🔭 Dream Big, Think Lunar!

👋 Welcome! Today’s issue looks beyond Earth. With crewed missions and Moon bases on the horizon, we explore how space is becoming part of tomorrow’s roadmap—for builders, thinkers, and creators alike. The future may orbit closer than expected!

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Honda & Astrobotic Target Moonlight – Honda and Astrobotic are joining forces to solve the lunar night power problem. They’ll test a regenerative fuel cell system that stores solar energy as hydrogen during the moon’s day, then converts it into electricity through the frigid, sunless night. If successful, the tech could enable continuous power on the moon—paving the way for long-term human presence and deeper space missions.

China’s DeepSeek Unveils Smarter AI – Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has released a new experimental model that’s faster, cheaper, and better at handling long text. The update, called V3.2-Exp, uses a new method to cut computing costs by over 50%. It’s a key step toward DeepSeek’s next-generation system—one that could rival big names like OpenAI and Alibaba’s Qwen.

Battery Fire Shuts Down Korea’s Tech – A lithium battery fire at South Korea’s main data center knocked 647 government services offline, including emergency systems. The 22-hour blaze spread across hundreds of batteries, raising concerns over storage safety and centralization risks. Only a fraction of the systems are back online so far, leaving many citizens without access to digital government services nationwide.

OpenAI Adds Safety & Parental Tools – OpenAI is testing a new “safety router” in ChatGPT that shifts sensitive conversations to GPT‑5, plus rolling out parental controls. The move follows a wrongful‑death lawsuit and concerns over harmful responses. Parents can set quiet hours, disable features, and receive alerts if the system detects possible self‑harm signs—sparking both praise and backlash.

AI Tool Aims to Boost Team Consensus – Startup ComplexChaos is building an AI assistant to help teams reach agreement faster—whether in UN climate talks or company strategy sessions. By combining tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Habermas Machine, it helps surface diverse perspectives, summarize documents, and reduce coordination time. Early tests showed 60% faster alignment and strong potential for global teamwork and collaboration.

VCs Bet Big on AI Services – Venture firms like General Catalyst are acquiring traditional service companies and transforming them with AI to boost margins. But a new study warns of “workslop”—low-quality AI output creating more work for employees. As productivity drops, it’s unclear whether the strategy can scale or deliver the returns investors hope for long term.

Microsoft Pushes ‘Vibe Working’ Trend – Microsoft is introducing “vibe working,” a new AI-powered workflow across Word, Excel, and soon PowerPoint. With tools like Agent Mode and Office Copilot, users can prompt, draft, and iterate alongside AI. It’s part of a shift toward human-AI collaboration—though early accuracy benchmarks suggest we’re still far from replacing expert users anytime soon.

Shutdown Threat Darkens Wall Street’s View – A government shutdown could freeze vital economic reports like CPI, clouding Wall Street’s outlook and forcing investors to rely on alternative data and Fed commentary. With a rate cut expected in late October, missing signals may fuel volatility, disrupt Treasury trading strategies, and complicate financial decisions across sectors dependent on timely U.S. data.

Beyond AI: Investors Bet on Policy – Top asset managers are shifting focus from AI hype to long-term gains from government spending. Sectors like infrastructure, defense, and healthcare are drawing interest as fiscal stimulus reshapes markets. With trillions flowing globally, investors see durable opportunities—despite concerns over debt—driven by active strategies tied to public investment priorities.

EA Goes Private in $55B Mega-Deal – Electronic Arts is set to be taken private in a record-setting $55 billion leveraged buyout led by Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Affinity Partners, and Silver Lake. The deal, fueled by $36B in cash and $20B in debt, signals renewed appetite for mega-LBOs—and big bets on gaming’s long-term profitability and global influence.

Polars Raises $21M to Scale Up – The team behind open source data tool Polars raised $21M led by Accel to grow Polars Cloud and Distributed. Originally a solo Rust project, it now aims to rival Apache Spark by processing massive datasets. The funding fuels its leap to enterprise-ready data infrastructure platform.

Anything Raises at $100M Valuation – Vibe coding startup Anything hit $2M ARR in two weeks and raised $11M at a $100M valuation. Unlike rivals, it offers full-stack tools so non-coders can launch real apps. Backed by Footwork, Bessemer, and Uncork, it’s quickly emerging as a key player in AI-powered app development.

Space exploration often feels like a story from a distant future, but the Moon’s return is happening faster than many expect. Thanks to new tech, bold partnerships, and private players stepping up, what once required decades now appears feasible within just a few years.

One of the clearest signs we’re nearing a lunar breakthrough is the rebirth of crewed missions under NASA’s Artemis program. Artemis II is slated to send astronauts around the Moon in 2026 as a stepping stone to a landing in 2027. These missions aren’t mere test runs: they’re foundational for a sustained presence. Add to that new commercial landings and robotic missions, and the architecture needed to stay on the Moon is rapidly taking shape.

Commercial space firms are increasingly proving they can execute lunar missions too. For instance, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost successfully soft‑landed on the Moon in March 2025. On the same trajectory, IM‑2 (Athena), a Nova‑C lander by Intuitive Machines, touched down (albeit with some complications) in early March 2025. Wikipedia These aren’t showpieces—they’re experiments in reliability, autonomy, systems integration, and the Moon’s harsh environment. Missions like CADRE, a multi‑robot autonomous exploration demonstration planned for 2025–2026, are showing how machines can start treating the Moon more like a working landscape than a novelty.

Looking ahead, crewed missions are the next giant leap. Artemis II will test deep-space navigation, life support, and communication for long-duration human travel. Artemis III is slated to put boots back on the Moon as early as 2027, laying the groundwork for future missions to expand surface capabilities, deliver infrastructure, and even support partial habitation. What once felt like Cold War-era spectacle is being reborn as a long-term blueprint for human presence.

Even permanent lunar bases—once sci-fi fodder—are now on national and international agendas. China and Russia’s ILRS plans call for a scientific research outpost by the early 2030s, complete with a nuclear-powered energy system. Meanwhile, U.S. researchers are experimenting with 3D-printing structures directly from lunar regolith. With each robotics upgrade, launch test, and habitat prototype, the Moon becomes less distant. It begins to feel like a place not just to visit—but to build.

We’re not there yet—challenges remain (radiation, sustainability, cislunar logistics, funding, politics). But the gap is narrower than many assume. The Moon is ceasing to be a dream and becoming a realm. The next time we hear “next decade,” it might already be happening.

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450.3 million

dollars was the record-breaking price paid for Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi in 2017, making it the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.