space

A crew member of the International Space Station lost his speech and NASA does not know why

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Last January, four astronauts had to leave the International Space Station early due to a medical emergency. At the time it was pointed out that it was due to the health problems of one of the astronauts. However, at no time was it clarified which of them it was, in order to preserve their privacy. Over time, NASA has dropped some new data in dribs and drabs. Now, we know who it was and why, but the cause of his illness remains a mystery. The facts: At the beginning of January, NASA announced the cancellation of a space walk that astronauts Michael Fincke and Zena Cardman should have done. Just a few hours later, the imminent return to Earth of the entire Crew 11 was announced. That included both Fincke and Cardman as well as Kimiya Yui, from the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) and Oleg Platanov, from the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos). The return trip was planned to take place in February, but it finally took place on January 15. At that time, NASA had not yet announced which of the crew members was sick. It was only noted that he was stable and that he would have to undergo more tests. Without words in space. Shortly after that mysterious medical emergency, NASA announced that the sick astronaut was Mike Fincke. However, at that time he still did not provide information about the illness that led him and his companions to return home early. Now, finally, we know what happened. As stated by Fincke himself in statements to the mediaon January 7, while eating with his companions, he realized that he could not speak. Thanks to the quick intervention of his colleagues and the remote support of NASA doctors, he was immediately stabilized. However, it was urgent to return to Earth to perform the relevant tests. The episode has not been repeated and it has been ruled out that it was a heart attack or stroke. More tests. Fincke will possibly have to undergo more tests so we can find out why he temporarily lost his speech. However, he himself has reported that NASA suspects that it could be an effect of his stay in space. For this reason, the medical records of other astronauts are being reviewed, looking for an episode similar to theirs. space brain. Living in space can affect your health in many different ways. All organs are susceptible to the effects of microgravity. In the case of the brain, It has been proven that it can even move inside the skull. It is not known for sure what could have happened to this NASA astronaut. However, it seems quite likely that his medical emergency was for this reason. And now what? If all goes well with Artemis II, NASA hopes to travel to the Moon more and more regularly and even build a space base there at some point. Other companies, like SpaceX, have the same dream. Therefore, it is vital to study how microgravity or cosmic radiation can affect the health of future colonizers. All astronauts of Crew 11 Astronauts on the International Space Station have been testing these types of events for a long time. What has happened to Fincke at the moment is a mystery, but logically it is something that must be taken into account. What happened to him will have to be investigated to prevent it from happening again, whether on the International Space Station, on the Moon or at any other point in outer space that humans reach. Image | NASA | Unsplash In Xataka | Spanish technology in the return to the Moon: the system designed in Madrid that NASA will use in Artemis II

Artemis II will make the Apollo that took us to the Moon look like a space slum: it will even have a private toilet

