Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) is once again criticizing his own party, this time in response to the Harris-Walz Campaign’s disastrous pitch to male voters. Trump recorded massive gains among white working…

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One of the biggest winners of the 2024 election season has got to be CNN commentator Scott Jennings, the rare sane voice on a network packed with rage-filled leftists. Jennings' funny takes on the election,…

The moons of Mars are garnering increased attention, not only because they could provide a view of the solar system’s past but also because they could provide invaluable staging areas for any future human settlement on Mars itself. However, missions specifically designed to visit Phobos, the bigger of the two moons, have met with varying stages of failure. So why not make an inexpensive mission to do so – one that could launch multiple copies of itself if necessary? That’s the idea behind a CubeSat-based mission to Phobos, known as Perseus, which was initially described back in 2020. Phobos is interesting for several reasons, but so far, we’ve only gotten relatively grainy pictures of this small moon, whose total diameter is the size of a medium-sized city. Most of those pictures have come from Mars orbiters, such as MRO, who occasionally turn their instruments on the other bodies in the system. Several planned missions to visit directly, such as Phobos 1 and 2 and, more recently, Phobos Grunt, have failed in space, limiting our understanding of this potentially helpful moon to secondary scraps from larger missions. Enter a new mission concept—Perseus (which, surprisingly, appears to not be an acronym for anything) is designed as a 27U CubeSat that inherits several commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) systems used in other interplanetary CubeSat missions, including its own propulsion system and remote sensing kit. Depending on the funding the mission receives, it could branch into one of two different potential interaction styles with Phobos. MMX is another mission to collect actual samples from Phobos, though its launch has been delayed until 2026 at the earliest. First, the mission design preferred by the mission designers, who mainly come from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, would involve capturing Perseus in a co-orbit with Mars and Phobos. This would allow the CubeSat to pass by the moon every day, with about a 6-minute encounter time. This would allow Perseus to capture multiple images of multiple sides of Phobos, some of which have never been seen before from such a short vantage point. The other mission concept would put Perseus on a hyperbolic trajectory past Phobos itself. In this concept, Perseus would only get a single 2-minute flyby with the moon but could get much closer, and therefore higher resolution, images of a specific area it chose to fly by. It would then be flung into the solar system, eventually running out of fuel. Saving the cost of the larger fuel load for the orbital mission concept is the main reason for designing the less scientifically exciting flyby option. With the orbital mission concept, Perseus could collect visible light images of the surface of Phobos down to 5m per pixel and thermal images of 25 m per one pixel, as its scientific payload would consist of visible light and thermal imagers. That is about 6 times better in visible light than the 30 m / pixel, which is the best information we have from an image from HiRISE on the Mar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Fraser makes the case for sending humans to the Martian moons first. That level of resolution could further explore some features of Phobos, such as the “grooves” that dominate its surface. Additionally, Perseus could scout potential landing sites for future human missions to prepare for a visit to the Red Planet. However, the real benefit of Perseus is that it is relatively cheap. While relatively large by CubeSat standards at 54 kg and a 27U configuration, many components’ flight heritage means it would be relatively cheap to assemble and test. However, the mission has not been granted any funding so far, and a brief literature search doesn’t show any additional work on the project in the last several years. But, it fits well with the trend towards smaller, less risky, and less expensive missions. Maybe someday, a similar one will get the green light, and we can finally start collecting some detailed light from one of the most important moons in the solar system. Learn More:Nallapu et al. – Trajectory design of perseus: A cubesat mission concept to PhobosUT – What Could We Learn From a Mission to Phobos?UT – How Mars’ Moon Phobos Captures Our ImaginationsUT – Did An Ancient Icy Impactor Create the Martian Moons? Lead Image:Engineering Model of the Perseus Spacecraft.Credit – Nallapu et al. The post A CubeSat Mission to Phobos Could Map Staging Bases for a Mars Landing appeared first on Universe Today.

