leaving

is leaving us without sleep

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With the increase in temperatures, it is normal to start tossing and turning in bed, desperately searching for the cold side of the pillow or surrendering to the air conditioning at three in the morning because nothing cool comes in through the window. What until recently we considered a simple summer annoyance has become a measurable, quantifiable and science-backed phenomenon, since global warming is literally robbing us of hours of sleep. It has been analyzed. This is not an exaggeration based on a few bad nights, but rather the scientific community has cross-referenced millions of biometric data with global weather records to confirm that nighttime heat is eroding our quality of life. This conclusion has not been reached with simple surveys, but rather A study has chosen to analyze more than 7 million sleep records obtained through activity bracelets in 68 countries. The conclusion was that, as nighttime temperatures rise, the duration and quality of rest plummet. And it is the most normal thing, since our body needs to reduce its core temperature to initiate and maintain sleep and, when the outside environment is too warm, this physiological process is blocked. More tests. Other research published in Naturethat analyzed 23 million days of sleep records put exact figures on the problem. Here they saw that, for every 10 °C increase in ambient temperature, sleep problems skyrocket, drastically reducing both the total duration of rest and, what is worse, the deep sleep phase, which is responsible for the physical and cognitive restoration of our body. Many factors. Although the temperature increases for everyone equally, it does not affect us in the same way, as a review points out published in Sleep Medicine. One of their conclusions is that in older people the capacity for self-regulation is naturally lower, and that is why it is much more difficult for an aging body to dissipate heat and adapt its core temperature, making them much more vulnerable to tropical nights. Sex also influences, since studies indicate that the impact on sleep loss for each extra degree of temperature is significantly greater in women than in men, due in part to physiological differences in thermal regulation and hormonal factors. Socially. If we cross all this data with the economic level, we can see that in developing regions the loss of sleep is much greater, which makes us revive the term “air conditioning gap.” And those who cannot afford cooling systems or live in areas with poor infrastructure suffer the impact of the heat to the fullest. Climate change. We can’t just blame the summer, as organizations like Climate Central have started to calculate exactly how many of these hours of lost sleep bear the direct signature of anthropogenic climate change. Their recent analysis shows that global warming is multiplying the frequency of these abnormally warm nights, and it’s not just that it’s hot in July, but that nighttime minimum temperatures are rising at a faster rate than daytime maximums. That is to say, we are facing a major public health problem, since chronic loss of sleep not only makes us feel bad the next day. It has been shown that not sleeping properly is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, mental health problems, cognitive decline, and an increase in work and traffic accidents. Images | Ron Lach In Xataka | Global warming has stepped on the accelerator at an unprecedented rate and we are getting closer to the point of no return

NASA is looking for four people who want to live a year on Mars without leaving Earth

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Space travel can leave no room for improvisation. Especially if the destination is a place as inhospitable and unexplored as Mars. Or even the Moon. Therefore, before the first astronauts set foot on the red planet and a new batch of humans walk on our satellite, NASA has decided to carry out a dress rehearsal here on Earth. Of course, it will not be done with astronauts, but with a group of volunteers willing to spend a year in a simulated environment of both the confinement conditions of the trip and the subsistence with limited resources that will mean staying at a base in either of these two places. The mission is expected to begin in 2027, no earlier than August, so the search for volunteers is still underway. Two missions in one. The mission, named by NASA as Moon and Mars Exploration Analogis a mix of two other previous missions: HERA and CHAPEA. Both consist of the use of facilities that simulate the extreme conditions of a trip to Mars or the Moon. CHAPEA’s facilities are larger (158 m2), as they simulate what the installed base would be in either of these two locations. HERA, on the other hand, consists of a smaller environment (60 m2), which simulates the confinement conditions of space travel. Therefore, what will be done is to dock the vehicle, based on HERA, to a larger, but isolated environment, in which there is everything from private accommodation for the crew to a common work space, including a recreation room, cultivation area, medical room, food preparation area, airlock and two bathrooms. They are not astronauts, but almost. NASA has announced that it is looking for volunteers, possibly because its astronauts are busy with other tasks. However, not just anyone can apply. To start, they must be US citizens or green card holders, between 30 and 55 years old, with a good command of English and a height that does not exceed 1.88 meters. On the other hand, they must have a degree in engineering, biological sciences, physical sciences or mathematics. Basically, just like astronauts. In fact, it is preferable that they have these qualifications at an advanced level. Finally, they should not have special dietary needsnor require help to sleep. Furthermore, in relation to sleep, they should not be sleepwalkers either. Of course, added to all this is that they will have to pass a series of tests, both physical and psychological. Come on, they’re not astronauts, but almost. Training for a fake trip to Mars. The four selected volunteers will have a pre- and post-mission phase dedicated to data collection. Additionally, before embarking on this year-long simulation, they will have to train and prepare for what will come next. In total, all this will last two months. All simulations. For one year, these temporary astronauts will live and work in isolation and confinement while simulating both interplanetary travel and operations on the planetary surface, including spacewalk simulations. It is expected that the results will be useful for missions as imminent as those of the Artemis programbut also for future even more exotic trips, including the long-awaited Martian colonization. Image | Magnificent | POT In Xataka | We knew there was water on the Moon, but not why some craters were empty. Finally we have the answer

