believes

“They’re damn smart.” Marine chief believes Gen Z has just the advantage the modern military needs

by

The same idea has been repeated for years. about generation Z: who lives glued to a screen, who has less capacity for sacrifice and who is less prepared to face great challenges. However, the commander of the United States Marine Corps maintains just the opposite. In his opinion, the biggest change is not in the young people, but in the war. The big mistake. Few generations have accumulated so many stereotypes like Z. They are accused of depending on cell phones, social networks or video games and, by extension, of being less resilient than their parents and grandparents. Eric M. SmithCommander of the United States Marine Corps, counted in Military who believes that this reading is based on a wrong premise: different life experiences are being confused with a supposed lack of character. After almost four decades of service and thousands of recruits seen passing through training centers, his conclusion is blunt: “their surnames have changed, but their character and commitment have not.” Like in WW2. “They are made of the same wood as the Marines of World War II,” explains. The comparison is not accidental. Smith equates today’s young people with those who fought in historical scenarios such as Iwo Jima, the Chosin Reservoir or, more recently, Fallujah. He also rejects the idea that the Corps has lowered its standards to attract volunteers. “We have not lowered standards. We never will,” affirms. Their argument is simple: the Marines continue to demand that the applicants adapt to the institution and not the other way around, maintaining a training process that continues to be the longest in the US armed forces. Eric M. Smith It’s not the character, it’s the tools. Where Smith does see a break with previous generations is in the relationship with technology. He himself remembers that he was already a captain when he had his first mobile phone, while the new recruits have grown up surrounded by mobile phones, video games and the Internet. What for years has been interpreted as a distraction can be, according to the generala strategic advantage. “They’re damn smart,” summarizedbefore adding a sentence that explains his reasoning: just give them a device and five minutes for them to discover on their own how to use a drone, while officers from previous generations would need specific training. Skills that barely counted before. The Smith’s statements They come at a time when the battlefield is undergoing accelerated transformation. The war in Ukraine has become protagonists to FPV drones, artificial intelligencesensors, electronic warfare and connected systems, displacing part of the traditional prominence of the large armored or artillery. In this context, understanding digital interfaces, quickly adapting to new tools or intuitively learning how complex systems work begins to be as important as physical resistance or aim. Each military revolution has changed the profile. History shows that armies have always had to adapt to the technologies of their time. There was a time when know how to ride a horse made the difference, then came radio, radar, cryptography or the guided missilesforcing the incorporation of increasingly more technical profiles. The digitalization of combat represents another similar jump. The skills that many identify with a generation raised on screens can now become a first-rate military asset. The real advantage. He Smith’s message transcends the debate about generation Z. It does not maintain that young people are better than their predecessors, but rather that they have a natural familiarity with technology that fits the needs of the modern army. For him, the core values ​​remain exactly the same as 250 years ago (honor, courage and commitment), but the tools have changed. And in a war where a drone operator can influence so much As an infantry unit, the ability to quickly master a new system may become one of the most valuable qualities of the soldier of the future. Image | CEPA, ACMCphotousmc In Xataka | The US had a ship with 2,000 marines ready to invade Iran. Now he has sent it right to the place where China worries the most In Xataka | The same day that the US sent its marines to Iran, Taiwan woke up with déjà vu: China has surrounded it with 26 planes and 7 warships

