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Cantiere Palermo

Fincantieri to Provide Support Vessel to Italian Navy

Military & Secret Tech /

Fincantieri, through its Underwater Technology Center, will supply the Italian Navy with a highly versatile support vessel designed to accommodate a wide spectrum of missions, including complex underwater operations.

Fincantieri press release

The vessel’s modular configuration and generous internal volume enable rapid reconfiguration for various operational roles, providing the Navy with a flexible and adaptable platform tailored to evolving requirements.

The vessel will undergo upgrades at the Group’s shipyard in Palermo , with the aim of transforming it into a technologically advanced platform fully integrated into the national capabilities system. The project is part of a process aimed at strengthening Italy’s presence in the increasingly strategic maritime domain through modular and scalable solutions. 

Fincantieri is moving toward a role as an orchestrator of highly complex technologies , capable of operating from surface to seabed, from hardware to software. This initiative confirms the Group’s commitment to consolidating its leading role in naval innovation, developing technologies that combine flexibility, safety, and interoperability, and strengthening its ability to respond rapidly and in an integrated manner to the needs of the country, with an industrial vision geared toward technological sovereignty and innovation.

Pierroberto Folgiero , CEO and General Manager of Fincantieri , commented: ” This project demonstrates Fincantieri’s role as a technological enabler serving the country’s economic system, capable of combining operational speed, innovation, and industrial vision. Through versatile and reconfigurable solutions, particularly in the underwater field, we continue to strengthen our ability to respond in an integrated and effective manner to the needs of the Navy, contributing to the development of an increasingly strategic technological sovereignty for Italy .” 

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Flooding in Sri Lanka pillars

Flooding in Sri Lanka

Space & Science /

Puttalam district in North Western Sri Lanka is currently facing severe flooding, landslides and rockfalls, caused by heavy monsoon rains across the region. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured an image over the region yesterday, 30 November 2025, as well an image one month ago, showing the extent of flooding. The images are taken using false-colour in the near-infrared channel. Sediment appears green/brown, cleaner water appears dark blue/black, and vegetation in red.The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites in the same orbit but on opposite sides of the globe. Each satellite carries an innovative wide swath high-resolution multispectral imager with 13 spectral bands.Orbiting at an altitude of 786 km, the mission passes over the same location on Earth every five days and is often called upon to provide data to support emergency reponse efforts. The Disasters Charter, which turns 25 this year, has been activated to provide satellite data over Sri Lanka.

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Research roundup: 6 cool stories we almost missed

Space & Science /

The authors harvested fresh grapes and dried them for 28 days. Some were dried using an incubator, some were sun-dried, and a third batch was dried using a combination of the two methods. The researchers then added the resulting raisins to bottles of water—three samples for each type of drying process—sealed the bottles, and stored them at room temperature for two weeks. One incubator-dried sample and two combo samples successfully fermented, but all three of the sun-dried samples did so, and at higher ethanol concentrations. Future research will focus on identifying the underlying molecular mechanisms. And for those interested in trying this at home, the authors warn that it only works with naturally sun-dried raisins, since store-bought varieties have oil coatings that block fermentation.
DOI: Scientific Reports, 2025. 10.1038/s41598-025-23715-3  (About DOIs).
An octopus-inspired pigment

Credit:

Charlotte Seid

Octopuses, cuttlefish, and several other cephalopods can rapidly shift the colors in their skin thanks to that skin’s unique complex structure, including layers of chromatophores, iridophores, and leucophores. A color-shifting natural pigment called xanthommatin also plays a key role, but it’s been difficult to study because it’s hard to harvest enough directly from animals, and lab-based methods of making the pigment are labor-intensive and don’t yield much. Scientists at the University of San Diego have developed a new method for making xanthommatin in substantially larger quantities, according to a paper published in Nature Biotechnology.

The issue is that trying to get microbes to make foreign compounds creates a metabolic burden, and the microbes hence resist the process, hindering yields. The USD team figured out how to trick the cells into producing more xanthommatin by genetically engineering them in such a way that making the pigment was essential to a cell’s survival. They achieved yields of between 1 and 3 grams per liter, compared to just five milligrams of pigment per liter using traditional approaches. While this work is proof of principle, the authors foresee such future applications as photoelectronic devices and thermal coatings, dyes, natural sunscreens, color-changing paints, and environmental sensors. It could also be used to make other kinds of chemicals and help industries shift away from older methods that rely on fossil fuel-based materials.