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If all goes well, Artemis II It could be launched on April 1 towards the Moon. It will be the first time that a manned spacecraft travels to our satellite in more than 50 years and, although this time there will be no moon landing, the capsule with 4 astronauts on board will make a lunar flyby, which will be the highlight of a 10-day space trip. A week and a half during which, logically, the crew will have to clean up and relieve themselves. But how do you go to the bathroom in space? Luckily, the capsule will have a comfort that they didn’t have in the Apollo program. A toilet. The complicated mission of going to the bathroom. From Apollo 10, in 1969, until Apollo 17, in 1972there were a total of 12 astronauts who traveled to the Moon. At that time, her only toiletries were a few wet wipes. to urinate They used devices similar to condoms that were changed daily. When it was time to evacuate, they were connected to a bag, with a kind of hose. It was not a very efficient system and there were often leaks. There was also no system adapted to the female anatomy, since all the astronauts were men. The greater waters. As for feces, a bag was used that stuck to the buttocks. Something quite similar to a diaper, but with a compartment to put your hands in and use toilet paper. Again, there could be leaks. In fact, there is a transcript of an astronaut from Apollo 10 in which he asked for a napkin to pick up a fragment of feces that was floating in the air. Once caught (sometimes literally), the bags were saved and stored for analysis on land. Added to all this is that the astronauts did not have the slightest privacy to go to the bathroom in space. The experience, and especially the smell, could not have been pleasant at all. The urine collection system of the Apollo missions was very rudimentary. Opportunity cost. Whether it is for personal hygiene or for urinating or defecating, going to the bathroom in space involves two major complications. On the one hand, microgravity prevents what should fall under its own weight from doing so. We return to the problem of floating feces from Apollo 10. On the other hand, water is needed. Transporting sufficient quantities of water into space would place excess load on spacecraft. Furthermore, precisely because of microgravity, it would move freely, so that some of the many devices that exist in the small space of a capsule like the Orion of Artemis II could get wet and damaged. For this reason, the use of water is reduced to a minimum and methods are sought to overcome microgravity as much as possible. Artemis II’s toilet. In Artemis II the astronauts They will use liquid soap and leave-in shampooas well as very small amounts of water that can be dried immediately with towels. As for the most difficult part, the Orion capsule has a system similar to that used in the International Space Station. It is a container with a hose connected to a funnel through which urine descends thanks to an air suction system. Each astronaut will have their own hose and, since the crew has three men and one woman, it will adapt to both male and female anatomy, as necessary. Where does all that go?. Once the urine is collected, it is released into space. Regarding feces, they are also collected by suction and stored in sealed bags that will travel to Earth on the return trip. Best of all, this system is isolated, so astronauts can relieve themselves alone. There is a curtain that can be removed if they need more space and a door in the floor of the capsule that allows them the privacy they craved on the Apollo missions. Image | POT In Xataka | Artemis II will take NASA to the Moon half a century later. He will do it with the help of the University of Seville

For starters, it doubles your space.

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The pop culture event more ambitious which was held in Spain returns in October 2026 with 19,600 square meters of surface (almost double that of the previous edition) and a new director, Fernando Piquer. The esports man arrives to resolve the tightness and organizational problems that soured last year’s debut: Queues, chaos and 550 complaints. When and where. San Diego Comic-Con Málaga will celebrate its second edition from October 1 to 4, 2026 at FYCMA, the Málaga Fair and Congress Palace. The announcement was made today at the Casa del Lector del Matadero in Madrid, with the presence of representatives from the Junta de Andalucía, the Malaga City Council and FYCMA. In it, specific new features have been put on the table, all with the clear objective of avoiding the drawbacks of the first edition. More space. The most concrete change that the second edition announces is the expansion of the exhibition space. The surface will go from 10,800 square meters to 19,600, thanks to the incorporation of a second exterior pavilion of 8,800 square meters. As a direct consequence, the number of stands will double. Even more striking is the jump in the Gaming Plaza: from 280 square meters to more than 2,000, an increase of more than 600% that will also give it an independent interior location. The role-playing area (named Ludic Plaza, “Sit&Play Area”) will also have a differentiated space distributed in two pavilions. These are two of the areas that in the first edition were clearly insufficient for the demand they generated. Artists’ Alley, which in 2025 welcomed figures such as Peach Momoko, Simon Bisley, Jorge Jiménez, Pepe Larraz and Claudio Castellini, will have a separate outdoor area in the Village. And the Meet the Artist space returns, which worked well in the first edition. A year ago. The first edition, held in September 2025, showed that the brand has a traction in Spain. Three of the four days were sold out in less than 24 hours at 50 euros per day, when there was still not a single confirmed guest. When the names began to arrive, the first reviews pointed out that the event was aimed at the general public, not the fandom that gives the event its name. Lots of people. Attendance figures are an indicator to be interpreted carefully. The organization speaks of 95,784 attendees; Malaga City Council published 120,000. That difference of 25,000 people has not been officially explained. What is documented is that Facua and OCU accumulated more than 550 consultations to file complaints, motivated by capacity limits, hours-long queues and space management that attendees described with bitter disappointment. In fact, an exclusive pre-sale of tickets has been announced, still undated, for those who attended last year: a way to compensate those who endured queues and chaos from the first edition. New director, atypical profile. The change in management is the implicit recognition that something has failed. Fernando Piquer takes over, replacing Javier Barberá. His profile is striking: founder and CEO of Movistar Riders, one of the most recognized esports teams in Spain, with experience managing large-scale operations under media pressure. It doesn’t come from the world of comics, but it does come from coordinating massive events where logistics are as important as the poster. Piquer spoke today of “a new stage” and stressed that the objective is to “expand spaces and content to offer the best experience to fans.” In Xataka | Masters of sewing (and 3D modeling): Cosplay comes of age and becomes mainstream

