Reuters Science News Summary

The move could replace planned Boeing-built hardware, which NASA's inspector general has said will cost nearly $2.8 billion through 2028, the report said. Sierra Space valued at $8 billion as investors double down on defense, space tech Sierra Space said on Thursday it has raised $550 million in a Series C funding ⁠round ​that values it at $8 billion, ⁠as investor appetite for national security assets grows amid geopolitical tensions and strong interest in commercial space infrastructure.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

With lunar missions looming, scientists ​grow chickpeas in 'moon dirt'

If the idea of ​lunar hummus seems far-fetched, think again. Scientists working ‌to ​cultivate the field of extraterrestrial agriculture have grown chickpeas in dirt made mostly of simulated lunar soil, a step toward enabling astronauts on long-term moon missions to produce their ‌own food. Researchers said harvestable chickpeas were grown in soil mixtures composed primarily of "moon dirt" modeled after lunar samples retrieved during NASA's Apollo missions more than half a century ago.

NASA to tap ULA for critical moon-rocket hardware, Bloomberg News reports

NASA plans to select United ‌Launch Alliance to supply a critical component for future missions of its moon rocket, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing ‌people familiar with the matter. The move could replace planned Boeing-built hardware, which NASA's inspector general has said will cost nearly $2.8 billion through 2028, the report said.

Sierra Space valued at $8 billion as investors double down on defense, space tech

Sierra Space said on Thursday it has raised $550 million in a Series C funding ⁠round ​that values it at $8 billion, ⁠as investor appetite for national security assets grows amid geopolitical tensions and strong interest in commercial space infrastructure. Space companies with government contracts and proven production capacity are ⁠seeing more capital flow, amid a broader push toward space-based data centers and orbital infrastructure. Investors are also closely watching SpaceX's expected initial public ​offering, which could reshape the competitive landscape in the sector.

Italy basilica bust re-attributed to Michelangelo after centuries in obscurity

A ⁠marble bust that has stood for centuries in one of Rome's basilicas has been re-attributed to Michelangelo after nearly 200 years in obscurity, following a ⁠document-based investigation. The ​sculpture, which depicts Christ the Saviour, has been preserved in the Basilica of Sant'Agnese fuori le mura on Rome's ancient Via Nomentana by a Catholic religious order of canons regular.

Belgian museum, US mining company at odds over colonial-era Congo archive

A ⁠U.S. mining company backed by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates is in a tangle with Belgium's AfricaMuseum over who should ⁠digitise antique maps of ⁠what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo in the museum's archive. Mining startup KoBold Metals said it had offered to support the DRC in digitising the colonial-era archive, stored on museum shelves stretching ‌some 500 metres ‌and containing millions of documents that record how Congo's mineral ​wealth was mapped and exploited.

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