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final crop RESIZE Sporophyte sample from the space exposure experiment on the ISS CREDIT Tomomichi Fujita 300x201 1

Astronauts Placed an Extreme Earth Organism in Outer Space. Nine Months Later, it Was Still Alive

Military & Secret Tech, Space & Science, UFOs & Disclosure /

When astronauts retrieved Earth moss that had been outside the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months, where it had been exposed to the harsh environment of outer space, they were shocked to find that 80% of its spores were still alive.
Once the spores were returned to Earth, scientists also discovered that most were capable of reproducing.
The Hokkaido University research team behind the unexpected discovery suggests that understanding this extreme Earth organism’s durability could help mission planners evaluate potential Earth-based life forms for adaptation to future human colonies in extraterrestrial environments like the Moon or Mars.
Selecting an Earth Organism to Test in Space
Project leader and lead author Tomomichi Fujita of Hokkaido University said the idea of exposing moss to space came to him when his studies of plant evolution revealed the resilient Earth organism’s uncanny ability to colonize the planet’s harshest environments.
“I began to wonder: could this small yet remarkably robust plant also survive in space?” the researcher explained.
Before spending the resources necessary for an actual space mission, the Hokkaido scientist designed a series of laboratory experiments to verify the plant’s potential for survival in outer space. According to Fujita, the best candidate was Physcomitrium patens, a well-studied moss commonly known as spreading earthmoss.
Moss from the ISS experiment (Image credit: Tomomichi Fujita).
In the experiments, the researchers selected three structures from the candidate moss. These included protenemata, which are juvenile mosses; brood cells, which the team described as a specialized stem cell that “emerges under stress conditions”; and encapsulated spores called sporophytes.
Next, the team exposed the moss to a simulated space environment. This included subjecting the three structures to high levels of UV radiation, extreme temperatures (both high and low), and extremely low-pressure, vacuum-like conditions. Fujita said the team anticipated that exposing the moss structures to all the combined stresses of space, such as microgravity, extreme radiation and temperatures, and vacuum, instead of just one or two, would cause far greater damage “than any single stress alone.”
Encouraging Lab Results Prompted ISS Goals
When examining the results, the team found that extreme UV radiation posed the greatest challenge to survival, ultimately killing all the juvenile moss. Some of the brood cells did survive, but the researchers said the highest survival rate under extreme UV radiation was among the sporophytes.
Compared to the other moss components, the encased spores exhibited roughly 1,000 times more UV tolerance. The team suggests that the spore’s outer layer offers protection by physically absorbing UV radiation and blanketing the inner spore structure “both physically and chemically.”
When comparing the results of the extreme-temperature tests, the team found that all juvenile structures had perished. However, the spores survived after being held at 55°C for a month and then exposed to −196°C for over a week; they remained alive and able to germinate.
Moss spores germinating after space. Image Credit: Dr. Chang-hyun Maeng and Maika Kobayashi.
Although further study is needed to determine the reason for this protective ability against temperature and radiation extremes, the team said it is likely a 500-million-year-old evolutionary adaptation that allowed ancient bryophytes to transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments. They suspect the same ability helped these extreme Earth organisms survive several mass extinction events since that first adaptation.
ISS Tests Show Moss Sporophytes Possess Remarkable Ability to Survive in Space
According to a statement, the research team prepared several sporophyte samples for transport to space aboard the March 2022 Cygnus NG-17 spacecraft bound for the ISS. Upon arrival, astronauts aboard the station attached the moss spores to the outside of the ISS, where they would be exposed to the full range of space conditions.
Hokkaido University researchers prepared Sporophytes in specialized containers for transport to the ISS. Image credit: Tomomichi Fujita.
After 283 days of continuous exposure, the Earth organism samples were transported back home on SpaceX CRS-16 in January 2023. When the Hokkaido University team brought the samples into the lab for detailed testing, they said they had little optimism they would have survived such lengthy space exposure.
“We expected almost zero survival,” Fujita said.
Instead, the researcher said the team found the exact opposite result: most of the spores were still alive. Upon further examination, the team determined that 80% of the spores appeared alive and largely intact.
“Most living organisms, including humans, cannot survive even briefly in the vacuum of space,” Fujita explained. “However, the moss spores retained their vitality after nine months of direct exposure.”
After testing spore chlorophyll levels, the team found normal levels for all types except chlorophyll a, which showed a 20% reduction below normal. The team said this reduction “didn’t seem to impact” the spores’ overall health.