The liquid tree arrives that does not need soil or space

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In some cities, trees have become a true luxury item: either because there is no space left (or there is no interest in allocating it for this purpose), because the ground is sealed by asphalt or concrete or because pollution prevents their development. This happens in large cities all over the planet, from India to southern Europe. India has released a solution that does not need rain and does not grow: it is a green water tank that does the work of ten trees. A liquid tree. Context. In cities there are two overwhelming realities: They concentrate around 70% of carbon dioxide emissions and almost half of the population lives in them. Some Spanish cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Seville or Murcia deserve special mention, among those with the lowest proportional tree cover on the continent and those with the most deaths due to the heat island effect, according to a study by specialists from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. published in The Lancet. It is not so much a question of having many trees (Madrid, for example, has them), but of having proportional tree cover and here the Spanish state needs to improve, he says. this study of 744 European cities and the recommendations of the European Commission. Al fresco liquid tree. “Liquid trees” are, in a nutshell, urban photobioreactors. Inside there is a closed system with microalgae in aqueous solution to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen as if it were a real plant. Up to this point, everything is more or less as if it were a tree, but with the advantage of not needing soil, land to plant it in, or taking root. And that the cleaning function of the liquid tree is equivalent to two 10-year-old trees or 200 square meters of grass, according to the Multidisciplinary Research Institute of the University of Belgrade, to whom they came up with the concept in 2021 following the assignment of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to combat air pollution in the Serbian capital. The first prototype was called LIQUID 3 and was planted in Stari Grad. Why is it important. Because cities are the epicenter of the global emissions problem and if we have already seen that today a good part of the world’s population lives in cities, in 2050 it will be even worse: the UN estimates that the figure will rise to 68%. As explains Dr. Ivan Spasojevicone of the inventors of LIQUID 3, the goal is not to replace forests, but to use this system for urban areas where there is no space to plant trees. Under certain conditions of high pollution, trees suffer to survive, but according to the scientist, algae are not affected. How it works. As you can see in the image on the cover or in the video below, LIQUID 3 is a kind of aquarium with 600 liters of fresh water where there are single-celled microalgae (which we can find in any pond) continuously doing photosynthesis. The contaminated air is introduced in the form of bubbles thanks to the pumping system and a photovoltaic panel provides electricity for both the pump and the nighttime LED lighting. Furthermore, maintenance is minimal: every month and a half you have to remove the biomass generated, which serves as fertilizer (not for the liquid tree, obviously) and replace the water and minerals. They clean more than a lifelong tree. The main reason for this liquid tree compared to a traditional tree is efficiency: while parts such as the trunk, branches or roots do not photosynthesize, everything in the algae is productive. According to the UNDP Serbiathat makes them between 10 and 50 times more efficient than conventional trees. The startup Liquid Trees has quantified the CO₂ removal capacity of its liquid tree at 1.83 kg of CO₂ per kg of biomass produced. From prototype to first street trees. Liquid trees are not something new: as we have already seen, the concept dates back to 2021. However, it has not remained a mere prototype and that’s it. The technology is escalating. In 2024, the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies and the company Lo Carbon Solutions they installed India’s first outdoor liquid tree in Kerala: a 1,000 liter tank equivalent to 10 mature trees. Almost at the same time, the DS business group and the startup Liquid Trees they planted a 1,600 liter unit equivalent to six mature trees. Yes, but. Leaving aside something obvious such as that if the electricity contribution does not come from a renewable source, the real carbon balance is worse than the figures suggest or that it is data provided by interested parties and not externally audited, a scientific review by researchers at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies published in the International Journal of Plant and Environment lists some limitations of the concept, among them a fairly obvious one: investment in infrastructure and maintenance is not comparable to planting lifelong trees. And that’s without talking about the environmental cost: an architectural design study from the University of Alcalá calculation that a photobioreactor façade takes more than 11 years to compensate for the CO₂ emitted during its own manufacturing. Finally, no city has yet implemented the technology at scale. What exists are prototypes and specific pilots, not deployed urban solutions. In Xataka | The Spanish invention to solve the lack of trees and reduce the heat in squares and parks around the planet. It’s cheap and immediate In Xataka | Madrid thought they had a great idea putting awnings against the heat in Puerta del Sol. It turned out so well Cover | UNDP and Sung Shin