Peter Thiel believes that the Holy See is making a big mistake

by

Peter Thiel doesn’t usually bite his tongue, and he didn’t do so a few days ago at the Aspen Ideas Festival. The investor and co-founder of Palantir and PayPal He participated in a talk in which he accused Pope Leo XIV of being (unknowingly) at the service of the Chinese Communist Party. The reason: his last encyclical, Magnificent Humanitas. Thiel’s argument. In this text the Pope advocated regulate AI to avoid misuse of technology. For Thiel, although this message may resonate with people around the world concerned about AI, it will hardly have a similar effect in China, where the Catholic religion is a minority. The Pope is “working for the Chinese communists”. For Thiel, this means that the encyclical only stops one of the two major sides in the race for AI, and leaves Beijing free to continue advancing without any type of moral brake. Conclusion, according to this magnate: the Pope “is working for the Chinese communists.” This comes from afar. A few months ago, in March, Thiel already offered a series of private lectures on the Antichrist. As it turned out later, this event bothered the Vatican so much that two Catholic universities they had to go out to clarify who had not participated in its organization. For the tycoon, the Antichrist might not be a person, but a world government who takes power promising to protect humanity from existential threats like AI. Thiel didn’t stop there. In addition to this accusation about the Pope, Thiel also warned that a “democratic-socialist coup d’état” is taking place in the United States. Without any evidence, he accused Anthropic (which he called “woke liberal”) that it would use its models to manipulate the 2028 elections in favor of Democrats. Interested speech. But this investor and entrepreneur has its own “agenda” and a few ideas quite pilgrims. He was one of Donald Trump’s first supporters in Silicon Valley, and as pointed out on CNN, he also helped boost the political career of the US vice president, J.D. Vance. The latter worked at Mithrill Capital, the investment firm co-founded by Thiel himself, before making the leap into politics. Image | Gage Skidmore | Catholic Church England and Wales In Xataka | If things go wrong for me, it’s because of the politicians; If I do well, it is thanks to me: the bias that damages democracy

He believes that in 20 years millions of people will live there

by

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, does not stand still since the tycoon moved to Florida to be closer to their headquarters. Now Bezos has given an enlightening talk about how he sees the future of the space sector. The businessman believes that millions of people will voluntarily live in space in 20 years. Don’t be sad. During a talk with John Elkann (president of Ferrari and Stellantis) at the Italian Tech Week TurinBezos did not mince his words. The tycoon said he did not understand how “someone who is alive right now can be discouraged” about the future. The reason for your optimism? A near future where artificial intelligence, robotics and, above all, space exploration, converge in “multiple golden ages.” The future of humanity is not only on Earth; according to Jeff Bezos, it is about to expand exponentially through space. The role of Blue Origin. “I think in the next couple of decades, there will be millions of people living in space; that’s how quickly this is going to accelerate,” said Bezos, who I had already confessed in the past his expectation that Blue Origin will end up being bigger than Amazon. This optimism is not just rhetorical. Bezos is investing billions of his personal fortune each year to build new technologies for the commercial exploitation of space: New Glenn, Blue Origin’s heavy rocket successfully completed its first mission for NASA: launching the two probes of the ESCAPADE mission heading to Mars (the probes will set their final course for the red planet in November 2026). Blue Origin He also recovered the first stage of the rocket on the high seas, becoming the second private company in the world to achieve this. However, the year 2026 has been complicated: in May, the fourth New Glenn exploded on its only launch pad during a static power-up, destroying towers and key infrastructure. NASA estimates that the platform will not be repaired before 2028. Orbital Reef, the commercial space station in the form of a luxury hotel for millionaires that will have scientific modules for when the International Space Station is removed from orbit. The project overcame a series of habitability tests with real people within full-scale models of its modules, within the framework of NASA’s space station development program, which foresees that the first private platforms will replace the ISS in the second half of this decade. bluemoon, the lunar module with which Blue Origin It aims to surpass Starship by solving one of the big problems of the SpaceX ship: the evaporation of cryogenic propellants in space. NASA has assigned Blue Moon the mission Lunar Base Ischeduled for fall 2026, which will land at the lunar south pole. Blue Moon will also participate in the Artemis III mission (2027, in low Earth orbit) and in Artemis IV, the first manned lunar landing scheduled for early 2028. The explosion of the New Glenn complicates the launch schedules, although NASA is working to undock the lunar module from the rocket so as not to delay the mission. Other lunar developments, such as the ability to make solar cells from lunar regolith. Bezos was clear: “If you’re going to go to the Moon and stay on the Moon, you need to use the Moon’s resources.” Exploit the Moon and space. One of Bezos’ goals is to turn the Moon into an industrial launch pad. “The Moon is a gift from the universe,” he said, noting that its low gravity makes it cost 30 times less energy to launch a kilogram of mass from the Moon than from Earth. In his vision, the Moon becomes a “rocket fuel depot” that will allow us to explore the rest of the solar system. Bezos’ vision directly connects the space race with the other great revolution of the moment: artificial intelligence. AI is a technology with an enormous energy thirst, and its data centers are becoming a true “energy hole” on Earth. Bezos’ solution: get them off the planet. The proposal is build gigantic data centers of gigawatts in space. The advantages are obvious: “We have solar power there 24/7, and solar power there has no clouds, no rain, no weather.” It’s not science fiction. In fact, Bezos predicts that this apparent science fiction will be economically viable very soon: “We will be able to surpass the cost of terrestrial data centers in space within the next two decades.” Space, he believes, will go from being a place for communications satellites to being the center of heavy industry and data infrastructure. In the end, Bezos’ vision unifies all the revolutions underway. If AI and robotics will take over production, what is left for humans? According to him, the freedom to choose. Bezos doesn’t believe we need to live in space to survive. Robotics technology will be so advanced that “we will be able to send robots to do that job.” So why will those millions of people go? Bezos’ answer is simple: “The majority will live there because they want to.” A version of this article was published in November 2025 In Xataka | The first civilian to take a spacewalk with Polaris Dawn is a millionaire, but he also pilots fighter jets Images | Blue Origin