The Rolling Stones have been active since the early 60s and until now released 31 studio albums and more than 120 singles. So it's a huge amount of music and it's not easy to pick a favorite song. The guitarist and songwriter Keith Richards always said that he can't choose a favorite song because it would be like picking his favorite child. However, he once mentioned six 6 that were some of the best ones he wrote or co-wrote with Mick Jagger. The 6 songs that Keith Richards said were some of the best he wrote "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrIPxlFzDi0&pp=ygUfIihJIENhbid0IEdldCBObykgU2F0aXNmYWN0aW9uIg%3D%3D It was in an interview with YLE (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) back in 1988 that Keith was asked which were his favorite songs that he had written. "I don't know, you tell me. I mean, that's subjective. There's too many for me to choose. The good ones I like and there are other ones I forget about it and then sometimes I hear and say 'Wow, that actually wasn't so bad'". But then he continued listing six songs that were among the ones he thought were the best ones he wrote. The first one was their biggest classic "Satisfaction", released by the band in 1965. The number 1 hit was released as a single and over the decade was featured many times on lists of the greatest songs of all time. It was also featured on the American version of the Stones fourth album "Out of Our Heads". Curiously, the idea for the song came to Keith Richards in a dream. Thankfully, he had a recorder beside his band where he hummed the idea. "Tumbling Dice" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAWjSTwvroY&pp=ygUPIlR1bWJsaW5nIERpY2Ui The second song he mentioned was "Tumbling Dice", released as a single in 1972 and also featured on their album "Exile on Main St.". Like most Rolling Stones songs, the track was also written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. It appeared on the charts of several countries, peaking at number 7 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. At the time, the band had a new guitar player: Mick Taylor, who replaced the late Brian Jones, who was fired and shortly after tragically died. Since it was released, several artists covered the song, including Lind Ronstadt. Her version, sung from a female perspective, was featured on her 1977 album "Simple Dreams". It was also a Top 40 hit for her. "Street Fighting Man" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUt0dZXPFoU&pp=ygUVIlN0cmVldCBGaWdodGluZyBNYW4i Keith Richards also mentioned "Street Fighting Man", a song released on the band's 1968 album "Beggars Banquet". At the time the song was considered polemic because of the lyrics that slightly criticized the British government, something that was not common in music back then. The United States radio stations were also worried about the lyrics since in 1968 there was a big violent confrontation between anti-Vietnam war protesters and the police that year. So they decided not to play the track. The reason many radio stations in the UK and USA gave was saying that the record was "subversive". Curiously, the band's bassist Bill Wyman didn't play in the song. It was Keith Richards who besides recording the guitar, also recorded the bass parts. "Make No Mistake" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzaGj96p8Q0&pp=ygURIk1ha2UgTm8gTWlzdGFrZSI%3D This is the only solo career song that Richards mentioned in the interview. The track was featured on his debut solo album "Talk is Cheap", released in 1988. It was recorded during the long-standing falling out with his bandmate Mick Jagger that made the Stone be inactive for a few years. It has 11 songs and one of them was "Make No Mistake", mentioned by his as one of the best ones he wrote. Many amazing musicians were part of the recordings of that album. Including the drummer Steve Jordan, who since Charlie Watts' death is the drummer for the Stones. Also were part of the recording sessions Charley Drayton (Drums), Bobby Keys (Saxophone) Bootsy Collins (Bass), Chuck Leavell (Organ), Mick Taylor (Guitar) and Patti Scialfa (Backing vocals). "Jumping Jack Flash" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruTMp4_sy1E&pp=ygUUIkp1bXBpbmcgSmFjayBGbGFzaCI%3D Also Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song became one of Rolling Stones most famous ones. Since it was released  it has been constantly featured on their live shows.  Besides Mick and Keith, the band was also formed at the time by Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts. The additional musicians on that track were Ian Stewart (Piano), Jimmy Miller (Backing vocals) and Rocky Dijon (Maracas). It became a number one single in countries in the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Netherlands and New Zealand, for example. In the United States, the track peaked at number 3 on the United States Hot 100. "Brown Sugar" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmfi3UbDPnQ&pp=ygUNIkJyb3duIFN1Z2FyIg%3D%3D The final song mentioned by Richards was "Brown Sugar", released as a single in 1971 and also featured on their album "Sticky Fingers". It instantly became a number one hit in the United States and Canada. Besides the classic line-up with Brian Jones, during the recording session were also part the pianist Ian Stewart and Bobby Keys (Tenor saxophone).The post The 6 songs Keith Richards said were some of the best he wrote appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday, meeting with the hermit nation’s military and political leaders as the communist dictatorships deepen their ties — and the world fears World War III. The Russian Defense Ministry announced the sit-down but did not specify with whom Belousov would meet, but it signals the latest advancement in Pyongyang and Moscow’s relationship about a month after North Korea sent at least 10,000 troops to assist Russia in its...

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un has assured Russia's Defence Minister Andrei Belousov of his continued support for Russia's war against Ukraine during Belousov's visit to Pyongyang. Kim was quoted by North Korean state media on Saturday as saying that the Western powers, led by the United States, had "made Kiev authorities attack Russia's territory with their own long-range strike weapons."