NASA on Friday abruptly said it was shaking up its Artemis lunar program that has suffered multiple delays in recent years, a bid to ensure Americans can return to the Moon’s surface by 2028.That goal remains unchanged, but the US space agency is shifting its flight lineup to include a test mission before an eventual lunar landing to improve launch “muscle memory,” NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said.That strategic revision comes amid repeated delays to the Artemis 2 mission, which was originally due to take off as early as February, but now will not launch before April. It is meant to see the first flyby of the Moon in more than half a century.The changes mean that Artemis 3, which was meant to send astronauts to the Moon’s surface, will now have the different test goal of “rendezvous in low-Earth orbit” of at least one lunar lander.The next phase, Artemis 4, will aim for a lunar landing in early 2028. Isaacman said he hoped that mission could be followed relatively quickly by a second landing within the year.”We’re not necessarily committing to launching two missions in 2028,” he told a briefing, “but we want to have the opportunity to be able to do that.”- ‘Back to basics’ -The NASA chief said speeding up the cadence of Artemis launches would allow for building more institutional knowledge in the model of the Apollo program, which originally put Americans on the Moon.”Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, through the shuttle program — I don’t think it would surprise many of the folks in the room that our average launch cadence was closer to three months throughout all those programs, not three years,” he said. “We need to start getting back to basics and moving in this direction.””Launching every three years, your skills atrophy, you lose muscle memory.”Earlier this week, in a setback for Artemis 2, NASA rolled back its towering SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft off the launchpad to investigate problems and make necessary repairs.- ‘Space race’? -During his first term President Donald Trump announced he wanted Americans to once again set foot on the lunar surface.NASA hopes to put humans back on the Moon as China forges ahead with its own effort, which is targeting 2030 at the latest for a first crewed mission.China’s uncrewed Chang’e 7 mission is expected to be launched in 2026 for an exploration of the Moon’s south pole, and testing of its crewed spacecraft Mengzhou is also set to go ahead this year.Queried on the so-called “space race,” Isaacman said Friday that “I think competition is good.” “We’re here talking to you about what is a common-sense approach to achieve the objective, whether we had a great rival in the running or not.”But delays to space travel are not uncommon — and could also stem from the progress of NASA’s private partners.SpaceX and Blue Origin, the respective space companies of dueling billionaires Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, are contracted to develop lunar landers used in Artemis.Both companies posted praise of NASA’s plans on social media Friday.”We’re all in!” wrote Blue Origin on X, while SpaceX said it “shares the same goal as NASA of returning to the Moon with a permanent presence as expeditiously and safely as possible.””Frequent human exploration flights help establish a sustainable presence for humans in space,” SpaceX said.

US President Donald Trump on Friday voiced frustration with Iran’s stance in nuclear negotiations but said he had not yet decided whether to carry out a threatened attack, as US staff were authorized to leave Israel due to heightened risks.Trump has ordered the biggest military build-up in decades in the Middle East, with the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, approaching the coast of Israel, as he demands Iran agree to sweeping concessions on concerns starting with its nuclear program.A day after the United States and Iran held talks in Geneva, Trump said that the cleric-run state was “not willing to give us what we have to have” but added on military force, “We haven’t made a final decision.””We’re not exactly happy with the way they negotiated. They cannot have nuclear weapons, and we’re not thrilled with the way they’re negotiating,” Trump told reporters.”We want no nuclear weapons by Iran and they’re not saying those golden words.”Iran has said repeatedly that it is not pursuing nuclear weapons and agreed to restrictions on enrichment in a 2015 deal that Trump ripped up during his first term in office.Trump in June had said that Iran’s key nuclear sites had been “obliterated” after the United States joined a major Israeli bombing campaign.The renewed pressure comes weeks after Iranian authorities killed thousands of people as they crushed one of the biggest threats to the Islamic republic established after the 1979 revolution deposed the pro-Western shah.Trump said “nobody knows” if an attack would bring down the Iranian government.- Rubio heads to Israel -US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Israel for talks on Iran on Monday, the State Department announced. In a rare break from decades of precedent, the top US diplomat will travel without reporters on his plane.Rubio will head to Israel even after the US embassy announced it was allowing non-emergency US government personnel and family members to leave “due to safety risks.”Americans “may wish to consider leaving Israel while commercial flights are available,” the embassy said on its website. Germany in a new advisory said it “urgently” discouraged travel to Israel.Britain said it was moving diplomatic staff out of Tel Aviv, Israel’s economic hub where most countries maintain embassies, to another location in the country as a “precautionary measure.”China, a main partner of Tehran, called on its citizens to evacuate Iran “as soon as possible.” The United States and European countries already have longstanding warnings on travel to Iran.- Holding out hope for talks -On February 19, Trump gave Iran 15 days to reach a deal. While Iran has insisted discussions focus solely on nuclear issues, Washington wants Tehran’s missile programme and its support for militant groups curtailed.Oman, which brokered the negotiations in Iran that included Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and roving negotiator Steve Witkoff, has offered a positive take on the talks.Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi met Friday in Washington with Vice President JD Vance.Busaidi wrote on X that he looked forward to “further and decisive progress in the coming days.” “Peace is within our reach,” he wrote.Iran has trumpeted what it calls progress during the negotiations. But Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sounded a warning on Friday in talks with his Egyptian counterpart, saying that “success in this path requires seriousness and realism from the other side and avoidance of any miscalculation and excessive demands.”The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, confirmed that it would hold technical discussions with Iran on Monday.The agency called on Iran to cooperate with it “constructively,” stressing “the utmost urgency” of its request to verify all its nuclear material, according to a confidential report seen by AFP. In their capital Tehran, ordinary Iranians expressed distrust of the United States and hoped negotiations would lead to economic relief for their sanctions-hit nation. “Whatever the outcome of the negotiations… it should lead to some improvement in people’s economic situation. Not just a little — it is our right,” Ali Bagheri, 34, told AFP. Hamid Beiranvand, 42, said Iran should “not give any concessions” as Washington “breaks promises,” but that “everyone prefers that a war doesn’t happen.” burs-sct/aha

