NASA Finds MAVEN Rotating Unusually During Last Contact

NASA has lost contact with the MAVEN spacecraft while it was orbiting Mars, and recovery efforts are ongoing after the signal went silent in early December. Engineers have not received normal spacecraft data since then and… pic.twitter.com/IcLGH5xZiG

— Space and Technology (@spaceandtech_) December 16, 2025

Great for him!

Tangential to his nomination, but I've always wondered how stiff the SpaceX suits are under pressure. His arms don't look natural at all in that video of his spacewalk.

normaleagle05 said:

---

Isaacman confirmed to head NASA.

This is the new NASA Administrator, @rookisaacman, on the first (and so far only) commercial spacewalk! Congratulations Jared, can't wait to see what's next!!! pic.twitter.com/OcQQ3qrta8

— Everyday Astronaut (@Erdayastronaut) December 17, 2025

---

The beginning of a journey that never ends. https://t.co/7EreB58oS9

— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) December 17, 2025

OKCAg2002 said:

---

Great for him!

Tangential to his nomination, but I've always wondered how stiff the SpaceX suits are under pressure. His arms don't look natural at all in that video of his spacewalk.

---

I don't know if the suit is affecting his arm position, but I also don't know how it would hang in zero G. Might be full attention, just shorter.

From a friend in NASA HQ- portrait literally taken down within minutes of the confirmation, awaiting the new one pic.twitter.com/Tc5RLl6DJv

— Grant Tremblay (@astrogrant) December 17, 2025

LOL Nice

normaleagle05 said:

---

OKCAg2002 said:

---

Great for him!

Tangential to his nomination, but I've always wondered how stiff the SpaceX suits are under pressure. His arms don't look natural at all in that video of his spacewalk.

---

I don't know if the suit is affecting his arm position, but I also don't know how it would hang in zero G. Might be full attention, just shorter.

---

That was the first test of an EVA suit built by SpaceX. Mobility was absolutely something they were concerned about and testing.

Outwardly the suit looks like the other SpaceX suits, but my understanding is that it is/was a completely redesigned suit.

Oops. Won't buff out, but it will come down quickly.

On December 17, Starlink experienced an anomaly on satellite 35956, resulting in loss of communications with the vehicle at 418 km. The anomaly led to venting of the propulsion tank, a rapid decay in semi-major axis by about 4 km, and the release of a small number of trackable…

— Starlink (@Starlink) December 18, 2025

Moonbase Alpha gets a priority from WH. Also, somehow apple spellcheck thinks "Moonbase" means Normandy which I am not sure how to interpret.

Source: https://t.co/Lt3zz8KSND

— Sawyer Merritt (@SawyerMerritt) December 18, 2025

"(ii)  enabling near-term utilization of space nuclear power by deploying nuclear reactors on the Moon and in orbit, including a lunar surface reactor ready for launch by 2030;" Hmm, I wonder what the Moon reactor will power...

— CMAimage (@CMAimage) December 18, 2025

Whatever, I'll take it, even if it is only 'intermittently' manned.

What is the weight of one of Elon's boring machines? Maybe the first moonbase is underground?

Is there ultra-pure ketamine on Mars? That may be a missing link here.

He is singularly focused on getting there. I don't think it's the key to humanity like he does and try to reconcile that with his obsession over birth rates.

But to date the only thing that has stopped Elon from achieving is the federal bureaucracy.

The only key to humanity Elon claimed for a self sustaining Mars colony is for the longevity of humanity. I don't think he's ever claimed any big benefits to humanity other than that.

It's a backup plan in case we nuke ourselves, or an asteroid ends life on Earth or globalists/marxists take over Earth, whatever...

Newly-confirmed NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said “we’re just months away from sending American astronauts around the moon for the first time in more than half a century.”

“We're going to want to get there, start the development of our lunar base, so I would say that's of… pic.twitter.com/hxQglWNVSL

— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 18, 2025

Living on Mars is a pipe dream. We're not evolved for it. We can't even populate the poles. We're not going to populate Mars. A handful of humans on a suicide mission, sure. But even so much as a small village or tribe? Never, at least not for another few centuries.

All resources will have to shipped from Earth. That's going to take a looong time to build up infrastructure to have a permanent human presence.

There is also no incentive for any government or private entity to fund building Mars infrastructure or terraforming of Mars. Without incentive it will never have enough support to occur. Maybe if you can play Bitcoin miners or data centers on Mars, then you'd get some incentive, but wouldn't Earth's orbit be lower cost for those?

bmks270 said:

---

There is also no incentive for any government or private entity to fund building Mars infrastructure or terraforming of Mars. Without incentive it will never have enough support to occur.

---

I believe Elon is a private entity, and he's already stated his incentive.

humans have a knack of making the inhospitable or outright deadly be "livable" in one way or another. It would be a rough, no quarter given existence. But, if we are set on making it work then we will do it

rynning said:

---

bmks270 said:

---

There is also no incentive for any government or private entity to fund building Mars infrastructure or terraforming of Mars. Without incentive it will never have enough support to occur.