“leaving it to cool on the counter is a bad idea”

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The potato omelet that didn’t fit in the refrigerator; the tupperware of rice that we left to warm up and spent the entire afternoon on the counter; the platter full of barbecue things that was on the table throughout the meal. Spain has a problem with storing food properly in the refrigerator and summer increases it exponentially. And that’s why, in recent days, the idea has been circulating on the internet that a simple rule can solve everything: “put away cooked food within two hours,” they tell us. But the problem is not that: the problem has never been in ‘if’ you cool it, but in ‘how’ you do it. The two hour rule. Let’s start here: this rule is basically the international consensus of the WHO, the FDA, the EFSA and the AESAN for decades. That is, there is no new study, report, or regulatory change that motivates the ‘revival’ of the rule. What there is is heat. And that’s important: because when the environment exceeds 30-32 °C, the safe window is reduces by half. And at that time, of course, we have to consider that vacations broaden exposure to “danger zone” for that mixture of ‘preparing food in advance’ and transporting it in ‘tuppers’. The data is clear: in 2023, Spain notified 818 foodborne outbreakswith 10,125 cases, 414 hospitalizations and 13 deaths. Between 2018 and 2022, we accumulate 27,637 cases. between the 31% occur at home and, as we will see, inadequate refrigeration is the first contributing factor. Because? This is why I say: poor refrigeration, food prepared too early and cooled slowly. In other words, the problem is “letting things cool down”: to the extent that the “danger zone” is between 4 and 60 degrees; The sooner you get the food below 4, the better. “But hey, just reheating it is enough, right?” It is true that reheating well helps, it works against vegetative cells; not against toxins already formed that withstand the heat. The case of rice is well known: he Bacillus cereus It disappears with heat, but its spores survive cooking and, at room temperature, produce a toxin that is very difficult to eliminate. And what do we do? What they say the OCU and the CDC It’s simple: divide into shallow containers and refrigerate while hot, “as soon as it stops burning.” And, above all, have common sense. Image | Kevin Wang In Xataka | What’s really happening with white rice (and to what extent we should care)

“Leaving the air conditioning on all night can cost around a euro in electricity”

