COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The director general of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher, told Axios he wants to see other space agencies consider accepting people with disabilities into their astronaut corps.
Why it matters: Most space agencies have stringent health and physical requirements for astronauts, limiting who can fly to space. But by expanding the definition of the "right stuff" needed to become an astronaut, spaceflight would become more inclusive, especially for people who historically have been told they can't fly to space.
A severe storm system unleashed strong winds and hail over the Central U.S. and spawned several tornadoes from Wednesday night into Thursday morning — including one in Oklahoma that authorities saidkilledat least three people.
The big picture: The National Weather Service issued severe thunderstorm warnings across the region on Wednesday night, along with tornado watches and warnings for six states: Kansas, Missouri,Nebraska, Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma. More storms could affect a broad region on Thursday.
SpaceX's next-generation Starship exploded on Thursday during a major test of its most powerful rocket.
Why it matters: SpaceX values moving fast and taking risks as it's developing a new rocket. These kinds of high-profile accidents during testing are part of that philosophy.
Unhealthy air pollution levels affect more than a third of all U.S. residents, according to an annual report published Wednesday.
The big picture: That's 17.6 million fewer people than in the American Lung Association's previous "State of the Air" report.
Yes, but: The ALA notes in an accompanying statement that the number of people facing "daily spikes in deadly particle pollution was 63.7 million, the most ever reported under the current national standard."
