Humans might soon visit the Moon again. NASA has completed a test on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, igniting the four main engines for eight minutes and nineteen seconds on Thursday whereas the first test in January only ran for a minute.

"The SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, and during today's test the core stage of the rocket generated more than 1.6 million pounds of thrust within seven seconds. The SLS is an incredible feat of engineering and the only rocket capable of powering America's next-generation missions that will place the first woman and the next man on the Moon," said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk in a statement.

Astronomers have detected a highly unusual case of a black hole wandering through space.

Astronomers previously believed it was possible for supermassive black holes to be actively on the move, but it has been difficult to gather evidence for that theory -- until now. The supermassive black hole is located in the galaxy J0437+2456 230 million light-years away from Earth.

SpaceX dared another test flight with a Starship on Tuesday (Texas time). The launch and flight of the SN10 were successful. The landing also looked successful at first, but then the rocket exploded. The cause could be methane leaking from the tanks of the brake engines.

Flying to the moon just became a bit more realistic. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa is offering eight seats on a flight around the moon - for free. He wrote on Twitter that the seats had already been paid for. At first, the billionaire only wanted to take artists. But now, everyone who does something creative is eligible.

It is not known how expensive the moon orbit will be. The launch is planned for 2023. But he wants to check the applications for it this month. Those who get through will have to expect an interview and other tasks. The medical checks will then take place in May.

The billionaire and his crew will probably be the first to fly to the moon since the last US Apollo mission in 1972. The prerequisite for this is that SpaceX can get them into space.

A 1270 km² glacier has broken off the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) reported. The chunk, which is larger than New York City, broke off on Friday. Glaciologists have been expecting the event for over a decade and had gotten first indications that the iceberg would break off last November.

"The first indication that a calving event was imminent came in November 2020 when a new chasm – called North Rift – headed towards another large chasm near the Stancomb-Wills Glacier Tongue 35 km away. North Rift is the third major crack through the ice shelf to become active in the last decade," the statement of the BSA read. "Our teams at BAS have been prepared for the calving of an iceberg from Brunt Ice Shelf for years. We monitor the ice shelf daily using an automated network of high-precision GPS instruments that surround the station, these measure how the ice shelf is deforming and moving."

According to the Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC), the construction of the private space station named Voyager is expected to start in 2025.

The current design features a large ring structure that is planned to spin in order to create artificial moon-like gravity.

Planned for 2021-2024 is the construction of multiple tools to construct the space station in orbit.

Regular Covid-19 shots might be here to stay. Alex Gorsky, CEO of Johnson & Johnson, told CNBC that mutations may lead to a need for annual Covid-19 shots similar to flu shots.

“Unfortunately, as (the virus) spreads it can also mutate,” he said in an interview. “Every time it mutates, it’s almost like another click of the dial so to speak where we can see another variant, another mutation that can have an impact on its ability to fend off antibodies or to have a different kind of response not only to a therapeutic but also to a vaccine.”

Mars is getting crowded! After being on the space-road for seven months, China's Tianwen-1 probe has successfully entered Mars orbit on Wednesday, just one day after UAE's Hope orbiter and eights days before NASA's Perseverance rover.

"Tianwen-1 is going to orbit, land and release a rover all on the very first try, and coordinate observations with an orbiter," mission managers wrote before launch in the journal Nature Astronomy. "No planetary missions have ever been implemented in this way. If successful, it would signify a major technical breakthrough."

Perseverance is in its home stretch. NASA's Mars rover is scheduled to land on Mars on February 18, almost six months after it started its journey to the red planet.

"I am thrilled to be here today as our countdown to Mars winds down from months to just weeks. Perseverance is closing in on the Red Planet, and our team is preparing for her to touch down in Jezero Crater.," Lori Glaze, director of NASA's Planetary Science Division, said.

After landing, Perseverance will search for ancient life on Mars on the floor of Jezero.

Gorillas can contract Covid-19. The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) today announced confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in three gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in California. These are the first gorillas in the United States to be confirmed positive for SARS-CoV-2.