Beyond the sporophyte’s ability to survive in space, the team said the most surprising result occurred when the spores were encouraged to germinate. Shockingly, after nine months in outer space, all but 11% of the surviving spores geminated normally.
Moss spores germinated after nine months in space. CREDIT Dr. Chang-hyun Maeng and Maika Kobayashi.
“This study demonstrates the astonishing resilience of life that originated on Earth,” Fujita said of the astonishing test results. “This provides striking evidence that the life that has evolved on Earth possesses, at the cellular level, intrinsic mechanisms to endure the conditions of space.”
“We were genuinely astonished by the extraordinary durability of these tiny plant cells,” the researcher added.
Resilient Earth Organism Could Support Future Colonies on the Moon and Mars
When discussing the application of their unexpected findings, the Hokkaido team suggested that mission planners designing food and material systems for permanent space colonies on the moon and Mars should take a closer look at the versatility and durability of the ancient Earth organism.
In one example, a mathematical model designed by Fujita’s team to predict how long moss could survive in space showed it could, in theory, endure the extreme radiation, pressure, and temperature environment for as long as 5,600 days, or roughly 15 years.
Artist’s concept of a future moon base (Credit: ESA – P. Carril)
While they emphasize that their model used limited data and that more research is needed to confirm the 15-year projection, the clear durability and versatility of this extreme Earth organism, which can be used to make food, fuels, and materials, make it an ideal study subject for potential space colonies. They also said they hope that their findings help “advance research on the potential of extraterrestrial soils for facilitating plant growth” and inspire further research into using mosses in agricultural systems in space.
“Ultimately, we hope this work opens a new frontier toward constructing ecosystems in extraterrestrial environments such as the Moon and Mars,” Fujita said. “I hope that our moss research will serve as a starting point.”
The study “Extreme Environmental Tolerance and Space Survivability of the Moss, Physcomitrium patens” was published in IScience.
 Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.

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Ukraine Strikes Russian Shadow Fleet Tankers in Black Sea

Military & Secret Tech /

On the night of November 28 the Ukrainian armed forces deployed so-called Sea Baby Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) in the Black Sea and specifically attacked two tankers, believed to be part of Russia’s alleged shadow fleet. This fleet, made up of aging oil tankers flying under flags of convenience, is used by Russia to circumvent the oil embargo’s that has been put in place by Western countries.

The Ukrainian drones struck the oil tankers Kairos and Virat in the vicinity if the Turkish Straits. Both vessels were empty at the time of the attack and heading towards the Russian oil terminal located at Novorossiysk to load oil. The Kiaros was coming from Egypt and was attacked 28 nautical miles offshore the Turkish coast. The vessel suffered an explosion and fire, disabling the vessel. The second vessel, Virat, was struck near the engine room but is reported as in stable condition.

With these strikes, the Ukrainians are opening a new phase in the maritime war in the Black Sea whereby Ukrainian USVs are targeting Shadow Fleet tankers, possibly to dissuade other ships belonging to the Shadow Fleet to no longer head to Russian ports.

So far, no major reactions were recorded expect for Kazakhstan and Turkey. Kazakhstan complaints are however directed against the Ukrainian drone attacks that disabled the CPC oil terminal at Novorossiysk. This terminal is a major outlet not only for Russian but also counts for 80% Kazakh crude exports.

Turkey’s response was aimed to the fact that both Ukrainian USV attacks took place within Turkey’s Exclusive E Economic Zone (EEZ), posing a risk to navigation, life, property, and environmental safety.  In both attacks, Turkish rescue services had to intervene to control the fire and damage and rescue the crew. In the case of the Kiaros, the rescue vessels Kurtama-12 and Nene Hatun had to be deployed.

Russia strongly condemned the attacks but so far has not been able to formulate a strong response to the Ukrainian drone attacks.

The attacks coincided with a third incident, involving the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker Mersin, which started sinking near the coast of Dakar, Senegal. This tanker reportedly docked at Taman, Russia, in August and then headed for Togo. The vessel then remained stationary near Senegal with a last AIS signal reported on November 25. No official cause of the sinking was reported, leaving it unknown if the tanker suffered mechanical problems or was sabotaged.

A new phase in the maritime war

It appears that Ukraine is testing the waters and see if the direct attacks against the Shadow Fleet will meet relevant opposition. Should such opposition lack, it might encourage Ukraine to step up its attack and keep attacking Shadow Fleet tankers as they pass through the Black Sea. By striking the Shadow Fleet tankers in the Black Sea, Ukraine is hoping to impose a blockade of Russian oil exports in the Black Sea, putting further economic pressure on the Kremlin following regular strikes against Russia’s energy sector such as power grids and refineries.

So far, opposition against the Ukrainian USV attack is lacking though with only Turkey, Kazakhstan and Russia specifically condemning the attacks. Given the fact that Turkey is an important partner for Ukraine both in military cooperation and political support in the form of mediation between Ukraine and Russia;  Ukraine will possibly take Turkey’s objections in account and could refrain from striking Shadow Fleet tankers as they pass through the Turkish EEZ. However, Ukrainian drones have proven to have the necessary range to reach and attack targets inside the Russian EEZ of the Black Sea.

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet forced to intervene?