The biggest problem with living on the Moon is its nights. NASA believes it has found the solution to avoid running out of electricity

by

If we want to build bases on the Moon or on Mars, we must work on the development of technologies that make the lives of lunar colonists easier. For example, it is important to think about ways to obtain energy. In the case of Mars, there are already scientists working on methods to obtain electricity using carbon dioxide from your atmosphere. But the ideal would be to be able to use batteries. They would have to be rechargeable batteries, since there are no containers for batteries on the Moon (on Earth there are, throw them away where they belong). The problem is that lunar nights are very long, so solar energy cannot be used to obtain electricity to recharge them. Therefore, NASA scientists they are already working in rechargeable batteries that generate and store energy in a very original way. Only two ingredients. The battery in question, called a regenerative fuel cell, contains hydrogen and oxygen gases, which combine to give rise to water. In this reaction, heat and electricity are generated, which can be used to supply the devices necessary for astronauts’ daily lives. Once no more energy is needed, the water molecules break down, giving rise to hydrogen and oxygen, which are saved for when it is necessary to start again. Thus, the fuel is not wasted. It regenerates. Big as a human being. Let’s not think about small batteries like the ones we use at home. Not even in batteries like those in a car. This regenerative fuel cell is much larger. It is practically the height of a human being and the length of a sedan car. First tests. In 2025, the basic components were tested to verify that the previous design technology was viable. Right now NASA scientists are doing more advanced tests, with the aim of analyzing whether the fuel regenerates properly. In a test cell, the system can be operated remotely. Furthermore, once the test has started, it can continue autonomously, without intervention from the researchers. Learnings. Everything is expected to go well in the tests. But, in any case, there will be learnings that serve to perfect the device. After five years of development, the prototype has advanced a lot, but these types of experiments are what really help to perfect a technology of this caliber. Heading to the Moon. Once the tests are completed, the goal is to repeat them in an environment that simulates lunar conditions. Theoretically, the battery is designed to withstand the extreme temperatures of the Moon, even on its cold two-week Earth nights. If all goes well, the technology would be ready to be used. in the Artemis program. This is the objective with which this battery of 270 sensors and 1,000 components was designed. There will be time to think about Mars. At the moment, the closest target on the horizon is our satellite. We need energy to stay on its surface. Image | NASA/Magnific In Xataka | We have not yet colonized the Moon and we have already filled it with garbage: there are even abandoned golf balls