It is capable of compressing space and time

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15 meters deep, in a basement of Zhejiang University, China has installed a machine the size of a building capable of doing something hitherto impossible for a laboratory: reproducing in hours what nature takes centuries to build. Or destroy. Its name is CHIEF1900 and it can rotate at extreme speeds or generate a gravitational force a thousand times greater than that of the Earth, which for example serves to simulate an earthquake and its effects. Context. For a geology professional, analyzing a portion of land means deciphering the history of the planet in layers: each stratum is a record of millions of years. The problem is that nature writes it slowly. Reproducing this phenomenon in a laboratory has been one of the great challenges of experimental physics for decades. Hypergravity centrifuges are the tool that comes closest to that goal. These machines are capable of rotating at extreme speeds, generating forces hundreds or thousands of times greater than Earth’s gravity. When rotating, the arms generate outward pressure on everything inside the machine. The faster it is, the greater the force. The result is a controlled hypergravity field that compresses time and distance. What China has achieved. Zhejiang University (Hangzhou) has completed the construction of the most powerful hypergravity centrifuge in the world: it will have a total capacity of 1,900g·ton, that is, it can apply 1,900G to a one-tonne sample. The CHIEF1900 will surpass the record that China had established a few months before (September 2025), with the CHIEF1300. This power makes it possible to replicate land deformations on a kilometer scale, simulate the transport of pollutants over millennia, evaluate the resistance of a dam to an earthquake or generate thousands of new material samples. As a reference, with the CHIEF1300 they have already been able to reproduce the pressure of the seabed at a depth of 2,000 meters to evaluate the extraction of methane hydrates, or simulate how a 20-meter tsunami affects the seabed. Why is it important. To natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis we have to add other consequences of human activity such as the breaking of dams, contamination of aquifers or deformation of the soil under high-speed infrastructure or the melting of glaciers. Predicting how these phenomena will behave requires information that is not available since obtaining them in real conditions is either impossible or would take decades. Dan Wilson, deputy director of the Center for Geotechnical Modeling at the University of California, explains for Popular Mechanics that this will be one of the four largest dynamic centrifuges in the world, that is, it can simulate active earthquakes using hypergravity. Chen Yunmin, chief scientist of the project, sums it up accurately: It aims to create experimental environments spanning from milliseconds to tens of thousands of years, and from the atomic to the kilometer scale. How they have done it. To build a machine with such performance, Zhejiang University brought together a multidisciplinary team that brings together personnel specialized in civil engineering, thermodynamics or automation. Among the technical challenges they faced was heat: at high rotation speeds, the centrifuge reaches such temperatures that the stability of the system is compromised. The solution was a cooling system that combines vacuum, forced ventilation and glacial coolant. The fact that the installation is buried has an explanation: it minimizes external vibrations, which could contaminate the experiments to be carried out. Pending subjects. Although the installation dates back to the end of 2025 and Popular Mechanics mentions which is already operational, no scientific results from CHIEF1900 are yet available. At an operational level, these scale models reproduce the loads well but not always all the size effects: certain material behaviors do not scale linearly under hypergravity, which requires caution in the interpretation of results. To minimize this risk, it is common for the data obtained to be compared with that of other similar facilities around the world. In Xataka | China has taken a silent step in the new space race: the world’s first system to measure time on the Moon In Xataka | It’s not a telescope, it’s a time machine: what James Webb reveals to us about “deep space” Cover | Peter Herrmann and Arthur Wang Xinhua

