Starry Sky Town,” the manager of the village guesthouse tells Nat Geo Explorer Paul Salopek.
The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, has funded Nat Geo Explorer Paul Salopek and his Out of Eden Walk project since 2013. Explore the project here.
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This newsletter has been curated and edited by Monica Williams, David Beard, and Jen Tse. Have an idea or a link? We'd love to hear from you at david.beard@natgeo.com. | |
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