The EU believes it is time to knock it down

by

The European Commission has sent a strong message to the Member States that still maintain regulated electricity rates: it is time to prepare for their end. In his latest report Regarding the retail market, Brussels requires countries like Spain to develop clear roadmaps with defined deadlines to transition in an orderly manner towards prices based purely on the free market. Why do you demand change? The underlying objective of the European Union is that everyone operates under the same rules in the free market. The European Commission considers that, if the Government intervenes in prices, citizens lose the incentive to be efficient with energy and competition between companies is stifled in the long term. Therefore, the official document ask for a step-by-step exit planwith specific milestones and guarantees of non-discriminatory treatment, to gradually disconnect this rate without creating chaos in the sector. Besides, how to underline The Economist, There is a strong component of financial risk prevention. Brussels wants to avoid at all costs a repeat of the cascading bankruptcies experienced during the energy crisis of 2021 and 2022. To achieve this, the European recommendation involves strengthening financial supervision, forcing marketers to undergo “stress tests” and present periodic reports on their hedging strategies against the volatility of wholesale prices. The weight of the intervened tariff in Spanish homes. The European mandate collides with the reality of our country. In Spain, 29% of households continue to benefit from this intervened rate, the Voluntary Price for Small Consumers (PVPC). According to the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC)the magnitude is even greater since 33.5% of those surveyed claim to have hired it. Although Brussels admits that regulating prices may be justified temporarily to protect consumers during a transition, it strongly warns that these interventions should not become a permanent element of the system. The Government stops the measure dead. Despite the European guidelines, the Spanish Government has no intention of stepping on the accelerator. According to statements to the press collected by the agency Europa Pressthe third vice president and minister for the Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, has been emphatic: “At this time there is no plan to eliminate the PVPC.” Aagesen defends that “current market conditions are not appropriate” to eliminate this rate and advocates maintaining it for both vulnerable consumers and any citizen who wishes to benefit from it. As the minister explainsSpain’s argument against Brussels is that the Spanish PVPC is not a fixed price, but is indexed hour by hour to the wholesale market and linked to the futures markets, providing it with greater stability and complying with previous requests from Europe. For now, the Executive has left the ball in the court of the CNMC, which has commissioned a study to evaluate whether this model could be dispensed with in the future. The relief of the social bonus. The debate on the suppression of the PVPC has raised alarm bells among the most fragile households. Having contracted the regulated tariff is an essential requirement to receive the social electricity bonus, an aid that reaches more than 1.7 million beneficiaries, according to data from Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). However, users can rest assured: the European Commission’s own report expressly cites the Spanish social bonus as a valid and justified measure to protect vulnerable consumers within a structural strategy against energy poverty. The clash of two visions. We are faced with an obvious clash of rhythms and concepts. On the one hand, the orthodoxy of Brussels, which conceives the PVPC as a temporary anomaly on its path towards a fully liberalized European market. On the other hand, the pragmatism of the Spanish Government, which still perceives this regulated tariff as an essential shield for citizens against energy volatility. Although the beginning of the end of the regulated rate is already part of the European demands, Spain has decided, for now, to maintain it with assisted breathing. Image | Magnificent 1 and 2 Xataka | Europe and Japan step on the accelerator of nuclear fusion and place the ball in the court of a strategic country: Spain

The CEO of Nvidia believes that we are in a new industrial revolution where AI will not replace us: it will micromanage us