The US has been looking from space for years at a huge brown ribbon in the Atlantic that goes from Mexico to Africa that should not be there

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The blue planet looks very different from space. We have internalized things like that the Chinese Wall is seen and it is not true: what is appreciated They are the greenhouses of Almería. Or a great old man desknown as the Great Dam of Zimbabwe. And for a few years now, NASA satellites they have been registering the presence of a brown stripe that extends across the Atlantic Ocean. It’s not a big brown island or a continent, but it looks like it. What is that “brown continent”. It is a mass of brown algae that, according to research from the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and Florida Atlantic University in whose last record It weighed 37.5 million tons and surpasses the 8,000 kilometers in length, more than from New York to Madrid. And it has a name: the Great Sargassum Belt. Context. He pelagic sargassum It is a seaweed that historically has always lived confined to the Sargasso Sea. However, since 2011 NASA has been documenting its expansion into the open sea until what it is now: a brown strip that by the end of 2024 left the Gulf of Mexico and spread until it reached the coasts of West Africa. This phenomenon is actually a huge accumulation of algae that reappears almost every year with one exception: 2013. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is bigger than ever: evolution documented by NASA Why is it important. Because this stratospheric mass of algae is not only spectacular from a visual point of view: it has repercussions on the marine ecosystem, destroys beaches and even contributes to accelerating climate change. It is also an ecological alarm signal for the Atlantic. According to Dr. Brian Lapointelead author of the review of changes in pelagic sargassum and professor at FAU Harbor Branch, explains that it even caused the emergency shutdown of a Florida nuclear power plant in 1991. Why are they growing like foam?. Lapointe and his team have been investigating the evolution since the 1980s and have found that the nitrogen content in brown algae has increased by 55% between 1980 and 2020; the nitrogen/phosphorus ratio also increased by 50%. This change has occurred because brown algae no longer only feed on natural nutrients from the ocean, but also receive nitrogen and phosphorus from land thanks to human activity, such as agricultural runoff or wastewater discharge. The result is uncontrolled growth. Sargassum is transported by ocean currents, especially in floods from the Amazon, towards the Atlantic. There it thrives thanks to that extra supply of nutrients. An unaesthetic and harmful stain. Brown algae per se are not harmful and in fact, they serve as habitat for different species. However, its enormous presence has altered the ecosystem. Upon reaching the coasts, they begin to decompose, thus releasing hydrogen sulfide, a toxic gas that damages coral reefs, reduces the oxygen present and emits greenhouse gases. What can we do. In short: stop feeding them. After this exhaustive monitoring, the research team warns that humans should reduce nutrient runoff from the coast since, if this continues, more Great Sargassum Belts could appear throughout the ocean. In Xataka | The brutal floods facing Portugal and western Spain, seen from space In Xataka | A 2.5 billion-year-old geological wonder: Zimbabwe’s Great Dam seen by NASA from space Cover | POT

