Axios

Long-delayed NASA programs like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Space Launch System (SLS) mega-rocket could threaten the space agency’s future missions, like the Artemis program to send people back to the Moon by 2024, according to an independent report released May 30.

Why it matters: NASA is asking Congress for an extra $1.6 billion above its original budget request for fiscal year 2020 to jumpstart Artemis.

SpaceX, Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Northrop Grumman are fighting tooth and nail for the privilege of sending spy satellites and other national security payloads to orbit for the U.S. military through the mid-2020s.

Why it matters: Billions of dollars in taxpayer money are on the line, along with the viability of entirely new, massive rockets, like Blue Origin's New Glenn and ULA's Vulcan Centaur launcher.

Two planets have been spotted growing around a star 370 light-years from our own Sun, according to a study in the journal Nature Astronomy this week.

The big picture: By studying these forming planets, scientists will be able to get a glimpse into how planet formation occurs on a large scale.

While NASA’s high-profile, expensive missions anchor the space agency’s plans for exploration, the agency is also supporting a number of private companies in their bids to commercialize space.

Driving the news: A number of NASA announcements in the past week have specifically broadened the roles the agency’s commercial partners will play in the future of spaceflight.

India is in the grip of a deadly heat wave that's caused water shortages in many places. Searing temperatures of up to 123°F were recorded in the city of Churu in the northern Indian plains — the location of 10 of the 15 hottest places in the world during the weekend.

The big picture: The India Meteorological Department warns sweltering conditions are set to continue across much of the country for the next few days, prompting the Health Ministry to issue an advisory. These images show the heat wave's impact.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke on Sunday toured Tulsa communities on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma that have been devastated by severe weather and historic flooding.

Details: O'Rourke vowed if he were elected in 2020, he'd direct federal grants to invest in communities before natural disasters strike as climate change is due to worsen the situation, the Oklahoman reports.