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The torrid nights with thermometers that refuse to drop below 25 degrees are already here with us, with several heat waves that we have suffered in a chained way. At these moments you may think about the possibility of using the air conditioning at night, but the fear of the amount that will arrive on the electricity bill is always there. But the reality is that there are situations where this expense is not so exorbitant. Exorbitant consumption. Leaving the air on for eight hours of sleep can cost us around one euro. This is how Carlos Llull, air conditioning technician, explains it. who points out thatin an average scenario with modern equipment, the economic impact is much less than we usually imagine. Through a publication On his Instagram account, which has gone viral, he pointed out that “leaving the air conditioning on for 8 hours at night can cost around one euro in electricity.” And there are more voices. Beyond this phrase that can give us peace of mind in our pockets, Álex Bermúdez, energy expert, reduces This figure is even further stated by stating that, depending on the programmed degrees and the thermal characteristics of the room, the cost of an entire night can be barely around 0.45 euros. But with these gurus announcing this, the question is obvious: How is it possible if a domestic air conditioner usually has an installed power of between 1,000 and 2,000 W? And the answer is in the inverter systems of the most modern equipment. The mathematics. If we use logic, it is quite simple to calculate the consumption of an air conditioner, since it ‘simply’ multiplies the maximum power of the device by the eight hours that it can be kept on during the night. And this would only be correct if you literally lived in an oven without windows and the equipment had to work at its maximum constantly, something that does not happen in most cases. Modern inverter compressors do not work with an obsolete binary on/off system, but their motor is capable of self-regulation when starting at high power to reach the desired temperature, but once achieved, it modulates its work and drastically reduces the revolutions to simply maintain the environment. This means that, during most of the early morning hours, and helped by the fact that the outside temperature also drops, the equipment barely consumes a minimal fraction of its maximum capacity. It depends on several factors. Of course, that euro per night is not a guaranteed flat rate, but rather a measurement that depends on a delicate thermodynamic balance in your home. The first of them is the set temperature, since, as the IDAE runsthe ideal temperature in summer should be between 23 and 26 ºC. Each degree lowered will mean an increase of between 6 and 8% in energy consumption. Insulation is also essential, since a room with thermal leaks, as can occur with old windows, will lose cold quickly, forcing the compressor to exit its maintenance mode and work at higher power throughout the night. The energy rate. This is a fundamental factor, since the final cost of using the air at night will vary depending on whether the rate is in the regulated marketwhere early morning prices can be very low, or if you have a free market rate with an agreed kWh price. Optimize consumption. As the OCU points outit is important not to turn on the air at the minimum temperature to “cool quickly”, since it is inefficient, and that is why it should always be programmed from the beginning to the desired temperature. But in addition, you must take advantage of the ‘ECO’ or ‘Sleep’ mode that many air conditioners already include so that the temperature is gradually adjusted throughout the early morning. Images | Zulfugar Karimov In Xataka | What is energy efficiency and why is it a saving that matters more than ever?

Now they are returning to Romania leaving a void in the labor market

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During the 2000s, Spain was the host country for many Romanian citizens. With the real estate bubble about to explode and a financial crisis in the making, the outlook in Spain was still better than that of the Romanian economy. Now, almost three decades later, those emigrants return to a growing Romania, leaving Spain without a valuable skilled labor. The Romanian exodus. According to Eurostat databetween 2010 and 2013, Romania’s population decreased by more than two million people. A good part of these people had emigrated to countries such as Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria or Israel. According to the INE data Regarding the foreign population residing in Spain in June 2013, the Romanian community was the largest in 2012 with 798,970 people of that nationality, closely followed by the Moroccan nationality with 771,632 people. The latest data from December 2025 available data reveal that, currently, the population of Romanians residing in Spain barely exceeds 609,270 people and has fallen to the third largest community in the country. Qualified workforce. Most of those migrants who arrived in Spain in the early years of the 2000s did so fleeing unemployment and the poor economic situation in sectors such as construction or agriculture in Romania. These new workers incorporated as labor for those sectors in Spain, and the second generation of those citizens was formed to become a skilled workforce for the Spanish labor market. The Romanian miracle. In recent years, the economic situation in Romania has given a turnaround. “When the Romanians overthrew its regime in a rapid (and violent) revolt in December 1989, it was one of the poorest countries in Soviet-dominated Europe. That is no longer the case. After a slow start, Romania’s free-market reforms took effect. The country’s economy has quadrupled in size since 1989, and it has joined NATO and the EU,” noted Daniel Fried, former US ambassador to Poland in a report for Atlantic Council. According to data According to the World Bank, the GDP Per Capita adjusted by purchasing power parity (PPP) of Romania has gone from 13,313 dollars in 1990 to 40,666 dollars in 2023, compared to the 31,639 dollars that Spain registered in 1990 and the 47,142 dollars in 2023. The most notable difference in the GDP of both countries was recorded precisely in the period of greatest migration of Romanians to Spain, between 2000 and 2012. This is what Csaba Balint, member of the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania (BNR), rated of the “golden era” of the Romanian economy. Coming home: exodus 2.0. After the invasion of Ukraine, the economic boom and the Romania GDP growth has slowed down, but continues at a rate of 0.7% in 2025. However, this upward trend has built the foundations so that those first migrants who arrived in Spain in the 2000s can return to their country, just as the Spaniards who emigrated in the 60s and 70s returned years later. According to the immigration data According to the INE, between 2024 and 2025 alone the population of foreigners with Romanian nationality decreased by 11,193 people, chaining the downward trend of recent years. This workforce is now much better trained and more productive than the one that arrived at the beginning of the millennium. The return of Romanian citizens to their country is another factor in the labor shortage recorded by the construction sector, since a good part of this migrant population were bricklayers, carpenters, electricians or plumbers and they filled those positions that now they are left without generational relief. A version of this article was published in January 2025 In Xataka | With unemployment at historic lows, Spanish companies are looking for workers. The problem is that they can’t find them Image | Unsplash (aboodi vesakaran, Mina Rad)