the Spanish space startup grows with Japanese money

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PLD Space has closed a Series C round of €180 million led by Mitsubishi Electric. With this injection, the Elche company exceeds the 350 million raised in total and has a clear path to carry out the first demonstration flight of its rocket Miura 5 before the end of 2026. Why is it important. Spain has very few technology companies capable of raising this type of money on a global scale. PLD Space has not only achieved this, but has done so by attracting a top-level Japanese manufacturer that is not coming to make a financial bet but to secure access to launches for its clients in Asia. That difference between a financial investor and a strategic investor changes everything. Between the lines. Mitsubishi Electric has also signed an MOU with Lockheed Martin to collaborate on geostationary defense satellites. That the same week in which he signs that agreement he also leads this round in PLD Space is no coincidence. Japan is building a chain of access to space so as not to depend on anyone, and PLD Space fits as a provider of low orbit launches for the constellation of satellites that that ecosystem needs. For the Spanish company, this means support that goes beyond capital: it is a seal of industrial credibility. In figures: 180 million euros raised in Series C. More than 350 million in total accumulated financing. Planned capacity of 30 launches per year by the end of the decade. The Miura 5 can place up to 1,080 kg in low orbit. Target production: 4 rockets in 2026, 6 in 2027. The context. Europe has had the problem of access to space on the table for years. The delays of Ariane 6 and the dependence on American launchers have made it clear that the continent does not have a mature private alternative. He European Launcher Challengewhich calls for a test flight of a higher-capacity rocket before 2028, has acted as an accelerator for PLD’s roadmap. The company already designs the Miura Nextdesigned precisely to meet that institutional challenge. The big question. PLD Space has proven that it can raise money and that it can fly hardware. He Miura 1suborbital rocket, completed its first launch in October 2023. But the jump to orbital is different. Many launch startups have raised hundreds of millions and have not reached orbit. The real test begins when the Miura 5 takes off from Kourou, whose facilities should be ready in July. Until then, money buys time, but not guarantees. In Xataka | “We are the company that has developed an orbital rocket the fastest”: PLD Space, one step away from making history from Spain Featured image | PLD Space

We have been observing the snow of the northern hemisphere from space for 40 years. The conclusions of the latest major study are devastating

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As some older people around us say: winter is already it’s not what it was. As we move forward in the decade, scientific data paints an increasingly clear and disturbing picture of the amount of snow that has accumulated in some parts of our planet. And the images seem to leave no room for doubt, since they suggest that snow coverage in the northern hemisphere is constantly reducing, altering the seasonal cycles that govern our climate. The data. The last job we have had access to was published in January of this same year, and the conclusion they have drawn is quite devastating when pointing out that 24% of the regions of the northern hemisphere show a significant decline in the presence of snow, compared to a mere 9% that has registered an increase in its amount. How it looked. To reach these conclusions, researchers have not limited themselves to looking at the thermometer. They have turned to a gigantic high-resolution database that brings together historical data since 1980 with information on both snow and ice. Mathematical model. But the real advance in this case lies in the use of advanced statistics. And, expanding on previous research from 2023, they have applied a two-state Markov chain model, which in simple terms is a mathematical model that allows analyzing the spatial and temporal probabilities of snow persisting or disappearing in specific grids on Earth over decades. That is why we are facing one of the most rigorous methodologies that currently exist to understand snow trends, eliminating the “noise” of the precipitation that is coming in the coming months. Early spring. But… Where exactly is the snow disappearing? The Markov model reveals that the decline is not uniform, but there is an alarming pattern that directly affects our side of the globe: spring melt is coming forward dramatically in Europe and Central Asia. Right now we are seeing snow melting earlier, shortening winter temperatures and directly altering the water cycle, which is vital for agriculture and ecosystems during the warmer months. The consequences. But it is not something new, since previous works already warned of this loss of snow, which is a decline that not only affects water reserves, but also the ability of the Earth’s surface to reflect solar radiation. Something that is not nonsense, since less snow means more exposed dark land, greater heat absorption and, consequently, an increase in regional temperatures. A consensus. In addition to this study, in 2025, research was also published that analyzed possible biases in climate records. NOAA historicalconfirming that the decline in snow during autumn and winter is a real phenomenon and not an erroneous measurement. But it does not stop there, since the last Arctic bulletin painted a very extreme scenario, since, although there was above-average snowfall until May 2025, the decline during June was so rapid and abrupt that snow coverage was reduced to half of what it was 60 years ago. A mixed and volatile pattern that shows a climate system under stress. Images | Mathieu Odin In Xataka | Under the Canary Islands rests a 1,625 meter volcano: it has now begun to show signs of life after ten years of vigil

We have solved the problem of space junk by burning it. A SpaceX lithium trail just proved to be a terrible idea

