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The sweeping attacks from Republican elected officials against former President Donald Trumps conviction on 34 felony counts last week send a clear signal that if he wins a second term, he will face even less internal resistance from the GOP than he did during his first four years in the White House.

Republican pushback was rare enough in his first term, against even Trumps most extreme ideas and actions, but it did exist in pockets of Congress and among appointees inside his own administration with roots in the partys prior traditions. The willingness now of so many House and Senate Republicans, across the GOPs ideological spectrum, to unreservedly echo Trumps denunciation of his conviction shows that the flickers of independence that flashed during his first term have been virtually extinguished as he approaches a possible second term.

The strong message of the near-universal Republican condemnation of the verdict is that Donald Trump owns the Republican Party, the political scientist Susan Stokes, who directs the Chicago Center on Democracy at the University of Chicago, told me. That means he can pretty much force the rest of the party leadership, if they see their future in the party, to toe the line, no matter what.

GOP elected officials are aligning obediently behind Trump even as numerous signs suggest that the Supreme Courts Republican-appointed majority, and other GOP-appointed judges in the federal courts, may be more willing than in his first term to openly defend and enable his actions. And all of these indications of Trumps tightening grip over Republicans in the electoral and legal arenas follow his description of a second-term agenda that pushes more aggressively against the limits of law and custom on presidential power.

That combination points to a possible second Trump term defined by both fewer constraints and more challenges to the traditional constitutional order. What should most alarm Americans who believe that somehow the system will hold is that for all the red hats and red ties Republican electeds don to appease their leader, they seem to have no red lines, Deana El-Mallawany, a senior counsel for the bipartisan group Protect Democracy, told me in an email. Which suggests that the most radical things Trump has hinted atbeing a dictator (for a day), tearing up the constitutionwhich seem unthinkable today could just as easily come to pass in the very near future.

David A. Graham: Guilty on all counts

Trumps most loyal defenders have vied to denounce the New York verdict most extravagantly. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida took an early lead by equating it to a show trial in communist countries. But Rubio has had plenty of competition: Senator Ted Cruz of Texas likened the trial to proceedings in banana republics. Senator Mike Lee of Utah has gotten about a dozen other GOP senators to sign a letter pledging to use procedural tools to snarl all action in the chamber to protest the verdict. House Speaker Mike Johnson has similarly promised to use everything in our arsenal against the decision; Representative Jim Jordan, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee, who has already launched investigations against all of the prosecutors who have indicted Trump, has demanded that New York prosecutors appear at a hearing on the case next week. Other Trump allies have insisted that state and local Republican attorneys general and district attorneys manufacture indictments against Democratic politicians in retaliation.

Strikingly, several of the Republicans denouncing the decision have argued that not only were Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Judge Juan Merchan biased against Trump, but the Manhattan jury of ordinary citizens was as well. The partisan slant of this jury pool shows why we ought to litigate politics at the ballot box and not in the courtroom, Senator J. D. Vance of Ohio, one of Trumps most unconditional defenders, insisted in his statement immediately after the verdict.

Juries have been sacrosanct in our democracy, and the fact that so many prominent Republicans are just prepared to treat them as Democratic operatives rather than members of a community that have judged Trump guilty of 34 felonies, Fred Wertheimer, the founder and president of Democracy 21, a government-ethics watchdog group, told me, tells us even more than what Trump himself has told us about what will happen in a Trump presidency. These elected officials are wide open to accepting an autocracy.

The breadth of the Republican rejection of the verdict has been as emphatic as its depth. The criticism has come not only from reflexive Trump defenders such as Vance and Rubio, but from others who had previously kept somewhat more distance from the former president. They include several congressional Republicans, such as Mike Lawler and Marc Molinaro, who represent House districts carried by President Joe Biden, as well as Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who voted to convict Trump after his impeachment over the January 6 riot.

When former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, now the GOPs Senate nominee in the state, declared last week that Americans should respect the results of the legal process, Trumps daughter-in-law Lara Trump, newly installed as the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, and the Trump campaign strategist Chris LaCivita both immediately portrayed Hogan as an apostate who should be shunned. Hogan doesnt deserve the respect of anyone in the Republican Party at this point, and quite frankly, anybody in America, Lara Trump declared on CNN on Sunday.

To former Republican Representative Charlie Dent, now the executive director and vice president of the congressional program at the Aspen Institute, such attacks on Hoganand the paucity of Republicans defending himare the most ominous aspects of the party backlash. Hogan, Dent points out, is seeking a Senate seat in a strongly Democratic-leaning state where an undeniable political imperative to establish his independence from Trump applies. That GOP leaders are willing to assail Hogan for creating any distance from Trump even in such a race, Dent told me, shows that personal fealty has eclipsed all other party prioritiesincluding winning elections and majorities.

What Lara Trump is essentially saying is its really only about her father-in-law, he told me. Its about pledging a loyalty oath to one man regardless of the electoral outcome.

Dent views the GOP response to the verdict as an early warning that the pressure for lockstep congressional loyalty will be even more intense in a second Trump term than his first. Whatever the issue is, if they are in the majority, he is going to expect all of them just to carry his water, no matter how dirty it is, said Dent, who also serves as a senior adviser to Our Republican Legacy, a group recently launched by several former GOP senators critical of Trump. The truth is, if there is a Republican [House] majority after this election, it will be a very slim one. So he wont permit any deviation on virtually anything.

