From Space Repairs to Archival Entanglements: Science Briefs

Current science highlights include Russia repairing a crucial launch pad at Baikonur, damaged during a recent mission. Meanwhile, a dispute has arisen between a US mining company and Belgium's AfricaMuseum over the digitization of colonial-era archives detailing Congo's mineral wealth, underscoring tensions over historical artefacts.

Russia has successfully repaired a damaged launch pad at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to the nation's space agency. The pad, crucial to Russia's space endeavors, was damaged during a November mission involving a Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut.

A conflict is brewing between a US mining company, backed by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, and Belgium's AfricaMuseum. The disagreement hinges on who should digitize historical maps and documents in the museum's archive, which chronicle how Congo's mineral resources were exploited during the colonial era.

These developments in science highlight the ongoing global intrigue surrounding space exploration and the complex dialogues over colonial legacies and the ownership of historical documentation.

(With inputs from agencies.)