Russian Black Sea Fleet’s loses on the naval front of the war (Credit: Author)

Should Ukraine continue to attack Shadow Fleet tankers, the main question will be how Russia will respond. Throughout the war, the Russian Black See Fleet has been struggling to defend itself against Ukrainian naval attacks in the Black Sea Fleet. From March 2022 to May 2024, the Ukrainians were able to cause significant damage to the Black Sea Fleet through the use of missiles and drones. Over the course of two years, the Ukrainians succeeded in sinking or destroying the Slava-class cruiser RFS Moskva, the Improved Kilo-class submarine RFS Rostov-on-Don, the Bykov-class patrol boat RFS Sergey Bykov, the Tarantul-class missile boat RFS Ivanovets, and the Karakurt-class corvette RFS Tsiklon while the Karakurt-class corvette RFS Ashkold has been so thoroughly damaged that a return to service seems unlikely.

This maritime campaign succeeded in pushing the Black Sea Fleet out of the waters near Crimea and forced the fleet to relocate from Sevastopol to the Russian naval base at Novorossiysk. From there, the fleet largely remains in port, only venturing out for small patrols and Kalibr missile strikes against targets deep in Ukraine. But even in those circumstances, Ukrainian drones remain capable of attacking the Black Sea Fleet. Recent attacks took place in the Sea of Azov with Ukrainian drones targeting the radars on board of Russian warships. Though such attacks don’t sink a ship, the constitute as a so-called “soft kill” whereby the vessel has sustained damage at critical systems, rendering it no longer combat effective.

With Ukraine now directly attacking the Shadow Fleet, the Black Sea Fleet could be ordered to sail out and provide protection to tankers moving to and from Russian ports. Currently, the Black Sea Fleet can count on two Grigorovich-class frigates, two Krivak-class frigates, two Buyan-M-class corvettes, two Tarantul-class missile boats, two Bora-class hovercraft, six Grisha-class anti-submarine corvettes, and three Bykov-class patrol boats. In theory, these numbers are sufficient to provide a strong escort for any tankers heading to and from Russian ports at the Black Sea Fleet.

However it remains doubtful if the Black Sea Fleet has the practical skills to execute such escorts. The fleet has been largely confined to port at Novorossiysk, leaving little room for actual training. If the maritime campaign of 2022-2024 is any indication, warships of the Black Sea Fleet appear to be unable to defend themselves during this period as Ukraine preferred to attack ships operating on their own without nearby back-up. Any escort mission the Black Sea Fleet will undertake would therefore require the allocation of several warships simultaneously in order to provide some form of mutual support against Ukrainian drone attacks. Coordination of several vessels simultaneously during a drone attack can be hectic and difficult to pull off even with a streamlined command and trained crew. Also, once at sea, the vessels of the Black Sea Fleet will become a lot more vulnerable to UAV attacks as they operated beyond the range of land based air defense systems. This would significantly expand the scope of operations that the Black Sea Fleet would face once it starts escorting tankers as it has to content with both a seaborne and airborne threat.

Should the Black Sea Fleet commit to escorting tankers, we can speculate that Ukraine will jump on the opportunity to disable and sink several more Russian warships by setting op coordinated and overwhelming drone strikes against the Russian warships. Given the fact that Ukraine has access to Western intelligence, it could receive advanced warning when the Black Sea Fleet would venture out and where its ships are located at sea. NATO observation aircraft are being deployed over the Black Sea at a regular basis, monitoring the maritime situation and collecting intelligence.

So far, the Russian solution has been to instruct vessels to turn off their AIS broadcasts or no longer have them broadcast to which port they are heading. These measures only provide limited protection since these tankers have to pass through the Turkish Straits and have only a very limited amount of ports where they can go to. Any Ukrainian operative in Istanbul can visually observe if Shadow Fleet tankers are entering the Black Sea and report their passage. Given the limited amount of oil terminals, the routes these tankers take is generally known, as well as their general speed. All these factors would allow Ukraine to track and calculate where these tankers could be located once they have entered the Black Sea and then figure out when they cross into the Russian EEZ. USVs could potentially be used in the Turkish EEZ to shadow these tankers and provide Ukraine with real-time updates on their location and heading.