The biggest mistake you can make the night before the Selectivity exam is not leaving a topic unlooked at: it is not sleeping

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When we think of a student during exam time or of a candidate who is preparing very intensely for an exam that will offer him job stability, we automatically think of the classic image of being up early in the morning studying hundreds of underlined pages. Here it seems that sleeping becomes a minor issue due to the fact of studying and cramming hundreds of pages. But the reality is that study without sleeping It’s like wasting time, even though it may seem otherwise. The science. Here the science has a lot to sayand a robust body of evidence suggests that putting aside studying and getting into bed for 7 or 8 hours of sleep is by far the smartest decision you can make before an exam or during preparation. And something they don’t teach us is that studying is only half of the learning and memorization process that occurs in our brain, since the other half occurs while we are asleep in order to ingrain knowledge. In the brain. To understand why sleep is non-negotiable for students, we have to look at what happens inside our heads when we sleep. At these moments we may think that the brain is in a state of lethargy or shutdown, but the truth is that it is a period of frenetic activity at the neuronal level. We found one of the proofs in a published article in Neuron which suggests that the sleeping brain is biologically optimized for memory consolidation. Something very important, because during the day the brain acts like a true sponge, capturing a large amount of information quickly but volatile, which far exceeds the limit of its capacity to retain it. Transferring it to the hard drive. All this knowledge that we try to acquire in one afternoon has to be consolidated so that we can later remember it in the exam. This is where sleep comes in, which is where a hippocampal-cortical transferwhich allows the information acquired during wakefulness to be reactivated and transferred to the cerebral cortex, which is where the information is stored long-term. In Nature We found a fascinating article that detailed how neurons repeat at full speed the information learned during the first phase of sleep. This phase prepares the ground so that, during REM sleep, in the second half of sleep, synaptic connections are stabilized and strengthened to integrate all the information. But if we skip hours of sleep, or reduce it to 3-4 hours to be more efficient, this process is interrupted. The disaster of sleep deprivation. The penalty for not sleeping is severe, since if you decide to spend the night sleepless to review “a couple more topics”, you should know that the price you have to pay is a 40% reduction in learning capacity, in addition to an increase in memory losses and a plummet in concentration. And what these losses ultimately generate are temporary memory gaps, which is the typical situation in which we remain “blank” looking at the exam sheet without knowing what to write, although you remember having read it hours before. This is why a student with few hours of sleep shows much slower response times, is confused when making decisions, and suffers a radical worsening of attention. In surveys. In 2023, a study carried out with 640 students of the Autonomous University of Madrid during their exam period pointed out that 61.3% of those surveyed already sensed that their performance would improve if they slept more. From here, the researchers confirmed a direct and positive association between sleep quality and academic performance. Furthermore, they discovered that the “sleep debt” accumulated during the week took a very high toll, being associated with worse performance perceived by the students themselves. The perfect dose. Here the recommendation that we must keep in mind is that of the WHO or the National Sleep Foundation, which suggests that young adults should sleep between 7 and 8 hours a day, and even increase to 9 hours for students with great cognitive stress, such as opponents. Images | Ministry of Health In Xataka | If you wake up tired on a regular basis, your rest is fragmented. The good news is that science knows how to fix it

the website that calculates the billions of kilometers you have traveled through the universe without leaving the couch