by

Artificial intelligence has been available to users and companies for a few years now and we are at a point where they converge several ideas about AI and the future of work. There are several open fronts such as if AI will replace usif it will only be a tool or if, instead of freeing ourselves from the workload we carry, will add more to us. But the CEO of Nvidia, a Jensen Huang who has no trouble spilling his tongue, has another opinion. AI is going to micromanage us. Micromanager. A few days ago, Huang attended a talk at Stanford Business School. At these events, company CEOs usually leave motivational messages and talksbut I don’t know if in this case it would motivate someone who is looking for a job. During his panel, the Nvidia boss commented that, right now, “we are doing things faster, on a larger scale and we can think to do things we never imagined.” That part of the speech is fine, but he went on to note that “AI agents will harass you, micromanage you, and you will be busier than ever.” Like a good 1st century Roman baptisterywho wouldn’t like having an AI agent egging you on? Will create more jobs. Lately, Huang has chosen to blurt out headlines and vaguely elaborate. At the event, he also commented that these agents we have help us explore new avenues of work, do that work better and make it more profitable. He also addressed the great controversy, that of the supposed great replacement. On this, his opinion is that there will be some jobs that will be redundant because AI will be able to do the same as a human, but he considers that, in general, there will be humans with new jobs to adapt to. “I think we are going to create more jobs. There will be more people working at the end of this industrial revolution than at the beginning of it,” he says. Insecurity. It is curious that you compare it with the industrial revolution at a time when there is concern, above all, about the instability of the labor market. Huang ha commented that computer engineers are busier than ever and it makes sense, the problem is what happens next and what is happening with all those who are not dedicated to tasks strictly related to AI. In an article by Fortune published a few weeks ago, the issue of layoffs directly related to artificial intelligence was addressed. An example is Jerome Powell, president of the United States Federal Reserve, who warned that AI is quietly impacting the labor market as job creation is practically at zero. Another is that of Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, who believes that “entry-level” jobs will be reduced by half in the next 18 months. And then Microsoft’s AI chief, Mustafa Suleyman, predicting that AI will cause many white-collar jobs to collapse in that same time frame. AND Meta is going to do without 8,000 employees as it transforms into an AI company. All this while, on short video networks there is a lot of content of young people saying that they have a university degree and are rejected at Target or McDonalds. The AGI has already arrived. Well no. HE esteem that, during 2025, some 55,000 people in the US will lose their jobs directly due to AI. It is only 4.5% of all layoffs, but a significant number that, if forecasts are met, will multiply by several figures over the coming months. For now, so far in 2026, esteem that technology companies have laid off 92,000 people, not all of them must be related to AI, but a scary number if we take into account that, during 2025, the total was 120,000 people. Just 28,000 less in just four months. But, beyond that, the prediction that an AI agent will not take our jobs, but rather will be a tiresome second boss, is not the only thing that Huang has commented recently without going much further. A few weeks ago, on Lex Fridman’s podcast, he already commented on things like that workers must be clear about the purpose of their work and that the tasks and tools they use to do it are related, but they are not the same. Also He commented that we had already arrived at the AGI (artificial general intelligence) giving an example that it has nothing to do with an AGI that, for now, remains theory. A black hole of money. Byan Catanzaro is the vice president of deep learning at Nvidia and has commented that AI currently costs more than human employees. “For my team, the cost of computing far exceeds that of employees.” It must be taken into account in this that AI is not an abstract entity: it is a huge investment in hardware, data centers and energy. According to the calculations According to Keith Lee, professor of AI and finance at the Swiss Institute of Artificial Intelligence, AI expenditures will be $5.2 trillion by 2030 in a conservative estimate and $7.9 trillion in a more aggressive one. But more interesting is what he comments about the fact that fixed subscriptions are not making money for companies because they do not cover operating costs. And that, at a time when companies like OpenAI and Anthropic should not take long to go public, is something to take into account because they will stop receiving millions from other private companies to have to respond to investors with their product and benefits. In Xataka | There are programmers from Meta and Microsoft competing to be the one who uses the most AI and wasting millions of dollars along the way

The world depends on gas to produce food. Paraguay believes it has the definitive solution thanks to the Itaipú dam

by

In the midst of a scenario of high tension in the Middle East and threatened trade routes, a project in the heart of South America promises to change the rules of the game for global agriculture. The British company Atome has given the final green light for the construction of Villetaa fertilizer plant in Paraguay valued at 665 million dollars, which will completely eliminate the use of fossil fuels in its production. A question of food safety. As detailed Financial Timesthe fertilizer industry’s dependence on natural gas is an Achilles’ heel for the global economy. Traditionally, most nitrogen fertilizer is produced by combining nitrogen from the air with hydrogen extracted from natural gas. However, Villeta will use renewable electricity to separate hydrogen from water (electrolysis). For Olivier Mussat, CEO of Atome, the project’s focus goes far beyond sustainability. “It’s not an ecological story, it’s actually a food security story,” declared in FT. Mussat’s warning is no small matter, since between a quarter and a third of global nitrogen fertilizer exports pass through the Strait of Hormuz. With the recent conflicts, gas shipments have fallen, raising prices and raising alarms about a possible food crisis. For Latin America, an agro-export power but highly dependent on imported fertilizers, the project works as a “structural hedge” against geopolitical volatility. The financial milestone that Wall Street observes. Atome managed to close a financing package that includes $420 million in debt and $245 million in equity. This backing comes from development lenders of the caliber of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), along with specialist hydrogen investment fund Hy24. “We have shown that you can actually close and finance a green fertilizer facility on an industrial scale. It has never been done before,” Mussat said. For his part, Pierre-Etienne Franc, executive director of Hy24, explained to the press that having cheap and non-fossil energy sources offers “a route to green fertilizer that will be localized”, making the industry independent of raw material prices dictated by natural gas. The technical feasibility. Green hydrogen has historically been too expensive to compete with its fossil counterpart. However, Paraguay’s competitive advantage changes the equation. The Villeta plant will operate with electrolyzers large-scale powered by the Itaipú hydroelectric dam (shared between Paraguay and Brazil). According to the company’s projections, electricity costs will be just under $30 per megawatt-hour under a long-term agreement. This technical and economic feasibility was enough to convince the Norwegian fertilizer giant, Yara International, to sign a binding contract of 10 years to purchase the entire production of the plant, estimated at around 260,000 tons per year, a detail exhaustively covered by the industrial press. The view from Asunción. For decades, Paraguay has exported its surplus energy generated in Itaipú to its neighbors, Brazil and Argentina, at very low prices. For the local pressAtome’s installation represents a historic paradigm shift. It means taking that clean energy and using it within the national territory to generate local jobs and produce a good with high added value. Although Villeta will represent less than 1% of the global nitrogen fertilizer market when it begins production in 2029, its backers and market observers agree on something fundamental: if the Paraguayan model works, it could become the definitive template for freeing global agriculture from its dependence on fossil fuels. Image | Atome Xataka | We are wasting a valuable resource: urine is helping solve the fertilizer crisis