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1 company restores ai teddy bear sales after safety scare

Company restores AI teddy bear sales after safety scare

AI & Singularity, Space & Science /

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FoloToy paused sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a safety group found the toy gave risky and inappropriate responses during testing. Now the company says it has restored sales after a week of intense review. It also claims that it improved safeguards to keep kids safe.The announcement arrived through a social media post that highlighted a push for stronger oversight. The company said it completed testing, reinforced safety modules and upgraded its content filters. It added that it aims to build age-appropriate AI companions for families worldwide.Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips, urgent security alerts, and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletterTEXAS FAMILY SUES CHARACTER.AI AFTER CHATBOT ALLEGEDLY ENCOURAGED AUTISTIC SON TO HARM PARENTS AND HIMSELF FoloToy resumed sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong review prompted by safety concerns. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knuttson)Why FoloToy’s AI teddy bear raised safety concernsThe controversy started when the Public Interest Research Group Education Fund tested three different AI toys. All of them produced concerning answers that touched on religion, Norse mythology and harmful household items.Kumma stood out for the wrong reasons. When the bear used the Mistral model, it offered tips on where to find knives, pills and matches. It even outlined steps to light a match and blow it out.Tests with the GPT-4o model raised even sharper concerns. Kumma gave advice related to kissing and launched into detailed explanations of adult sexual content when prompted. The bear pushed further by asking the young user what they wanted to explore.Researchers called the behavior unsafe and inappropriate for any child-focused product.FoloToy paused access to its AI toysOnce the findings became public, FoloToy suspended sales of Kumma and its other AI toys. The company told PIRG that it started a full safety audit across all products.OpenAI also confirmed that it suspended FoloToy’s access to its models for violating policies designed to protect anyone under 18.LAWMAKERS UNVEIL BIPARTISAN GUARD ACT AFTER PARENTS BLAME AI CHATBOTS FOR TEEN SUICIDES, VIOLENCE The company says new safeguards and upgraded filters are now in place to prevent inappropriate responses. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)Why FoloToy restored Kumma’s sales after its safety reviewFoloToy brought Kumma back to its online store just one week after suspending sales. The fast return drew attention from parents and safety experts who wondered if the company had enough time to fix the serious issues identified in PIRG’s report.FoloToy posted a detailed statement on X that laid out its version of what happened. In the post, the company said it viewed child safety as its “highest priority” and that it was “the only company to proactively suspend sales, not only of the product mentioned in the report, but also of our other AI toys.” FoloToy said it took this action “immediately after the findings were published because we believe responsible action must come before commercial considerations.”The company also emphasized to CyberGuy that it was the only one of the three AI toy startups in the PIRG review to suspend sales across all of its products and that it made this decision during the peak Christmas sales season, knowing the commercial impact would be significant. FoloToy told us, “Nevertheless, we moved forward decisively, because we believe that responsible action must always come before commercial interests.”The company also said it took the report’s disturbing examples seriously. According to FoloToy, the issues were “directly addressed in our internal review.” It explained that the team “initiated a deep, company-wide internal safety audit,” then “strengthened and upgraded our content-moderation and child-safety safeguards,” and “deployed enhanced safety rules and protections through our cloud-based system.”After outlining these steps, the company said it spent the week on “rigorous review, testing, and reinforcement of our safety modules.” It concluded its announcement by saying it “began gradually restoring product sales” as those updated safeguards went live.FoloToy added that as global attention on AI toy risks grows, “transparency, responsibility and continuous improvement are essential,” and that the company “remains firmly committed to building safe, age-appropriate AI companions for children and families worldwide.”LEAKED META DOCUMENTS SHOW HOW AI CHATBOTS HANDLE CHILD EXPLOITATION Safety testers previously found the toy giving risky guidance about weapons, matches and adult content. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)Why experts still question FoloToy’s AI toy safety fixesPIRG researcher RJ Cross said her team plans to test the updated toys to see if the fixes hold up. She noted that a week feels fast for such significant changes, and only new tests will show if the product now behaves safely.Parents will want to follow this closely as AI-powered toys grow more common. The speed of FoloToy’s relaunch raises questions about the depth of its review.Tips for parents before buying AI toysAI toys can feel exciting and helpful, but they can also surprise you with content you’d never expect. If you plan to bring an AI-powered toy into your home, these simple steps can help you stay in control.1) Check which AI model the toy usesNot every model follows the same guardrails. Some include stronger filters while others may respond too freely. Look for transparent disclosures about which model powers the toy and what safety features support it.2) Read independent reviewsGroups like PIRG often test toys in ways parents cannot. These reviews flag hidden risks and point out behavior you may not catch during quick demos.3) Set clear usage rulesKeep AI toys in shared spaces where you can hear or see how your child interacts with it. This helps you step in if the toy gives a concerning answer.4) Test the toy yourself firstAsk the toy questions, try creative prompts and see how it handles tricky topics. This lets you learn how it behaves before you hand it to your child.5) Update the toy’s firmwareMany AI toys run on cloud systems. Updates often add stronger safeguards or reduce risky answers. Make sure the device stays current.6) Check for a clear privacy policyAI toys can gather voice data, location info or behavioral patterns. A strong privacy policy should explain what is collected, how long it is stored and who can access it.7) Watch for sudden behavior changesIf an AI toy starts giving odd answers or pushes into areas that feel inappropriate, stop using it and report the problem to the manufacturer.Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here: Cyberguy.com CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APPKurt’s key takeawaysAI toys can offer fun and learning, but they can also expose kids to unexpected risks. FoloToy says it improved Kumma’s safety, yet experts still want proof. Until the updated toy goes through independent testing, families may want to stay cautious.Do you think AI toys can ever be fully safe for young kids? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.comSign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips, urgent security alerts, and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com.  All rights reserved. 

