Extreme winter weather hit Texas hard this February. An air mass from the arctic extended deep into the United States from Canada, with disastrous results for the ordinarily warm state. Along with snow and unusually low temperatures, the state's capacity for power generation was significantly reduced by weather-related equipment failures. Images hosted by NASA's Earth Observatory show the effect of controlled, rolling blackouts across the Greater Houston Area.

One image, taken on February 7, shows Houston before the arctic weather system, and another picture taken on the February 16 shows large swaths of the city in darkness. Earth Observatory has conveniently layered the two images with a vertical slider allowing users to slide back and forth, highlighting (or low-lighting as it were) the blackouts' impact.

Infrastructure is going to be one of the biggest components of any permanent human settlement on the moon. NASA Artemis missions are focused directly on building up the facilities and processes necessary to support a moon base. ESA is also contributing both material and knowledge. Most recently, they made another step in their path to explore lava tubes and caves in the subterranean lunar world.

ESA recently started the third round of a series of studies that focus on exploring lunar caves. The current round, called a concurrent design facility (CDF) study, builds on the work done in two previous rounds of Sysnova studies. Originally encompassing five studies ranging from how to lower a probe into a cave to how to communicate with and power any probes that make that descent, ideas were elicited from the public as part of the CAVES and PANGAEA programs.

NASA's newest technology demonstration, which launched on Northrop Grumman's 15th commercial resupply services mission, is designed to improve water recycling on the International Space Station and boost the efficiency of water recycling for the Artemis generation.

The space station's regenerative life support hardware, called the Environmental Control and Life Support System, provides clean air and water for station crews. A new Brine Processor Assembly (BPA) will be tied into the system and allow more water to be recovered from crew urine. This new piece of technology ultimately will help scientists build better systems that can be used on future Moon and Mars missions and habitats.

ECLSS has enabled more crew members to live aboard the station for longer expeditions with fewer resource shipments. The key components of the regenerative ECLSS are the Water Recovery System and the Air Revitalization System.