A Falcon 9 has been roaming through space for more than a year. An astronomer believes it will crash into the Moon in summer

by

An upper stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 has been orbiting uncontrollably for more than a year and astronomers indicate that it will end up crashing on the Moon next August. Although at first it may seem serious, the truth is that it does not represent any danger to us. However, that does not mean that the event has once again revived the debate on the space junk and what may happen in the future if the Moon ends up being inhabited. What is going to happen and when. On August 5, at 8:44 a.m. (Spanish peninsular time), an upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket will collide with the lunar surface at approximately 8,700 km/h, which is equivalent to about seven times the speed of sound. The prediction It was published by Bill Grayprofessional astronomer and developer of Project Pluto software, a widely used tool for tracking near-Earth objects. According to Gray, the impact will occur in the surroundings of Einstein crater, on the edge of the visible side of the Moon from Earth. Where does this piece of rocket come from? The stage in question, cataloged as 2025-010D, is the upper part of the Falcon 9 that launched two private lunar landers on January 15, 2025: the Blue Ghost from Firefly Aerospace and the Hakuto-R from the Japanese company ispace. The first achieved the first completely successful commercial lunar landing in history, touching down at Mare Crisium on March 2, 2025. The second lost contact with Earth during the descent maneuver and crashed. Meanwhile, the rocket’s upper stage continued to orbit. With more than 1,000 observations accumulated since launch, Gray assures There is no doubt: it is this piece of the Falcon 9. Why can’t it be seen from Earth. Although the Moon will be visible to much of the Western Hemisphere at the time of impact, Gray warns that the flash will almost certainly be too faint to detect with ground-based telescopes. The researcher himself remembers what happened with the LCROSS mission from NASA in 2009, when a Centaur stage deliberately impacted the lunar south pole to study the ground and yet no flash could be observed from Earth. The scientific value, if any, will come from further study of the fresh crater left by the impact. No danger, but with a warning. The stage measures 13.8 meters long and 3.7 meters in diameter. Since the Moon does not have an atmosphere, the device will reach the surface intact. There is no risk to lunar infrastructure, rovers or ships in orbit. Still, Gray account which “does highlight a certain lack of care in the way in which remnants of space hardware are disposed of,” he writes in his report. There is a relatively simple technical solution, and that is that with a little more planning and some extra fuel, companies that launch rockets could send these stages to heliocentric orbits (around the Sun), where they would pose no threat to either the Earth or the Moon. Now it matters more. Both the US and China plan to multiply the pace of their lunar missions during the second half of this decade, with the aim of installing semi-permanent bases near the south pole of the Moon. The United States aims for annual missions with Artemis IV and V from 2028; China wants have your own taikonauts stepping on lunar soil before 2030. More missions means more rockets, more unreused upper stages, and therefore more space junk orbiting near the Moon. If there were people or infrastructure on the surface then, things would get serious. It’s not the first time it happens. Gray stumbled upon another rocket stage a few years ago. In 2022, he predicted that a piece of rocket would hit the Moon on March 4 of that year, getting the time right within seconds and the location within just a few kilometers. Gray had initially identified the object as another stage from a Falcon 9, but it turned out to be a booster from the Chinese Chang’e 5-T1 rocket. This time, however, continuous monitoring since launch rules out any doubts. Cover image | SpaceX and NASA In Xataka | We have found something that astronomers have been searching for decades: the precise edge of the Milky Way