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Mark Elder: Building the Future of Spacewalking for Artemis and Beyond 

Featured, Space & Science /

For more than 25 years, Mark Elder has helped make human spaceflight safe and possible. As the International Space Station EVA hardware manager in the Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Office within the EVA and Human Surface Mobility Program, he leads the team responsible for the spacesuits, tools, and logistics that keep astronauts protected during spacewalks—and ensures NASA is ready for the next era of Artemis exploration. His team is programmatically responsible for the Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or EMU, spacesuit. That means every bolt, bearing, and battery astronauts rely on outside the International Space Station ultimately falls under their watch. He also oversees the EVA Space Operations Contract, which provides engineering and technical support to keep spacesuit systems flight ready. 
Elder’s work directly supports every EVA, or spacewalk, conducted at the station. His team coordinates with astronauts, engineers, and the Mission Control Center in Houston to make sure the suits and tools operate reliably in the most unforgiving environment imaginable. Their work helps ensure every EVA is conducted safely and successfully. 
Elder’s passion for NASA began at an early age. 
“When I was little, my parents gave me a book called ‘The Astronauts,’” he said. “It had drawings of a reusable spacecraft—the space shuttle—and I fell in love with it. From then on, I told everyone I was going to work at NASA.” 
That dream took off at age 16, when he attended Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama. “That cemented my dream of someday working at NASA, and it taught me a little bit more about the different roles within the agency,” he said. 
While attending Case Western Reserve University as a mechanical engineering student, he learned about a new NASA program that allowed college students to design and build an experiment and then come to Johnson Space Center for a week to fly with their experiment on the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. “I jumped on the chance to be part of the team,” he said. “The experience further cemented my dream of working at NASA one day—Johnson in particular.” 
After graduation, Elder worked with Pratt & Whitney on jet engines. While the experience was invaluable, he knew his heart belonged in human spaceflight. “I learned that one of Pratt’s fellow companies under the United Technologies umbrella was Hamilton Sundstrand, which was the prime contractor for the spacesuit,” he said. “I jumped at the chance to transfer, and my career at NASA finally began.” 
Elder spent his first three years at Johnson performing tool-to-tool fit checks on spacewalking equipment, giving him hands-on experience with nearly every tool that he would eventually become responsible for as a hardware manager. 

His early years coincided with the shuttle return-to-flight era, when he worked on reinforced carbon-carbon panel repairs and thermal protection systems. Those experiences built his technical foundation and prepared him for the leadership roles to come. 
Over time, Elder took on increasingly complex assignments, eventually leading the team that developed the EVA Long Life Battery—the first human-rated lithium battery used in space. His team created a rigorous test plan to certify the battery for human spaceflight at a time when lithium batteries were under scrutiny for safety concerns. 
“Finally signing the certification paperwork was satisfying, but watching an EVA powered by the batteries provided a great sense of pride,” he said. 
This innovation set the stage for future generations of even safer, higher-capacity batteries that power today’s spacewalking operations and will eventually support lunar surface activities. 
Looking back, Elder said some of his greatest lessons came from learning how to lead with purpose. “The great thing about NASA is the highly motivated and dedicated workforce,” he said. “When I first became a team lead, I thought success meant making quick decisions and moving fast. I learned that leadership is really about listening. Strong teams are built on trust and open communication.” 
Another defining lesson, he said, has been learning to assume positive intent. “In a place like NASA, everyone is deeply passionate about what they do,” he said. “It’s easy to misinterpret a disagreement as opposition, but when you remember that everyone is working toward the same goal, the conversation changes. You focus on solving problems, not winning arguments.” 
That mindset has guided Elder through some of NASA’s most complex programs and helped him build lasting partnerships across the agency. 

Today, Elder’s work extends beyond the orbiting laboratory. As NASA prepares for Artemis missions to the Moon, his team’s experience maintaining and improving the EMU informs the design of next-generation exploration suits. 
“The foundation we’ve built on the space station is critical for the future,” he said. “Every tool we’ve refined, every system we’ve upgraded—it all feeds into how we’ll operate on the lunar surface and eventually on Mars.” 
Elder believes that the key to future success lies in perseverance. He advises the next generation to never stop dreaming. “My path wasn’t direct, and it would have been easy for me to give up,” he said. “But dreams have a way of guiding you if you don’t let go of them.” 
When he’s not supporting those missions, Elder’s creativity takes shape in his workshop. “In my spare time, I love woodworking,” he said. “Building something useful from a pile of rough-sawn boards helps calm me and gives me a great sense of accomplishment. I love being able to build furniture for my family,” he added, after recently finishing a desk for his youngest son. 
The same patience and precision he brings to woodworking defines his approach to exploration—steady progress, careful craftmanship, and attention to detail. “As NASA goes to the Moon and Mars, there will be challenges,” Elder said. “As long as we keep dreaming, we will see the next generation walking on the Moon and heading to Mars.” 

