The Daily Populous

Tuesday May 27th, 2025 morning edition

image for The US just claimed lunar time — here’s why it’s a geopolitical gamechanger

In a move that’s turning heads in space policy circles, the White House has announced the creation of an official time standard for the Moon.

Until now, all lunar missions have operated using Earth-based time—specifically UTC.

According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, time doesn’t tick the same way everywhere in the universe.

Because the Moon’s gravity is weaker, time there runs slightly faster—by roughly 59 microseconds per day.

It may sound trivial, but when you’re coordinating precise landings, robotic operations, or future lunar infrastructure, that difference can introduce critical errors.

By spearheading the development of Lunar Coordinated Time, the US is essentially offering to set the operating rules of the road for Moon-based missions—something that has major geopolitical weight.

And that makes it one of the most fascinating geopolitical plays we’ve seen in the space arena in years. »

Macron: Trump has realised Putin has been lying to him

Authored by pravda.com.ua

French President Emmanuel Macron believes US President Donald Trump has finally realised that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been deceiving him.

He also said he thinks Trump has realised that Putin has been deceiving him.

"I believe that President Trump has realised that when President Putin told him he was ready for peace, he was lying," Macron emphasised as he called for the longest possible ceasefire. »

Star Wars Battlefront 2 devs want to ‘get the band back together’ to make Battlefront 3

Authored by videogameschronicle.com

A former Star Wars Battlefront 2 developer has said he’d like to “get the band back together” to make a third entry in the franchise.

Star Wars Battlefront 2 has recently enjoyed a surge in popularity due to the game’s Reddit and TikTok communities encouraging lapsed fans to return to the game.

EA released Battlefront 2 in 2017, but eventually ended support for the game in 2020. »

Native Turtles Return to Yosemite After Removal of Invasive Bullfrogs

Authored by ucdavis.edu
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The call of American bullfrogs was deafening when scientists from the University of California, Davis, first began researching the impact of invasive bullfrogs on native northwestern pond turtles at Yosemite National Park.

The study suggests that removing invasive bullfrogs may be necessary in priority conservation areas to help pond turtle populations recover.

Between 2016 and 2022, they monitored four sites at Yosemite where native turtles persisted — two with bullfrogs and two without. »

Uranus emits more heat than previously thought

Authored by sciencenews.org

“Uranus is not as odd as we thought it was,” says planetary scientist Patrick Irwin of the University of Oxford, a coauthor on one of the studies.

This means that the sun heats the planet less than previously thought, suggesting that Uranus must generate some heat to explain its temperature.

If so, the impact may have dredged up hot material from the interior, Irwin says, causing Uranus to lose much of its heat during its youth. »