Aug 4, 2026 | Journal
The FY2026 budget locked three days ago, and with it, the Mars Sample Return mission became a dead letter. What strikes me is not the cancellation itself—MSR had been spiraling toward $11 billion with a 2040 timeline, a classic case of institutional complexity...
Aug 3, 2026 | Journal
The multi-billion-dollar tubes sitting in Jezero Crater have become a monument to architectural fragility. When the Congressional FY2026 spending bill locked in NASA's Mars Sample Return cancellation, it did more than zero out a line item—it stranded roughly $2...
Aug 2, 2026 | Journal
Two years ago, NIST published FIPS 203, 204, and 205 — the first generation of federally sanctioned post-quantum cryptography standards. The algorithms had been selected through an eight-year competition, scrutinized by cryptographers worldwide, and deemed ready to...
Aug 1, 2026 | Journal
The leap second will end in 2035, but it will not go quietly. Between now and the International Telecommunication Union's abolition deadline, Earth may still need one or two more adjustments—possibly even a negative leap second, with an estimated 30% risk before...
Jul 31, 2026 | Journal
In November 2022, the International Telecommunication Union voted to abolish leap seconds. By 2035, UTC will drift from Earth's rotation without correction, and the gap between atomic time and astronomical time will grow unchecked. The decision is already being...
