September 2026
All columns and Brief analyses.
10 results
NASA’s Moon orbiter spotted McGetchin, a rare new lunar crater
NASA said Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images revealed McGetchin crater. The Independent put the hole at about 222 metres across and 43 metres deep. New Scientist wrote that dust and rock were thrown more than 120 kilometres from the crater.
New Zealand passed the India FTA bill 93 to 29
IANS and The Hindu reported that New Zealand's parliament passed India FTA implementing legislation 93 to 29. The Hindu said Labour voted yes, that tariffs on about 95 per cent of exports would fall, and that Todd McClay expects the deal in force this year. India's ratification date is not in either report.
NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 entered the MLPerf Inference v6.1 preview
MLCommons listed NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL72 in preview in Inference v6.1. NVIDIA wrote preview throughput up to 3.7 times GB300 NVL72 on Qwen3-VL and up to 2.5 times on DeepSeek-R1. StorageReview called those Rubin’s first peer-reviewed numbers.
OpenAI backed the FRONTIER Act’s independent-audit clause
POLITICO and CBS News reported that OpenAI's Chris Lehane backed the FRONTIER Act clause on independent verification of lab safety protocols. A spokesperson said the company has not endorsed the whole bill. Jay Obernolte and Lori Trahan are the sponsors. Neither report named a vote date. If the clause becomes law, third-party audits would no longer be optional.
OpenAI began testing sponsored agents on ChatGPT ads
OpenAI said it is testing Sponsored Agents with select US advertisers. After an ad click, a labeled business-sponsored agent opens a separate conversation. The Register wrote that those bots try to sell, and that an Ads Manager plugin lets advertisers write campaigns in plain language.
Progress 96 lifted about three tons of ISS cargo from Baikonur
NASA said unpiloted Roscosmos Progress 96 launched from Baikonur at 9:33 a.m. EDT and is due to dock at Poisk on 19 September. It is carrying about three tons of food, fuel and supplies. Space.com put liftoff at 1333 GMT and a docking three days later.
Roman's first course-correction burn used 9 percent of its fuel
TechTimes says NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope burned 40 pounds, 18 kilograms, of propellant on its first course-correction, about 9 percent of a 441-pound, 200 kilograms budget, stretching a 10-year design life to at least 22 years. Space.com's headline is that a super-precise engine burn doubled the science lifetime.
Roman’s 300-megapixel camera recorded its first starlight
NASA said it activated Roman’s 300-megapixel Wide Field Instrument and that the first test image shows out-of-focus stars with the detectors still stowed. Space.com wrote that after the 30 August launch the instrument dried for 10 days and that the heater was turned off on 11 September on the way to L2.
Senate blocks the Clarity Act 49 to 50
The Senate on Tuesday fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance the digital-asset market-structure bill, 49 to 50. All Democrats and four Republicans voted no. POLITICO says Sen. Cynthia Lummis called the bill dead before the midterms after Democrats cited Trump digital-asset conflicts and some Republicans cited banks.
Seoul ordered North Korea to pay 44.6 billion won for Kaesong
The Korea Herald and The Korea Times reported that the Seoul Central District Court ordered North Korea to pay 44,626,410,722 won for the 2020 demolition of the Kaesong liaison office. The Times said this was South Korea's first damages suit against the North and that Pyongyang did not appear. Both papers said collection is impractical.