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prison phone wire

An AI model trained on prison phone calls now looks for planned crimes in those calls

AI & Singularity /

A US telecom company trained an AI model on years of inmates’ phone and video calls and is now piloting that model to scan their calls, texts, and emails in the hope of predicting and preventing crimes.  Securus Technologies president Kevin Elder told MIT Technology Review that the company began building its AI tools in 2023, using its massive database of recorded calls to train AI models to detect criminal activity. It created one model, for example, using seven years of calls made by inmates in the Texas prison system, but it has been working on building other state- or county-specific models. Over the past year, Elder says, Securus has been piloting the AI tools to monitor inmate conversations in real time (the company declined to specify where this is taking place, but its customers include jails holding people awaiting trial, prisons for those serving sentences, and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement detention facilities). “We can point that large language model at an entire treasure trove [of data],” Elder says, “to detect and understand when crimes are being thought about or contemplated, so that you’re catching it much earlier in the cycle.”
As with its other monitoring tools, investigators at detention facilities can deploy the AI features to monitor randomly selected conversations or those of individuals suspected by facility investigators of criminal activity, according to Elder. The model will analyze phone and video calls, text messages, and emails and then flag sections for human agents to review. These agents then send them to investigators for follow-up.  In an interview, Elder said Securus’ monitoring efforts have helped disrupt human trafficking and gang activities organized from within prisons, among other crimes, and said its tools are also used to identify prison staff who are bringing in contraband. But the company did not provide MIT Technology Review with any cases specifically uncovered by its new AI models. 
People in prison, and those they call, are notified that their conversations are recorded. But this doesn’t mean they’re aware that those conversations could be used to train an AI model, says Bianca Tylek, executive director of the prison rights advocacy group Worth Rises.  “That’s coercive consent; there’s literally no other way you can communicate with your family,” Tylek says. And since inmates in the vast majority of states pay for these calls, she adds, “not only are you not compensating them for the use of their data, but you’re actually charging them while collecting their data.” A company spokesperson said that correctional facilities determine their own recording and monitoring policies, which Securus follows, and did not directly answer whether inmates can opt out of having their recordings used to train AI. Other advocates for inmates say Securus has a history of violating their civil liberties. For example, leaks of its recordings databases showed the company had improperly recorded thousands of calls between inmates and their attorneys. Corene Kendrick, the deputy director of the ACLU’s National Prison Project, says that the new AI system enables a system of invasive surveillance, and courts have specified few limits to this power. “[Are we] going to stop crime before it happens because we’re monitoring every utterance and thought of incarcerated people?” Kendrick says. “I think this is one of many situations where the technology is way far ahead of the law.” The Secrurus spokesperson said the tool “is not focused on surveilling or targeting specific individuals, but rather on identifying broader patterns, anomalies, and unlawful behaviors across the entire communication system.” They added that its function is to make monitoring more efficient amid staffing shortages, “not to surveil individuals without cause.” Securus will have an easier time funding its AI tool thanks to the company’s recent win in a battle with regulators over how telecom companies can spend the money they collect from inmates’ calls. In 2024, the Federal Communications Commission issued a major reform, shaped and lauded by advocates for prisoners’ rights, that forbade telecoms from passing the costs of recording and surveilling calls on to inmates. Companies were allowed to continue to charge inmates a capped rate for calls, but prisons and jails were ordered to pay for most security costs out of their own budgets.

Negative reactions to this change were swift. Associations of sheriffs (who typically run county jails) complained they could no longer afford proper monitoring of calls, and attorneys general from 14 states sued over the ruling. Some prisons and jails warned they would cut off access to phone calls.  While it was building and piloting its AI tool, Securus held meetings with the FCC and lobbied for a rule change, arguing that the 2024 reform went too far and asking that the agency again allow companies to use fees collected from inmates to pay for security.  In June, Brendan Carr, whom President Donald Trump appointed to lead the FCC, said it would postpone all deadlines for jails and prisons to adopt the 2024 reforms, and even signaled that the agency wants to help telecom companies fund their AI surveillance efforts with the fees paid by inmates. In a press release, Carr wrote that rolling back the 2024 reforms would “lead to broader adoption of beneficial public safety tools that include advanced AI and machine learning.” On October 28, the agency went further: It voted to pass new, higher rate caps and allow companies like Securus to pass security costs relating to recording and monitoring of calls—like storing recordings, transcribing them, or building AI tools to analyze such calls, for example—on to inmates. A spokesperson for Securus told MIT Technology Review that the company aims to balance affordability with the need to fund essential safety and security tools. “These tools, which include our advanced monitoring and AI capabilities, are fundamental to maintaining secure facilities for incarcerated individuals and correctional staff and to protecting the public,” they wrote. FCC commissioner Anna Gomez dissented in last month’s ruling. “Law enforcement,” she wrote in a statement, “should foot the bill for unrelated security and safety costs, not the families of incarcerated people.” The FCC will be seeking comment on these new rules before they take final effect. 

