Plus: New COVID-19 variant of concern; universal income's origins
| | | | Top headlines Lead story For the first time since the Apollo era, the United States is sending a crewed mission around the Moon. Launching as early as Wednesday evening, NASA's Artemis II mission will take four astronauts on a 10-day journey that will start by testing out their spacecraft's systems in Earth's orbit and, if all goes well, taking a loop around the Moon. The mission is part of NASA's larger Artemis program, which has the goal of setting up a lunar base and a sustained human presence on the surface in the 2030s. The program has moved slowly forward, after both Artemis II and its predecessor, the uncrewed Artemis I mission, faced years of delays. NASA's new administrator, Jared Isaacman, announced major changes to the program over the past month, including more launches and two lunar landings in 2028. University of Mississippi space law expert Michelle Hanlon explains how these changes, and the Artemis II mission, reflect the growing strategic importance of space exploration from an economic, scientific and technological standpoint. The first countries to build infrastructure like a nuclear reactor or base will have more say in where on the surface they can conduct research or mining. One final note: Our daily work is made possible by the support of generous readers like you. Please consider donating monthly to The Conversation to provide us with gifts we can rely on during these uncertain times. Thank you! |  | Mary Magnuson Associate Science Editor | | | |  NASA's Space Launch System rocket that will take an astronaut crew around the Moon rolls out to the launchpad. Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images Michelle L.D. Hanlon, University of Mississippi It's about more than just beating China. As a space lawyer puts it, a Moon base would come with strategic, economic and scientific advantages. | Health + Medicine | -
Kyle B. Enfield, University of Virginia The current COVID-19 vaccine does not match the strain that's now becoming dominant in the US, which could lead to a rise in COVID-19 cases. | | Economy + Business | -
Will Glovinsky, Binghamton University, State University of New York Today's basic income proponents say cash payments would be good for everyone. In the 1790s, the idea's inventor argued something else: It was owed to everyone. | | Ethics + Religion | -
Bryan Kirschen, Binghamton University, State University of New York For some Sephardic Jews today, holidays provide a rare opportunity to hear the now-endangered Judeo-Spanish language. -
Mary Thurlkill, University of Mississippi In Shiite Islam, grief is not only personal but collective − expressed through rituals, pilgrimage and devotion to saints. | | Environment + Energy | -
Dan Salas, University of Illinois Chicago The administration plans to activate a committee with the power to override the Endangered Species Act. There's a reason it's called the 'God Squad.' | | Science + Technology | -
Ari Berkowitz, University of Oklahoma Genetic testing is now required to participate in women's events in the Olympics. But the new policy oversimplifies biological sex and risks unwitting discrimination against some female athletes. -
Nara Parameswaran, Michigan State University When the Trump administration took aim at higher education and the scientific research enterprise, a university dean had to figure out on the fly how to support scientists and their work at his school. -
Zachary Slepian, University of Florida While direct evidence of multiple universes is hard to come by, indirect evidence raises intriguing possibilities. | | Politics + Society | -
Maya Mueller, Drexel University; Isaac Quaye, Temple University Researchers are using machine learning models to identify gentrification in imagery. Community insights help keep the models on track | | | | Reader Comments 💬 |
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"The ethics of how the AI was trained to write ... is a question somewhat separate from its utility (thinking here of early medical research), but one that certainly needs to be settled through one or more class action lawsuits." – Reader Craig Rickett on the story If using ChatGPT is cheating, what about ghostwriting? The old debate behind a new panic More of The ConversationLike this newsletter? You might be interested in our other emails: Follow us on social media: Tell your friends about us! Forward this email to them so they can sample our journalism. About The ConversationWe're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you.
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