---

I believe Elon is a private entity, and he's already stated his incentive.

---

His vision requires multiple lifetimes and he only has one. So his only hope of seeing his vision through may be some trust that outlives him dedicated to funding Mars exploration and research.

bthotugigem05 said:

---

100%. People should realise just how autistically focused Elon is on Mars. SpaceX? Getting to Mars. Tesla? Getting around on Mars with no need for gas. Boring Company? Drilling into Mars soil where there's water. Optimus robots? Non-human habitat builders on Mars. Starlink? Internet and data connectivity to Mars.

The moonshot is just a NASA-funded dress rehearsal.

---

The Boring Company swag page even offers this t-shirt for sale:

If Elon singlehandedly drives us to the brink of Mars, I have zero doubts the next generation of potential Martians will be hellbent on finishing the job.

I tend to think the moon is a better option, contrary to what Elon thinks. We can develop the solutions needed there to populate other places without the huge cost of moving all the way to Mars plus the efficiency of closer to real time communication. It's also much more feasible for heavy industry there that can be used on earth or in earth's orbit that still helps humans here. I can't imagine anything being refined or manufactured on mars that would be sent back to Earth.

And if Elon's primary concern is human survival, there are few near term catastrophe's that could wipe out humanity where Mars is a better option than the moon. The moon has advantages there as well, namely that it is easier to get back to earth after said catastrophe.

bmks270 said:

---

Living on Mars is a pipe dream. We're not evolved for it. We can't even populate the poles. We're not going to populate Mars. A handful of humans on a suicide mission, sure. But even so much as a small village or tribe? Never, at least not for another few centuries.

All resources will have to shipped from Earth. That's going to take a looong time to build up infrastructure to have a permanent human presence.

There is also no incentive for any government or private entity to fund building Mars infrastructure or terraforming of Mars. Without incentive it will never have enough support to occur. Maybe if you can play Bitcoin miners or data centers on Mars, then you'd get some incentive, but wouldn't Earth's orbit be lower cost for those?

---

I think you are way off on your timescale. If I had asked you in 2010 how long would it take for somebody to develop a rocket that could take off and land in the same place, be fully reusable, launch dozens of satellites at a time, and for one company to launch over 100 launches of a reusable orbital class rocket without a failure in the same year, would you have guessed that was less than 1.5 decades away?

We are not going to fly to Mars and setup a fully sustainable colony by 2030. But I fully expect it before 2050 and hope I am alive to see it. But you are accurate in that if we relied on NASA to accomplish it, your timeline would be accurate and we would never be able to afford it.

All of the tools to survive on Mars are there and what is needed can be imported. The use of underground tunnels for housing and ability to use robots and self driving vehicles for many of the tasks makes the previously unthinkable much more possible. Instead of sending out 5 guys in a capsule with some limited supplies and telling them to setup a mine for the raw materials we need; you send up a couple dozen starships with dozen of robots custom built for the tasks and have them set it up for you. All they need is power to recharge periodically, either through solar or nuclear and they can continue working without the need for food, oxygen, etc. They can build structures for gardens, plant seeds, drill for water, etc. All the things that will be necessary to make the place livable for humans can be done before we ever send the first colonists there. That future is coming much faster than you think. I don't feel like it is the "future of mankind" or any of that nonsense, but Elon has the money to make it happen, and the reusability/return capability of starship will make it feasible/economically viable.

bmks270 said:

---

Living on Mars is a pipe dream. We're not evolved for it.

---

That's what Africans once said about Europe.

bmks270 said:

---

All resources will have to shipped from Earth. That's going to take a looong time to build up infrastructure to have a permanent human presence.

---

Not all resources. Mars has metals, air, water, solar energy.

jkag89 said:

---

normaleagle05 said:

---

. . .

---

The beginning of a journey that never ends. https://t.co/7EreB58oS9

— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) December 17, 2025

---

The Wright brothers are screaming faster Falkor!

https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/12/russia-is-about-to-do-the-most-russia-thing-ever-with-its-next-space-station/


Lololol Russia has decided that their own space station will be made from their ISS core even tho parts are 30 years old.

FAA documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show an explosion of SpaceX’s Starship on Jan. 16 posed a greater danger to planes in the air over the Caribbean than was publicly known https://t.co/djqBYyvUBQ

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 21, 2025

https://archive.is/2025.12.21-113457/https://www.wsj.com/business/airlines/the-spacex-explosion-that-put-flights-in-danger-016a79c0

it is the typical beauraucratic mindset. the more petty paper pushing rule mongers the less dynamic the innovation

They needed a hotline to give them an instant heads up. But its been fixed and will continue to get better.

Tory Bruno resigned from his CEO slot at ULA

bthotugigem05 said:

---

Tory Bruno resigned from his CEO slot at ULA

---

A capable guy. Wonder what he will do next. Not good for ULA at all.

Starship V3 Super Heavy Rocket pic.twitter.com/NyXbLMG6XQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 24, 2025