Join NASA’s Mars Mission: Become a Potential Martian for a Yearlong Adventure

TFD – Experience the thrill of a lifetime with NASA’s Mars simulator mission. Become a potential Martian and embark on a yearlong adventure to the red planet.

Every year, millions of people visit America’s national parks, yet just a few locations consistently rank as the most well-liked. Renowned for its well-known treks and breathtaking meadows, the Great Smoky Mountains have maintained their position as the nation’s most visited park, with the Grand Canyon coming in second.

Here’s what more you should know to continue with your day and get up to speed.

1. The Moon Mission

The Odysseus lunar lander, often known as “Odie,” is the first spacecraft built in the United States to land on the moon in fifty years. Intuitive Machines, the company that developed Odie, reports that the unmanned lander is upright and beginning to transmit data. “I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface, and we are transmitting,” the company’s CEO Steve Altemus announced on a live webcast shortly after the touchdown. “Greetings from the moon.” Engineers had to overcome a series of navigation and communication challenges in order to pull off the difficult landing. The commercial spacecraft is designed to assess the lunar environment of the moon’s south pole ahead of NASA’s current plan to return a crewed mission there in late 2026.

2. A phone failure

The significant service outage that struck AT&T on Thursday, which prevented tens of thousands of Americans from using their phones, sending texts, or browsing the internet for almost twelve hours, has been fixed. Additionally, customers experienced difficulties getting through to emergency services, and at least one police department claimed that a temporary influx of people calling from cell phones to test if their calls would go through occurred on its 911 line. Over 70,000 users were impacted by the outage at one time, and many expressed doubts about whether malevolent behavior was to blame. AT&T said in a statement Thursday evening that the outage was caused “by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network, not a cyber attack.”

3. The presidential contest

South Carolina voters will head to the polls on Saturday for the state’s Republican primary election. Former President Donald Trump holds a wide lead among likely GOP voters, but his sole challenger, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, said she would “absolutely” remain in the race through Saturday’s contest in her home state. Performing well in primaries and caucuses equals delegates, and the larger goal is amassing the magic number of 1,215 delegates to win the party’s nomination. As of now, Trump has 63 delegates to Haley’s 17, with 50 at stake in South Carolina this weekend. On the Democratic side, South Carolina already delivered President Joe Biden his first official primary victory of the 2024 campaign on February 3.

4. The Ukraine

Residents of the first significant Ukrainian city to fall, on the eve of the invasion’s second anniversary, have called the Russian forces’ shelling the worst so yet. Wide areas of Ukraine are tense, yet artillery and drones continue to strike the liberated city of Kherson with unusual regularity, indicating that Russian forces are not experiencing the same ammunition shortages that Ukrainian troops claim they do. In a separate meeting on Thursday, President Biden announced that President Vladimir Putin, “who is responsible for his death,” will face penalties. The meeting was attended by the late opposition leader Alexey Navalny’s wife and daughter. Additionally, a US Treasury official stated that the government will apply fresh sanctions on over 500 targets today.

5. The Toyota recall

About 280,000 Toyota cars are being recalled by the automaker because they could “creep forward” in neutral. The automaker stated in a statement that “parts of the transmission may not immediately disengage when the vehicle is shifted to the neutral position,” and that this might result in “an increased risk of a crash.” A subset of 2022–2024-built Toyota Tundra, Sequoia, and Lexus LX 600 vehicles are included in the recall. In addition, Toyota recalled 23,000 more cars due to software glitches and concerns about the safety of the head restraints on specific seats. The company said it will inform the owners of recalled vehicles by late April and update the malfunctioning software.

QUICK SEARCH

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Is it time to bring about a bathroom revolution? Most people in the design community agree that toilets should be updated. These creative fixes might hold the key to a future with greater sustainability.

Researchers solve the secret of whale song Whale sounds are among the most enigmatic noises that reverberate throughout the water; they are both fascinating and unsettling. Researchers claim to now understand the vocalizations of the marine life.

For some customers, a minor modification made by Microsoft was a major shock. See why some people are offended by Microsoft’s decision to switch the default typeface from Calibri to Aptos.

Wendy Williams has been diagnosed with dementia and aphasia. On Thursday, Williams’ care team provided updates on his health issues. Williams used to host a talk program.

QUIZ TIME

Which state notified almost all of its citizens this week about impending flooding?

A. The state of Rhode Island  B. Alaska   C. The state of California   D. Florida

Bring me to the test.

47% of readers who completed the quiz last week correctly answered eight or more questions. How are you going to do?

NOW’S VALUE

3. In reaction to the state Supreme Court’s decision last week that declared frozen embryos to be children, that is the least number of fertility clinics in Alabama that have suspended their in vitro fertilization procedures. More and more medical professionals in Alabama are reporting that they are stopping IVF procedures due to worries that they may be held accountable for unintended pregnancy losses if they waste embryos.

The quote for today

“There is nothing I have ruled out.”

— Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who stated that while he is open to the prospect of running for president again in 2028, he has no intention of supporting Trump as vice president should he win in November. After losing the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis withdrew from the Republican presidential contest last month. His remarks followed on Tuesday during a Fox News town hall, where Trump had teased the press by revealing that he had at least six candidates on his shortlist for running mates.

THE WEATHER FOR TODAY

Here is a link to check the local forecast.

And at last…

NASA is seeking occupants for its Mars simulator. For anyone who has ever dreamed of living on Mars, NASA is seeking potential “Martians” for a yearlong simulated mission to the red planet. See what it takes to get the job.