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At the time of writing this I am 37 years, 28 days, 23 hours, 13 minutes and 18 seconds old. I have traveled around 34,845,000,000 kilometers around the Sun. I have traveled 257,425,000,000 kilometers through the Milky Way. The next time my watch tells me I haven’t taken enough steps, I plan to give it these numbers. Although the truth is that I have not had to take any steps to travel through them, since the credit belongs to the Earth, I have just let myself go. Whatever the case, it’s always good to know. If you also want to know these figures and many curious facts more for your own date of birth, keep an eye on online calculator created by web developer nemo7299. Very easy to use. With this calculator, called Cosmic Odometer, its creator seeks to make us a little more aware of our location in the Universe and everything we have moved through it since the day we were born. To use it, you just have to enter your date and time of birth and the latitude where you are. With that you have enough to read many curious facts. Distances traveled. To begin with, we can see the distance that the Earth has traveled rotating on itself, orbiting around the Sun or accompanying the Sun through the Milky Way. We can also see what has been moved the Milky Way itself through the Universe. You can even see the combined distance of all those movements. Since the day we were born, we have been fellow travelers of the Earth. Therefore, if we calculate the kilometers that the Earth has traveled around the Sun, we will also know how many kilometers we have traveled with it. Age by planets. You can also find out what your age is at different planets of the Solar System. For example, on Mercury I am a centenarian of 153.81 years old, on Mars little more than a teenager who has not yet turned 20 and on Venus I am already close to earning retirement, at 60.29 years old. On the other hand, in Neptune I am a baby of just over 2 months. Logically, if I could travel there I would be the same and I would look the same. However, a year on those planets does not last the same as it does here on Earth. A little physiology. The website also tells us how many times our heart has beaten or we have breathed since we were born. It even calculates how many cells have been renewed in our body in that period of time. Important distances. By viewing this website we can know how far we are from natural or artificial objects as important as probes. Solar Parker, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2the telescope James Webb or Haley’s Comet. If the aliens are looking for us. Another curious fact is that we can calculate how far away an alien would have to be to see our birth if they pointed a telescope at Earth. can be compared. You can also compare your details with a friend’s by entering their date of birth. This way, you will know how far the Sun traveled between your births or how many kilometers you have traveled together since you both existed, for example. It occurs to me that important dates that are not necessarily birthdays could be introduced. For example, the current date and the date you met your partner. What would it be like to tell him that since you met you have traveled a combined 31,679,105 km across the universe together? If it doesn’t look pretty, that’s not it. Your feet are younger than your head. According to the general relativity theory According to Einstein, time moves more slowly in stronger gravitational fields. That is, the closer you are to the massive object that creates that gravitational attraction, the slower time will pass. Our feet are closer to the earth’s surface than our head. Therefore, it can be said that our feet are younger. Time passes more slowly for them. In my case, for example, my feet are 216 nanoseconds younger. A lot more. All this is just a small sample of the many data that can be checked in this calculator. Logically, some are estimates, since more data would be needed to have a more accurate calculation. In any case, with such large distances, these estimates already go pretty well. It’s perfect to hang out and have a laugh. Image | Magnific/Nemo7299 In Xataka | The Earth as it was during its last ice age, illustrated in a wonderful map