with the ‘Hero of the Seas’, Royal Caribbean believes that

by

At Royal Caribbean they continue to explore a very specific idea: that the cruise stops being just the place from which you travel and becomes, in itself, the great argument of the trip. That’s where it comes in Hero of the Seas, presented by the company as the fourth ship of the Icon class. Rather than stopping at the beginning of the list of novelties, what is relevant is the movement it reflects: when it seemed that this type of boat had already taken its formula very far, the move points to a new attempt to take it one step further. The Icon class already has the Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas at the top, while below are giants of the Oasis class such as Wonder of the Seas and Utopia of the Seas. This helps us read the company’s move: Hero is not presented as a discrete evolution, but as a direct continuity of the range with which Royal Caribbean has reserved its largest ships and its densest offering for the family audience. If there is something that we already know well about the great Royal Caribbean cruises, it is their way of divide the ship into neighborhoodsalmost as if each area had its own character. Hero of the Seas will follow that same scheme with eight neighborhoods on boardbut the company wants to accompany it with more layers of offer: nine swimming pools, 28 restaurant spaces and new accommodation options for multi-generation families. Seen this way, what is drawn is not just a large ship, but a structure that, on paper, seeks to fit different ages and rhythms within the same trip. As we can see, what the firm proposes for Hero of the Seas is a more segmented aquatic offer: a new Caribbean-style pool, a larger exclusive area for adults, improvements in bathing spaces already known from the Icon class and new water games for children. Royal Caribbean uses several proper names to dress up that proposal, but the substance is easier to explain. Divide these aquatic spaces into several areas aimed at different audiences and times. A ship that wants to look less and less like a ship The other great leg of Hero of the Seas has not to do with rest, but with reinforcing the offer of active leisure throughout the day. Royal Caribbean includes here two new family slides with floats and an update to Storm Chasers, to which it adds several elements that are already part of its usual recipe on large format ships: a combination of aerial walkway and zip line over the seasurf simulator, climbing wall, minigolf and sports courts. We are not facing a break with what the shipping company was already doing, but rather an expansion of that mix between water park, sports deck and resort leisure. The accommodation also falls into that segmentation logic that we have been seeing in the rest of the ship. Royal Caribbean talks about very attractive options for families, such as a three-deck tree house or rooms directly connected to areas designed for traveling with children, but at the same time maintains premium suites and more standard cabins. This allows the proposal to be read better: the shipping company combines more attractive accommodations with a broad base of options aimed at different audiences, from large groups to passengers looking for something more conventional. Beyond what it can offer on board, Royal Caribbean has already made it quite clear how it wants to put Hero of the Seas into circulation. The company has placed its premiere in August 2027 from Miamiwith seven-night itineraries through the eastern and western Caribbean, and with a fixed stopover at Perfect Day at CocoCay, its exclusive enclave in the Bahamas. From there, the ship will move between destinations such as Roatán, Cozumel and Costa Maya or Philipsburg and Charlotte Amalie, depending on the route chosen. It is also the part that completes the commercial fit of the project. Images | Royal Caribbean In Xataka | A millionaire has been living from cruise to cruise for more than 25 years: his biggest problem is not money, but balance