Former US president Bill Clinton denied wrongdoing Friday to a congressional panel probing his links to Jeffrey Epstein, as Democrats seek to shift focus onto Donald Trump’s own ties to the notorious sex offender.Clinton features prominently throughout the Epstein files, but he insists that he broke ties well before the disgraced billionaire’s 2008 conviction for sex offenses.”I saw nothing, and I did nothing wrong,” Clinton said in his opening statement, shared on social media. The Republican chair of the House committee probing Epstein, James Comer, said ahead of Clinton’s deposition that he would be “asking lots of questions.” His Republican colleague Anna Paulina Luna said the former president was cooperative.But Democrats on the committee reiterated their call for Trump, who also has well-documented links to Epstein, to be quizzed.”Let’s be real, we are talking to the wrong president,” said Democrat committee member Suhas Subramanyam, who also emphasized that Clinton had not dodged any questions.In his statement, Clinton did not name Trump directly but said “no person is above the law, even presidents — especially presidents.” As for Trump, he repeated his skepticism over the whole process, telling reporters he likes Clinton “and I don’t like seeing him deposed.”Being mentioned in the files released by the US Department of Justice does not imply wrongdoing and Clinton — like Trump — has not been accused of a crime or formally investigated.Clinton follows his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who testified Thursday and defiantly called for Trump to appear before the panel.The lawmakers should ask Trump “directly under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files,” she said.The depositions are being held behind closed doors, with Bill Clinton likening the proceedings to a “kangaroo court.” The couple has called for them to be open and televised.Hillary Clinton said she had never known Epstein or visited the properties where he hosted world celebrities and powerful business and political figures — as well as allegedly trafficking young women and girls.Bill Clinton has acknowledged extensive interactions with Epstein but said he never visited the financier’s infamous private Caribbean island.Epstein was convicted in 2008 for soliciting sex from girls as young as 14, but died in a New York jail cell in 2019 before he could be tried on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide but like much else around Epstein is the subject of lurid conspiracy theories.The Clintons had initially rejected subpoenas ordering them to testify, but the Democratic power couple agreed to do so after House Republicans threatened to hold them in contempt of Congress.- ‘Turned him in’ -Democrats say the investigation is being weaponized to attack Trump’s political opponents rather than to conduct legitimate oversight.Previously unseen photographs from the files include one showing Bill Clinton reclining in a hot tub, part of the image obscured by a stark black rectangle.In another, Clinton is pictured swimming alongside a dark-haired woman who appears to be Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.Bill Clinton has acknowledged flying on Epstein’s private plane several times in the early 2000s for Clinton Foundation-related humanitarian work.”Jeffrey Epstein was in the White House 17 times while Bill Clinton was President. We know that Bill Clinton flew on Jeffrey Epstein’s plane at least 27 times. So those are questions that we’re going to ask,” said Comer.Clinton said in his opening statement “not only would I not have flown on his plane if I had any inkling of what he was doing — I would have turned him in.”The depositions are being held in Chappaqua, New York, home to the Clintons, where dozens of journalists and Secret Service officers have converged.

Lionel Messi was knocked to the ground as fans invaded the pitch during chaotic scenes at a match in Puerto Rico on Thursday.Messi was playing for Inter Miami in a friendly against Ecuador’s Independiente del Valle when supporters raced onto the field in the game’s 88th minute.While one fan demanded a selfie with the Argentine great and another asked for his shirt to be signed, a third rushed to embrace Messi from behind. A security guard tackled the fan, who dragged the World Cup winner to the floor.Messi did not appear to be injured in the incident, landing on the fan, before picking himself up and walking away in apparent frustration.It capped a farcical night for a friendly that started an hour late due to a disagreement over which colors each team should wear.The argument was seemingly never resolved, as both teams ended up playing in black.A penalty kick by Messi gave Miami a 2-1 victory.Messi, who came on as a substitute at the start of the second half, scored the winning goal in the 70th minute.Inter Miami had opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a goal from fellow Argentine Santi Morales.Ecuadorian international Patrik Mercado leveled the score in the 17th minute.The friendly was originally scheduled for February 13 but was postponed due to a Messi injury.Nearly 20,000 spectators in Bayamon, on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, a US territory, gave the Argentine idol a standing ovation when he finally entered the game.An eight-time Ballon d’Or winner widely considered one of the greatest soccer players of all time, Messi is expected to represent Argentina at a record sixth World Cup this summer.He has not yet officially confirmed he will participate in the tournament, taking place across the United States, Mexico and Canada.