has to dodge space junk and is leaving blind spots on the map

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Imagine that there was a satellite capable of detect fires shortly after the first spark. Even before calls to emergency services begin. Imagine now that the maps drawn thanks to that satellite suddenly begin to have unexpected gaps. Blind spots where fires can spread freely. It would be tragic, right? Without a doubt, although the truth is that it would not be. It is. This story is totally true and the worst thing is that the reason these blind spots exist is because the satellite has to move over and over again to avoid the space debris that experts have been warning us about for so long. The collateral damage of anti-debris maneuvers. NASA’s Aqua satellite has an instrument called MODIS, which has the ability to detect hot spots and smoke by measuring infrared radiation. These heat and smoke points are minimal, which is why it is used to detect fires from their earliest stages. Since its launch in 2002, NASA has been using it to create fire maps that allow emergency systems to move more quickly and concisely to the places where the fire is located. It’s not even its function; since, as its name indicates, it is a satellite centered on water. However, this side effect has helped save many lives and many acres of land. Unfortunately, every time he moves to avoid incoming space debris he has to let his guard down, with very worrying consequences. One of three. Aqua is one of the three satellites that make up the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS). The other two are Terra and Aura. Their names already give us a clue as to what their function is. Basically, they do a comprehensive survey of the Earth by land, water and air. Terra was first launched in 1999. It is responsible for analyzing the interactions between the atmosphere, land, snow, ice and oceans. It can, for example, detect the progress of deforestation. Then, in 2002, Aqua was launched. Its functions are the analysis of ocean evaporation, atmospheric water vapor, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, ice and snow. In fact, its MODIS instrument was designed to analyze data related to the water cycle, but it turned out to be an ideal fire detector. Finally, in 2004 Aura was launched, which analyzes the chemistry of the atmosphere, the state of the ozone layer and air quality. The problem comes in 2005. Space debris has been growing in abundance in the last 20 years. Above all, there is a lot of debris in low Earth orbit, since there is a greater gravitational influence there and these are retained. Both Aqua, Terra and Aura are in that same orbit, to be able to carry out their work close to their objectives. Therefore, they are increasingly at risk of being hit by space debris. In fact, since 2005 is calculated who have had to deviate at least 32 times to avoid these impacts. The consequences. These detours prevent them from being able to properly carry out their functions, but they also cost a lot of extra fuel. All of these satellites are having a longer lifespan than expected. However, precisely because of these maneuvers they are using more fuel than expected, so they may stop working next year or the following year. More satellites. Luckily, there are more satellites in space dedicated to detecting fires. NASA itself has several. However, Aqua is one of those that has given the best results. Furthermore, now a call has been made about the risk to the three EOS satellites, but there are many more, from many space agencies and companies, that are in danger from space debris. And the worst thing is that this has only just begun. The European Space Agency (ESA) is following up of more than 50,000 pieces of space debris in orbit, but there are possibly many more. In fact, if we look at smaller objects, between 1 centimeter and 10 centimeters, the figure rises to 1.2 million detected objects. In 2005, 16,000 objects were being tracked, so the numbers have increased greatly. Kessler syndrome. One of the biggest risks from space debris is Kessler syndrome. This is a phenomenon which would occur when fragments of space debris impact satellites, breaking them and releasing more pieces that in turn become more space debris and continue impacting other satellites. It’s kind of like a domino effect. If this happens, the consequences can be many and none of them good. It may take a while for us to be aware of the magnitude of the problem. Therefore, the example of fire hunters is very illustrative. Without them, the planet is in serious danger. The consequences of an impact in space, or even maneuvers to avoid it, also have a full impact here on Earth. You have to do everything possible to avoid it.. Images | NASA/Matt Palmer (Unsplash) In Xataka | If the question is how to protect the mountain from fires, in Soria they have an ancient solution: luck of pines

Starlink has been ruining astronomers’ nights for years. Now it turns out that their launches are leaving their mark on the climate

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Much has been said about the great light pollution that generate the Starlink satellites from SpaceX. However, not so much has been said about something that, if we think about it, is much more evident. Air pollution derived from launches. Any space launch, in fact, can generate this type of contamination. However, satellite trains require such a large number of launches that it is not unusual for them to be of particular concern to scientists today. 15,000 satellites and counting. A team of British and American scientists has carried out Recently a study brought this problem to the fore and predicted what the effects could be in the short term. This investigation indicates that there are currently around 15,000 telecommunications satellites in orbit, more than 10,000 of which belong to SpaceX. This represents three times as many satellites as in 2020 and the worst thing is that the number continues to increase. As a consequence, according to the simulations of these researchers, by 2029, these satellites could account for 40% of the atmospheric pollution derived from space activity. Also have calculated that by then this sector will be releasing around 870 tons of soot into the atmosphere annually. It would be more or less the same amount released by all cars in the United Kingdom, so action must be taken as soon as possible. Launch and reentry problems. The two key points at which these trains of satellites will put our planet’s climate on the ropes are launch and re-entry. With the first, a large amount of black carbon. These are fine carbon particles that come from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. Regarding reentry, it mainly releases aluminum oxides. The satellites must be changed every 5 years. Later, when orbital conditions are favorable, this re-entry can occur, the price for which for the planet is also very expensive. The effects. Black carbon is harmful to the Earth’s climate on two levels. On the one hand, the particles that make it up have a great capacity to retain the heat of the Sun. That is why they play a very important role in the global warming of our planet. On the other hand, they can affect cloud formation in two different ways. Sometimes they prevent their formation, causing droughts, and other times they trigger extreme rainfall. Regarding aluminum oxides, can damage the ozone layerwith all the harmful effects that this entails. The place matters. The main problem with the release of these polluting substances is that it occurs in the highest layers of the atmosphere. The contamination at this height, if space activity did not exist, would be residual. However, the launches deposit that black carbon there, which remains for 2 to 3 years, retaining heat and affecting the clouds. That is why black carbon derived from space activity is estimated to have a much greater effect on the climate than that of ships, cars or power plants, for example. What is to come is very dangerous. It is said that Elon Musk wants to launch a million satellites into space. This is possibly an exaggerated figure. But it is clear that SpaceX has enormous objectives set. In fact, already It is even looking for launch platforms outside the United Statesbecause in his native country there is no room for such ambition. To all this we must add that other companies have increasingly ambitious objectives with their own satellite trains. This is, for example, the case of Amazon with Leo. The situation can become very worrying if alternatives are not sought, such as less polluting fuels for launches or more durable satellites that require fewer re-entries. Science will probably take us there at some point; but, in the meantime, the consequences for the planet will become worse and worse. We have time to solve it, but we must act now. Images | Gwendolyn Kurzen In Xataka | In 2018, Elon Musk put his own car into orbit. Eight years later it is still circling the Earth

