Fifty-six years after Neil Armstrong’s historic first step on the Moon, Nasa is leading the drive to send astronauts to the lunar surface once more, though it is feared at the expense of its own scientific programmes.
The agency is marking Moon Day on July 20, the anniversary of the famous Apollo 11 landing, as it navigates a period of transition without a Senate-confirmed administrator.
While US President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' secures funding for Artemis, Nasa’s flagship Moon exploration programme, the White House spending plan slashes the budget for the agency’s Earth science, astrophysics and planetary research divisions by nearly half.
Scientists and space policy experts told The National that the US is sacrificing some of its most ambitious scientific projects to keep the lunar return on track.
Dr Gordon Osinski, an Earth sciences professor at the Western University in Ontario, Canada, and a geology team member for Artemis III, said he is concerned about the long-term effect these cuts could have.
“While Artemis II appears to be on schedule for a spring 2026 launch, I am concerned about US budget cuts, the big exodus of senior Nasa employees and what this means for returning humans to the surface of the Moon in the Artemis III mission,” he said.
Some Nasa employees are set to hold a protest on Moon Day in Washington DC in a bid to save the agency's science divisions.
"We're fighting for science, engineering and exploration," the protest website reads. "Tell Congress to push back on the 2025 Presidential Budget Request that cuts Nasa science by 47 per cent, Stem education by 100 per cent, and Nasa's full budget by 25 per cent."
Artemis boost but science takes hit
The Trump administration has made crewed exploration a centrepiece of its space agenda.
The 'Big Beautiful Bill', signed into law on July 4, features billions of dollars in additional funding for the Space Launch System, Orion capsule and Lunar Gateway projects.
But the White House's proposed budget cuts would reshape programmes in favour of crewed exploration, slashing funding for climate monitoring satellites, planetary missions such as the Mars Sample Return and major space telescopes in development.
Dr Dimitra Atri, scientist at NYUAD, said current space policy lacks the clarity and consistency that helped propel the Apollo missions.
“The public’s relationship with space exploration has changed dramatically since Apollo’s collective wonder in 1969,” he said.
“Today’s achievements, while technically sophisticated, struggle to capture that same imagination, especially when delays and setbacks dominate headlines.
“Apollo went from [US president John F] Kennedy’s 1961 announcement to lunar landing in eight years, while Artemis has spent over a decade working to return astronauts to lunar orbit, something we accomplished 50 years ago with far less capabilities.”
Nasa has been a global leader in explorative space science for decades, responsible for some of the most ground-breaking missions in history.
The Hubble Space Telescope, for example, revolutionised astronomy by capturing deep-space images that reshaped our understanding of the universe.
Nasa's fleet of Mars rovers, including Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity and Perseverance, uncovered evidence of past water activity and potential habitability on the Red Planet.
The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, is offering unprecedented views of the early universe and distant exoplanets.
On Earth, the Terra and Aqua satellites have played a key role in monitoring climate change.
Rising global competition
While Nasa deals with the reshaping of its programmes, other countries are making steady progress with their Moon plans and scientific space missions.
China completed the first lunar far side sample return with its Chang’e-6 mission and is planning a crewed Moon landing before 2030.
Fifty-four countries are part of the US-led Artemis Accords, an international agreement on peaceful and transparent lunar exploration.
Dr Osinski said Moon Day should remind the world of the value of international co-operation and science-driven exploration.
“Moon Day is an excellent way to focus the world’s attention on the past, present and future of lunar exploration,” he said.
“While its date is based on the first US landing on the surface of the Moon, it has grown to represent much more than this and to be a global celebration.
“International collaboration is key to space exploration and so Moon Day can provide some sorely needed inspiration and an example of the good that can come about when countries work with each other, not against.”
Shift to commercial space
Nasa’s increasing reliance on commercial partners is also shaping how it now approaches exploration.
SpaceX’s Starship is central to Artemis III’s landing plan and Axiom Space is developing the new generation of lunar spacesuits.
Dave Barnhart, chief executive of California space infrastructure company Arkisys, said the rise of commercial space is a natural evolution, one that can benefit science in the long run.
“Nasa was the pioneer to create the environment for commercial cargo to the ISS, which is now leading to development of commercial space stations,” he said.
“Likewise, they contracted several companies to lead new vehicle development and test flights to the Moon, which has encouraged true investment.”
He said that even if Nasa’s scientific leadership weakens in the short term, global and private-sector collaboration could generate even greater returns.
“We are going to gain far more than just what one government organisation could apply to the problems,” he said.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
7.05pm: Handicap Dh 185,000 2,000m
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap Dh 190,000 1,400m
8.50pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,200m
10pm: Handicap Dh 165,000 1,600m
Oppenheimer
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I Feel Pretty
Dir: Abby Kohn/Mark Silverstein
Starring: Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams, Emily Ratajkowski, Rory Scovel
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
Profile box
Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Jawan
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