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For decades, the aerospace industry has had a consensus solution to the problem of space junk: burn it. A fairly simple phenomenon that is based on the satellite reentry when it ends its useful life in the atmosphere so that it begins to suffer friction and completely disintegrates. But the reality is that we are facing a huge problemsince physics reminds us that matter is neither created nor destroyed. We have captured him. Science is realizing that we are not removing space junk, we are just vaporizing it into metallic aerosols that are changing the chemistry of our own sky. And the definitive clue to this problem was found on the night of February 19, 2025where a team of German researchers pointed a laser into the sky over Kühlungsborn. What they detected in this case at about 100 kilometers altitude, in the thermosphere, was something that should not be there, since there were large amounts of lithium. And it wasn’t there for no reason, since it just coincided hours before with the re-entry of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket which had disintegrated over the Atlantic between Ireland and the United Kingdom. Something new. The signal measured in this case was not very subtle, since was 10 times bigger to the usual concentration in that region, and this finding was collected in an article because it marks a great milestone: it is the first time that the metallic contamination released from a specific piece of space junk at the exact moment of burning has been observed “live” and from Earth. The metallic iceberg. The incident with this Falcon is not something isolated in our society, but is a symptom of the structural change we are experiencing. In 2023, a team of researchers already used different devices to be able analyze more than 50,000 aerosol particles in the stratospherewhich is the layer where our ozone layer resides, at about 15-30 km altitude. What did they see? Historically, the metals found in the stratosphere came from meteorites that entered our planet. But today it is estimated that 210 tons of aluminum per year in the atmosphere comes from the disintegration of satellites and rockets, compared to the 20 tons per year that vaporize naturally from meteors. But lithium is not the only metal in the atmosphere of our planet, since scientists have detected more than twenty elements, among which aluminum, copper, lead or silver stand out… This is something that does not fit with the normal composition of meteorites, but it does coincide with the materials that different aerospace companies use to create their rockets and satellites. There is no planning. The pace of launches has skyrocketed in recent years, and if today we are close to 10,000 objects orbiting the Earth, we have to know that only Starlink aspires to have more than 40,000 satellites in Earth orbit low. But the problem is that the useful life of these devices is short, so their inevitable fate is to end up vaporized over our heads. Its effects. Science here is quite clear that the effects of filling the stratosphere with these metals are currently unknown. But the projections suggest that we should not be calm because elements such as aluminum and copper are important catabolizers that can affect the delicate ozone layer. In addition to this, metallic particles can act as special condensation nuclei, altering the microphysics of polar stratospheric clouds. And if that were not enough, adding anthropogenic material to sulfuric acid aerosols changes their size and ability to scatter sunlight. Ironically, we are altering the reflectivity of the stratosphere, the same layer that some scientists want to use for climate geoengineering, without knowing what the consequences will be. The planetary limit. The models here suggest that, if the planned megaconstellations materialize, the fraction of stratospheric particles contaminated with aluminum from satellites will rise from the current 10% to around 50%. In other words, the load of metals in the stratosphere could grow by around 40% compared to natural levels. Here for years space agencies have assumed that disintegrating satellites was a completely harmless and clean practice. The example of the Falcon 9, which has validated the warnings of the scientific community, shows us that the Earth’s orbit and our atmosphere make up a connected ecosystem. In this way, launching tens of thousands of objects into space and then burning them on our own roof may be a solution to keep space clean, but we are dirtying the sky in return. In Xataka | Spain and Portugal have joined forces to launch satellites with a mission: to monitor catastrophes in real time

It seemed that the Fold were the territory of Samsung and Honor. Motorola has arrived to claim its space

