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Space agencies and private partners stayed busy: NASA is running a second countdown rehearsal to verify fixes for hydrogen fueling on the Space Launch System as it prepares Artemis II, the crewed lunar flyby that will pave the way for Artemis III’s planned Moon landing, while SpaceX’s Crew-12 mission lifted off to the International Space Station and is scheduled to dock with the station to begin an eight-month science program studying human health and technologies for future lunar and Mars missions. In AI and consumer tech, Airbnb is rolling out an AI-native search experience to a small percentage of users to let guests describe trips more naturally and to expand AI tools that already handle a growing share of support requests, and OpenAI has streamlined its offerings by retiring older models including GPT-4o as most usage shifts to newer releases. Creators and makers had reasons to celebrate: Georgia Tech named finalists in its Guthman Musical Instrument Competition, showcasing wildly inventive designs from a playable fiddle henge to modular and hybrid instruments, and iBuyPower is running Presidents Day discounts on high-end prebuilt gaming desktops that bundle powerful AMD CPUs and GPUs with ample memory and storage. For weekend culture and reading, there are fresh recommendations and a Valentine’s Day homage to Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, alongside new fiction like Persona and the relaunch of Vertigo’s Bleeding Hearts for readers seeking something atmospheric. Overall the cycle mixed ambitious space milestones, practical AI rollouts, creative hardware and instrument innovation, and accessible deals and entertainment for tech and culture fans.