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French Navy’s FDI frigate Conducts RAS for the first time

Military & Secret Tech /

On November 18, 2025, the French Navy (Marine Nationale) frigate Amiral Ronarc’h carried out a replenishment at sea (RAS) with the replenishment tanker (BRF) Jacques Chevallier. The event involved two of the newest surface units of the French fleet, the FDI Frigate and the new BRF, and marked the first RAS for an FDI.

French Navy press release – Translated by Naval News

Replenishment at sea is an essential maneuver for naval operations, as it allows a ship to take on diesel fuel, aviation fuel, equipment, and supplies, while also offloading waste when port calls are not possible, such as during deployments in crisis areas.

This RAS enabled the Amiral Ronarc’h, which recently arrived in the Mediterranean to conduct various trials, to test its installations in order to verify their compatibility and resistance to the flow rates delivered by the BRF, as well as to train its crew in the different phases of the maneuver, both on the bridge and in the engine room.

This unprecedented training involving the two newest units of the fleet therefore allowed the FDI to validate its ability to carry out this maneuver as part of its operational readiness phase, a crucial step before its first deployment.

– End –

About BRF / Chevallier-class Replenishment Tanker

Credit: French Navy

With a length of 194 metres and a displacement of 31,000 tonnes when fully loaded, the BRF type supply ships can carry up to 13,000m³ of fuel, as well as provisions, ammunition and spare parts. It is capable of simultaneously refuelling two vessels thanks to its four lateral transfer stations and refuelling masts capable of handling solid cargo weighing up to 2.5 tonnes. These enhanced logistical support capabilities significantly improve the autonomy of the naval air group and forces deployed on the high seas.

The vessel is also equipped with modern equipment that makes it fully capable of operating in degraded environments. Its integrated combat system, close self-defence capabilities, communications and support facilities make the BRF a versatile platform, capable of carrying out refuelling and support missions.

The first ship-in-class, Jacques Chevallier, was delivered in July 2023, while the second BRF, Jacques Stosskopf, was handed over to the French Navy in November 2025.

Main characteristics of the BRF vessels

Gross tonnage: 28,700 GRTDisplacement at full load: 31,000 tonnesOverall length: 194 mOverall width: 27.60 mCrew capacity: 190 people (including 130 crew members and capacity for 60 passengers)Total deadweight: 14,870 tonnesFreight volume: 13,000 m3Total installed capacity: 24 MWArtillery: 40 mm gunsPolaris® Combat Management System

Check out our video coverage of the BRF:

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About FDI

The keel laying of the first FDI took place in December 2021 and the launch in November 2022. The next five ships in the series (three for the Hellenic Navy and two for the French Navy) are expected be delivered before (or right after) 2030. The Naval Group shipyard in Lorient has been totally revamped to be able to scale up production and deliver two FDI frigates per year. The construction cycle for one frigate takes about 3 years. Two frigates can be produced in parallel.

A total of five vessels are set to be delivered to France (three hulls already on order, the remaining two ships will be ordered later on). In addition, three frigates are currently under construction for Greece, with an option for a fourth unit which was enforced last month.

Lastly, Naval Group is pitching the FDI to Sweden, Denmark, as well as to Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.

Technical specifications:

displacement: 4,500 tons

length: 122 meters

beam: 18 meters

max. speed: 27 knots

autonomy: 45 days

operational availability: 3,500 hours per year

accomodation: 125-persons crew + 28 passengers

aviation facility: 10 ton-class helicopter, VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

The main weapon systems of the FDI (French Navy configuration) are:

Non-lethal weapon systems

16 Aster surface to air missiles developed by MBDA

8 Exocet MM40 Block 3c anti-ship missiles developed by MBDA

MU 90 torpedoes developed by Naval Group

76 mm gun

2 Narwhal 20mm remote weapon stations

4 torpedo tubes

CANTO counter measures developed by Naval Group

Check out our exclusive video coverage aboard Amiral Ronarc’h recorded in February 2025:

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