Thursday☕️

06 Mar 2025 — 5 min read

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Today, March 6, 2025, a South Korean fighter jet accidentally dropped eight bombs in a civilian area during a military exercise in Pocheon, near the North Korean border. The bombs, which were supposed to land in a designated training area, instead hit homes, a church, and other buildings, injuring 15 people. The South Korean Air Force apologized for the incident and stated that they are investigating the cause. Authorities also evacuated residents to check for unexploded bombs.

This accident happened during joint military drills with the U.S., part of a larger effort to improve defense readiness against North Korea. For years, residents in Pocheon have expressed concerns about military exercises in the area, fearing accidents like this. The South Korean government has reassured the public that it will compensate the affected individuals and take steps to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Economics & Markets:

Geopolitics & Military Activity:

Yesterday, March 5, 2025, a missile strike hit a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, resulting in two fatalities and 29 injuries, with at least 20 people in serious condition. The attack caused significant destruction to the five-story building, leaving parts of it in ruins. Authorities have not disclosed whether the hotel was housing civilians or military personnel at the time of the attack. Kryvyi Rih, an industrial city in central Ukraine and the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been targeted multiple times throughout the conflict.

The missile strike is part of ongoing hostilities in the region, with both sides continuing to exchange attacks. Rescue operations at the site are ongoing, with local authorities urging residents to remain cautious amid warnings of further potential strikes. The attack highlights the broader challenges faced by urban areas caught in the conflict, where key infrastructure and residential buildings remain vulnerable to military actions.

Environment & Weather:

Saudi Arabia is experiencing severe flooding due to heavy rainfall in Al Badayea. Authorities have mobilized emergency teams and advised people to stay indoors as the flooding continues. These floods have been happening on and off since January 2025, with several storms causing major disruptions. Earlier this year, heavy rainfall hit the Badr governorate and other regions, breaking records and exposing weaknesses in the country’s flood management infrastructure.

The region’s dry, rocky terrain and urban development make it difficult for the ground to absorb water, causing rapid runoff and flash floods. The increasing frequency of these storms has raised concerns about the need for better drainage systems, flood control measures, and long-term strategies to deal with extreme weather in Saudi Arabia.

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Space:

Today, March 6, 2025, Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission is set to land on the Moon, with its Nova-C class lunar lander, Athena, expected to touch down on Mons Mouton, a plateau near the lunar South Pole. Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 26, 2025, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Athena is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. The lander carries scientific instruments designed to analyze potential volatiles in the lunar soil, crucial for future lunar resource utilization. If successful, this will mark Intuitive Machines’ second lunar landing following their IM-1 mission in February.

Additionally, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1 successfully landed on the Moon in the Mare Crisium on March 2, 2025, carrying NASA payloads to test lunar drilling technology and an electrodynamic dust shield to mitigate dust interference on lunar hardware. Japan’s ispace launched Hakuto-R Mission 2, known as Resilience, on January 15, 2025, with a micro rover called TENACIOUS designed to test lunar regolith extraction and surface mobility. It is expected to land in June 2025, targeting the Mare Frigoris region.

This increase in lunar missions is driven by a global push to establish a long-term presence on the Moon, primarily through NASA’s Artemis program and the Artemis Accords, which include over 30 partner nations. The Artemis initiative aims to send astronauts to the Moon’s South Pole, where ice deposits could provide water, oxygen, and fuel for sustained operations. Commercial partnerships like CLPS are enabling rapid deployment of scientific instruments and infrastructure. Meanwhile, China and Russia are developing the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) for a permanent base, and India continues its lunar research following Chandrayaan-3’s success in 2023. This new space race is focused on resource extraction, technology development, and laying the groundwork for a permanent Human presence in Space.

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