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I recently learned about the The Voynich Manuscript, a mysterious 15th-century codex written in an unknown script. Comprising 240 pages filled with undeciphered text and colorful illustrations, the manuscript features botanical drawings, astronomical diagrams, and sections resembling biological and pharmaceutical themes. Despite extensive efforts by linguists, cryptographers, and computer scientists, the manuscript’s language and meaning remain unsolved.

Theories about the manuscript’s purpose range from it being an elaborate hoax to a text written in a lost or constructed language, or an intricate cipher, containing valuable information.

I wonder if AI will solve it one day…

Earth Sciences

SpaceX Starship Successfully Returns to Earth

On Sunday we did an article about the Boeing Starliner’s first launch with Astronauts on board and heading for the ISS. Well, they have stiff competition from SpaceX, who just achieved a remarkable new milestone.

SpaceX successfully completed a test flight of its Starship rocket for the first time last week, marking significant progress in the development of the colossal vehicle.

“Our first ever ship landing burn after a launch into space ... that was incredible,” SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot said during the company's broadcast.

Elon Musk’s company launched Starship at approximately 8:50 a.m. ET from its Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas.

A few minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s booster successfully splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico, achieving a new milestone in its development. This was the first time SpaceX returned the booster intact, a crucial step towards the company’s long-term goal of routinely launching and landing Starship, similar to its Falcon 9 rockets.

About an hour post-launch, Starship survived reentry through Earth’s atmosphere, splashing down in the Indian Ocean to complete the mission. Despite the intense heat of reentry, the rocket appeared to withstand external damage, with debris visible on the broadcast.

"Splashdown confirmed!" SpaceX announced on social media after the flight.

The fourth Starship spaceflight carried no crew. SpaceX's leadership has previously stressed that they plan to fly hundreds of Starship missions before the rocket carries any astronauts.

Designed to be fully reusable, the Starship system aims to revolutionize the way cargo and people are transported beyond Earth. The rocket is also integral to NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the moon. SpaceX has secured a multibillion-dollar contract from NASA to use Starship as a crewed lunar lander for the Artemis moon program.

Shortly after the flight, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson congratulated SpaceX on its achievement.

"We are another step closer to returning humanity to the Moon through Artemis — then looking onward to Mars," Nelson wrote in a social media post.

The Tallest and Most Powerful

Starship holds the record as both the tallest and most powerful rocket ever launched. When fully stacked on the Super Heavy booster, Starship reaches a height of 397 feet and measures about 30 feet in diameter.

The Super Heavy booster, standing 232 feet tall, initiates the rocket’s journey to space. It is equipped with 33 Raptor engines at its base, collectively generating 16.7 million pounds of thrust—nearly double the 8.8 million pounds of thrust produced by NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, which first launched in 2022.

Starship itself is 165 feet tall and features six Raptor engines—three designed for use within Earth's atmosphere and three optimized for operating in the vacuum of space.

The rocket is fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid methane. The entire system requires over 10 million pounds of propellant for a launch.

U.S News

US Puts Solar Panels on Old Nuclear Weapons Sites

Land previously designated for nuclear weapons activities is now being repurposed for solar energy projects.

The Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons sites are now hosting solar farms capable of powering thousands of homes.

Under the "Cleanup to Clean Energy" program, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) will soon host a 400-megawatt solar farm on 2,800 acres. Although INL never hosted nuclear weapons, a lease was negotiated with Massachusetts-based NorthRenew Energy for 300 megawatts of solar power. Another developer, Spitfire, secured a lease for 100 megawatts of solar power and 500 megawatts of battery storage, according to Elektek.

Other potential sites for the program include the Hanford site in Washington, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, the Nevada National Security Site in Nevada, and the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.

“We're working closely with community leaders and private sector partners to clean up land formerly used for nuclear deterrence programs and deploy clean energy solutions to help save the planet and strengthen our energy independence,” said US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

These sites were used for testing, training, and producing nuclear weapons materials like plutonium or for disposal, but never hosted nuclear weapons themselves.

Culture

$1-Billion Spiral-Shaped Hollywood Tower

Architect Norman Foster has unveiled plans for a new $1-billion office tower in Los Angeles featuring greenery on a series of terraces spiraling up its facade.

The proposal, submitted to city planning authorities this week, will transform a two-acre site on Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard into a 22-story workplace called The Star.

Digital renderings released by Foster + Partners show elevated gardens with plants and trees, outdoor decks, and modern office space.

Foster described it as a “true reflection of the workplace of the future, nurturing community, wellbeing and collaboration.”

The Star, mainly comprising offices, will house entertainment firms and “Hollywood’s top content creators,” according to Foster + Partners. Plans include production space, a gallery, a screening theater, a rooftop restaurant, and “community gathering spaces” at ground level.

The proposal covers 525,000 square feet, replacing a 2019 plan by MAD Architects that featured a circular design with a funicular railway and was projected to cost $500 million, half the price of the new proposal. A spokesperson for the project said Foster’s design, though the same height but thinner than the previous proposal, aims to be an “asset to the community” that “respects the views” of Hollywood Hills residents.

The announcement comes as LA’s real estate market struggles with vacancies, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, Hollywood writers strikes, and the growth of remote and hybrid working. According to property brokerage Savills, more than a quarter of the city’s office space, nearly 30% in downtown LA, is currently vacant.

If approved, construction on The Star will start by early 2026 and finish in 2029.

Mind Stretchers

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Find three consecutive, positive whole numbers such that the sum of the first and third numbers is 1,136.

Answer to yesterday’s Mind Stretchers:
15! — Each two digit middle number is the sum of the three digits of the two numbers on either side of the middle.

Be the first to send us the correct answer for today’s mind stretcher for a shout-out with the answer tomorrow. Just send us the answer and your name to [email protected]

If you have any uplifting stories and experience you might want to share, send those over to [email protected] for the chance to be featured.