Zipping through space at close to the speed of light, Solar Energetic Particles, or SEPs, are one of the main challenges for the future of human spaceflight.

It sounds like science fiction, but building an enormous tower several kilometers high on the lunar surface may be the best way to harness solar energy for long-term lunar exploration. Such towers would raise solar panels above obstructing geological features on the lunar surface, and expand the surface area available for power generation.

A successful future moon base of any size is going to require two key resources: water and power. Ever since evidence of frozen water ice was discovered in the depths of permanently shadowed craters near the moon's South Pole, the polar region has become NASA's primary target for future moon landings. Water can be used for drinking, of course, and growing plants, but also as rocket fuel or separated out at the molecular level to make breathable oxygen. But while the moon's water is found deep in the crater basins, power generation will likely come from high up, above the crater rims, where 'peaks of eternal light' are known to exist. These peaks almost never experience shadow, and would be ideal locations to place solar cells to power water-extraction activities on the moon.

As people in the UK were settling down to watch the late evening news on February 28, a fresh news story, quite literally, appeared in the night sky. A large and very bright fireball was seen over southern England and northern France at 21:54 GMT. It was recorded by many doorbell webcams, so it was a very well-observed fireball. More importantly, it was also captured by the automated cameras of the UK Meteor Observation Network and similar networks.

Working with colleagues in France and Australia, the meteor-watchers worked out the fireball's trajectory and determined where the meteorite pieces could be located, just north of Cheltenham in the UK. Based on their calculations, Ashley King, a specialist in meteorites at the Natural History Museum in London, made an appeal on local TV and radio stations for information about any unusual black rocks seen to have fallen from the sky.