While Ryanair cuts 1.2 million seats in Spain, the gap it is leaving has a name: Wizz Air

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Ryanair continues in its thirteenth cutting seats at regional airports Spanish. The thing is that the rest of the low-cost airlines have not sat idly by and are taking advantage to have a greater presence. One of these airlines is Wizz Air, which is already thinking about grab a larger market share in Spain after the fight between Ryanair and Aena over airport taxes. Without its own bases, but with more routes and more seats. If some leave, others come. Ryanair has been in open war for months with the Government for Aena airport taxes. The Irish company considers that the rates at regional airports are unaffordable and has gone from threats to withdraw from several Spanish airports, closing its base in Santiago de Compostela, canceling flights in Vigo and Tenerife North, and will leave those in Valladolid and Jerez inactive. The total cut amounts to 1.2 million seats for the summer. In addition, next winter the airline also plans to reduce its capacity in Asturias, Santander, Zaragoza and several Canarian airports. Wizz Air has seen that gap. What Wizz Air is doing. The Budapest-based airline has decided to move in the opposite direction: it plans to increase its capacity in Spain by 39% throughout 2026. This is confirmed by Vera Jardan, the company’s corporate communications director, in statements collected by OkDiario. According to the media, the strategy does not involve opening its own bases, but rather expanding operations in the airports where it already has a presence and adding new routes. The company already operates in 16 Spanish airports, including Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Malaga, Alicante, Bilbao, Ibiza, Santander and Fuerteventura, and offers 144 routes to 15 different countries. Its latest novelty has been a direct connection between Menorca and Budapest. What they say from within. “Spain is definitely an increasingly important emerging market for us, on which we are increasingly focusing,” counted Jardan in the middle. “We see that they are more open to adventures and impromptu trips, and we would definitely like to satisfy that demand with more interesting flights and destinations to different countries,” the manager continued. Wizz Air has been betting for years on routes to central and eastern Europe, destinations that large airlines do not usually cover so frequently. He Ryanair withdrawal. Just like we counted For some time now, Ryanair has historically maintained some low-demand routes thanks to advertising contracts with local institutions. When those contracts are no longer profitable (or more attractive incentives have appeared in other markets, like morocco), the company has not hesitated to withdraw its flights. Added to this is the impact of AVE to Galiciawhich has reduced passengers from the plane in a region that has already accumulated a drop of 15.5% so far this year. What changes the travelers. In the short term, those traveling with Ryanair from affected regional airports will have fewer options or will have to travel to another departure point. Wizz Air can cover part of that demand, but its destination network and operating model are still not comparable to that of the Irish airline. What is clear is that the Hungarian company sees at this moment a real window of opportunity to gain share in a market that, until now, Ryanair had dominated with almost no direct competition in the low-cost segment. Cover image | Paréj Richárd In Xataka | If you thought that Ryanair was living outside the Hormuz crisis, its CEO has a message. And it doesn’t look good for Spain

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