Fish has been in a deep crisis in Spain for years. Mercadona believes it has the formula for that to change

by

He video It is from October 2024, but it could have easily been recorded yesterday, today or even tomorrow. In a piece lasting just under a minute, Jana Quiles, tiktokerrecounts his disastrous time at a fishmonger: “I just wanted a piece of fish for dinner and, because I didn’t know what to order, I ended up buying 25 euros worth of hake.” Your case is interesting because it connects with a phenomenon shared by many other young people on networks and that is reflected in the statistics from the Government: Spanish households buy less and less fish. Mercadona has taken note and has decided to step on the accelerator in a bet that it’s been a while implementing: the move from the fishmonger to the trays. What has happened? That Mercadona wants a “new fish sales model” in its stores. The chain itself announced it in a statement posted on its website, a note that, beyond its corporate tone, stands out for two things. The first, the message. The company advances its intention to complete the transformation of its sections, betting 100% on the packaged product. “We transfer all products to trays, guaranteeing quality and freshness.” The second thing that draws attention is the images. Mercadona’s statement only shows photos of fish already packaged, labeled and arranged in open refrigerators. Not a counter. Not even a stand with fresh goods and fishmongers to consult about the goods or a special cut. Nothing, in short, that can lead to experiences like the one that Jana Quiles lived in her day. @janaquiles This happens to me as a beginner 😂🐟 ♬ original sound – Jana Quiles Is it something new? In a way. Although Mercadona seems determined to complete its “reengineering” of fish, in reality the change comes from behind. Does more than a year There was already talk of the chain’s desire to find a more efficient model for the section, betting on the consumption of clean merchandise arranged on trays. The idea, how it progressed TOB.C. in January 2025: greater offer in packaging, with items ready for consumption, and much less assisted sales, moving away from the model that prevails in traditional markets. From the traditional image of customers browsing the hake, turbot and mussels displayed on ice, with the fishmonger on the other side of the counter, we move to a more functional one in which there is only the customer and the tray. Why this change? Mercadona argues who wants to “adapt” to how we consume in our homes and defends the benefits of the new model: “The key is to reduce as much as possible the time that passes from when the fish comes out of the water until you consume it.” To older claims that the trays allow it to reduce waiting times in stores, offer an “assortment adapted to real consumption” and work with merchandise “clean and ready for consumption.” In short, selling merchandise made almost to measure for a clientele that has lost the habit of buying fish and no longer has the vocabulary and the keys to ordering fresh goods. Again the case by Jana Quiles is paradigmatic. His experience with hake is not something isolated, it connects with an entire generation that has not acquired the habit of going to traditional fishmongers. That’s all? No. To these advantages are added others that Mercadona does not cite and directly affect its production costs, logistics and even the management of spaces in the store. In January the company already made it clear In any case, the change in model would not imply dispensing with employees, they would simply be assigned new roles. “The entire fishmonger’s team continues to be part of Mercadona. Their work adapts to other needs in the store.” Does it only affect fish? No. The focus may now be on fish, but it is only part of a much larger Mercadona strategy that connects with two of its main bets. One is food ready for consumption. For years, the chain has aspired to be more than just the place where you buy products to fill your refrigerator and pantry; It seeks to be directly the space in which you feed yourself. The clearest reflection of this slogan is the section “Ready to eat”but the commitment to trays of fish that are clean, cut, filleted and practically ready to put in the oven goes in that same direction. And the other bet? The ‘Store 9’the new local format that the Valencian chain wants to bet on. Your goal is optimize processes and improve efficiency, but in practice that translates into moving even further away from traditional counters and moving towards already packaged merchandise. Interaction with staff during purchases is reduced to a minimum. No chats with butchers, fishmongers or fruit sellers, like in traditional supermarkets. Speed, efficiency, and functionality prevail, which in turn leads to handling and packaging tasks being removed from public areas. Is this just about Mercadona? Not at all. Roig’s chain has managed to gain a considerable market share in Spain, close to 30% in terms of value, so their decisions affect thousands and thousands of families. However, the changes in fish consumption go further and partly connect with the Quiles video that we mentioned at the beginning of the article. We Spaniards buy less and less fish. The official data of the Government show that per capita consumption of fish (both fresh and frozen) in homes has been plummeting for years. And it doesn’t get better. He latest reportfrom November, shows interannual falls of between 4 and 5.5%. With its latest movements, Mercadona seeks to position itself in the part of the business that performs best. While Fedepesca talks about the closure of thousands of fishmongers Since 2007, there are businesses in the sector more focused on the sale of ready-to-buy merchandise, online orders and home delivery that they keep growing. Fish consumption itself is leaving homes to focus at leisure. Now Mercadona aspires to carve out … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.