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After doing what are, for me, the best folding Flip type, Motorola has just embarked on the adventure of its remaining format: the Fold. And I have already been able to try it: I was alone with the Motorola Razr Fold, I think it is a solid, versatile and high-quality bet. He is coming to cause a lot of war, I am convinced. The first thing I appreciated when holding it in my hand is that Motorola has known how to slim down the thickness of the phone so that it is almost “normal” once it is folded. The two unfolded parts are very thin: reaches 4.55 mm. Of course, only in the areas of the phone that do not correspond to the cameras, because there the thickness, as usual, is much higher. Motorola Razr Fold technical sheet motorola razr fold SCREEN 6.6 inch external Internal 8.1 inch 2K LTPO Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3 outer glass DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 4.55mm open thickness 9.89mm closed thickness Weight: – PROCESSOR Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 RAM 16 GB RAM Boost STORAGE 512GB FRONT CAMERA 32 MP internal 20MP Outdoor REAR CAMERA 50 MP main (Sony LYTIA 828) 50 MP telephoto lens, 3x optical zoom, OIS 50 MP ultra wide angle (122 degree field of view) BATTERY 6,000 mAh 80W TurboPower Charging 50W wireless charging OPERATING SYSTEM Android CONNECTIVITY 5G OTHERS Compatible with moto pen ultra Stainless steel hinge and titanium internal plate Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos and Sound by Bose IP47/IP48/IP49 PRICE From 1,999 euros It feels very good in the hand, as if it were not a foldable This is important, since Motorola makes no compromises: the two wings of the phone are joined together without gaps, as if from the outside it looked like a regular phone. It’s a bit difficult to put your fingers in the phone to unfold it. The movement from there offers no resistance and allows you to hold the hinge at almost any angle. The Pantone finishes, and a rough touch on the back, give it personality, as well as grip. It holds up well when folded and unfolded, just like when it comes to taking photos. I have not noticed that it is greatly offset by the weight of the triple camera. The screen looks fabulous in all conditions: Motorola has achieved extremely high brightness for both panels. The tactile response is good and the fold crease did not seem exaggerated to me. Yes, it is marked more than that of the Honor Magic V6For example. You couldn’t ask for more in terms of power: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 516 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. The test did not allow me to analyze the performance in depth. From what I tested, I highly doubt that I will have problems on a day-to-day basis, both with regular multitasking and with games. I also didn’t appreciate that it got hotter than normal. Competing to be the reference folding I don’t think he Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 be the rival to beat for the Motorola Razr Fold: due to the extra-thin design, and the 6,000 mAh battery embedded in the phone, Moto points to Honor with its Magic V. Because that was the feeling I had when I had the new mobile: the Razr Fold reminded me of the Magic V5. When hours later I tried the Honor Magic V6I couldn’t help but draw parallels. Although the design may have certain reminiscences between one and the other, Motorola maintains software with its particular style, customizable to a large extent and with a style of Android 16 that is not too far from the Pixel. Also, very good news: The Motorola Razr Fold is guaranteed with seven years of Android updates and seven years of security updates The resistance is also certified: IP47, IP48 and IP49. It has very good quality sound certified by Bose and compatible with Dolby Atmos. A trio of reliable cameras with an AI-enhanced telephoto Cameras are usually the pending issue with folding phones, especially when they are as thin as the Motorola Razr Fold. Because there are no miracles, physics is physics. And the minimum thickness is enough for what it is, compromises have to be made. Motorola has decided to sacrifice as little as possible. Its triple rear camera debuts a Sony Lytia 828 50 megapixel which seems to behave at a good level. I was taking photos in the testing room, with plenty of light coming in through the windows, and I saw the camera resolute, accurate in colors and with well-applied automatic HDR. The wide angle is also 50 megapixels. Same as the telephoto: Motorola has relied on a trio that produces the same dimensions in the resulting images. With Quad Binning processing at 12.6 megapixels. The telephoto reaches 100x in its maximum hybrid mode, a distance that usually results in a glob. Although I have appreciated great work from the AI: can reconstruct images until you get something drinkable. It won’t be the best photo in the world, but at least it will serve to show it. With the logical risks of parts invented (or recreated) by AI. Motorola rounds off the great work it already did in the Flip format The Motorola Razr Fold is a mobile phone that surprises in the hand due to its lightness and everything it keeps inside. Power, performance, flexibility, very good cameras and the ability to become a very good work tool. At this point I especially like your desktop modeI believe that Motorola has a great asset to enhance productivity in all environments. Especially those of us who travel almost with nothing on. Very good balance between quality, performance and design. Now, it is not a phone that is unique on the market either: the Fold-type folding format is already very mature. And they are all placing themselves in a high price segment, that segment for which They seek to distinguish themselves by appearance rather than … Read more

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