Leslie Dach, a senior adviser to the liberal-leaning Congressional Integrity Project, points out that virtually all of the congressional Republicans who resisted Trump during his first termincluding Liz Cheney and Mitt Romneyeither have left or are leaving Congress. Though much less outspoken, Senator Mitch McConnell and former Speaker Paul Ryan, who led the Republican congressional majorities when Trump was first elected in 2017, were also cool to him in their own ways. With Johnson established as speaker and McConnell stepping down as Senate minority leader, both the congressional GOPs rank and file and its leadership are certain to be more deferential to a reelected Trump. Theres an arms race among these Republicans to be the leader of the Trump pack, Dach told me.

The prospect that the GOP Congress would be more subservient to Trump in a second term could be especially consequential because he is proposing so many policies that will push against legal and political boundaries. Trump has pledged to use the Justice Deartment to pursue retribution against his political opponents and has not ruled out firing U.S. attorneys who refuse his orders to pursue specific prosecutions; repeatedly promised a mass deportation effort against undocumented migrants that could involve deploying the National Guard from red states to blue cities; threatened to deploy the National Guard in Democratic-run cities to fight crime, even over the objections of state and municipal officials; promised unilateral military action inside Mexico against drug cartels, with or without permission from its government; repeatedly suggested he would restore his policy of separating migrant children from their parents at the border; and indicated that he will step back from Americas traditional alliances, by distancing the U.S. from NATO as well as by pressuring Ukraine to quickly accept a settlement with Russia. He has even dangled the possibility of seeking a third presidential term, which the Constitution explicitly prohibits.

Juliette Kayyem: Trump stumped

After the GOP s latest demonstration of loyalty to Trump, what, if anything, on that list might generate meaningful resistance from congressional Republicans is unclear, especially if they control both legislative chambers after Novembers election, which is a real possibility if Trump wins. Dent told me that pressuring Ukraine into an early settlement, which would almost certainly involve leaving Russia in control of large swaths of the country, might spur resistance from many congressional Republicans. Some, he predicts, might also resist if a reelected Trump pursued his promise to again seek a repeal of the Affordable Care Act. But mostly, Dent said, the more pragmatic members in those marginal districts will be seen as the heretics if they dont toe the line. They will not be permitted the luxury of dissent. All these members are going to be under terrible pressure to vote for every bad idea Trump has.

Trumps success at rallying congressional Republicans behind his claim that his trial was rigged already suggests that large numbers of them may support him if he loses in November but claims that this years election, too, was stolen from him. Several senior Republicans have pointedly refused to commit to accepting the result, and Johnsonwho led an effort to enlist congressional Republicans in backing a lawsuit to overturn the 2020 electionhas joined Trump in amplifying groundless claims that large numbers of noncitizens could taint the November result.

In 2022, the House and Senate approved, and Biden signed, revisions to the 19th-century Electoral Count Act that make it more difficult for Congress to object to the certification of the presidential election. That followed the effort of nearly two-thirds of House Republicans to throw out the 2020 election results from several swing states that voted for Biden. Among other things, the new law requires more House members to sign on to a challenge to a state certification before it can be considered, while also requiring a majority in both legislative chambers to approve any challenge.

But even these safeguards leave open a straightforward path for Trumps congressional allies. In the entirely plausible scenario that Republicans win both chambers in November, while Trump loses to Biden, the GOP could still reject the election results by a simple majority vote in both the House and Senate. At some point, the rule of law depends on key institutional actors being willing to follow it, Jessica Marsden, who oversees Protect Democracys work on elections, told me, and the reaction to the Trump verdict shows a real willingness among the current Republican Party to throw the rule of law under the bus.

Any challenge from Trump or his allies to this years election results will provide another test for the federal courts. Along with the Supreme Court, lower courts sweepingly rejected the attempts by Trump and his associates to overturn the 2020 election results. That followed a Trump first term in which the Supreme Court often sided with Trump but at times rebuffed him (for instance, by ruling on procedural grounds against his attempt to require a citizenship question on the census).

But almost all of those Supreme Court decisions were rendered while Republican appointees held a narrower, 54 majority. The GOP-appointed majority expanded to 63 when Amy Coney Barrett succeeded the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg just before the 2020 election, and court watchers point to signs that this bigger Republican majority may be more inclined to rule in Trumps favor.

Most telling has been the Courts slow timeline for deciding on Trumps claim of absolute presidential immunity, which has virtually eliminated the possibility that he will face a trial before the next election on the charge that he attempted to subvert the last one. And when the matter is finally decided, a ruling even partially upholding Trumps claim could embolden him to stretch the bounds of executive authority in a second term.

Compounding concerns about the Courts slow pace in the immunity case have been the allegations of bias on the issue swirling around Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, as well as Chief Justice John Robertss categorical dismissal of demands for the justices to recuse themselves from the proceedings. All of this has occurred as Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has stalled the Justice Departments classified-documents case against Trump.

The conventional wisdom after 2020 was the courts held, and thats true, Stokes, at the Chicago Center on Democracy, told me. On the other hand, as with Judge Cannon in Florida, we are seeing the effect of the Trump federal-court appointees kicking in, and with the Supreme Court participating in the slow-walking [of the immunity case], I dont think we can count on the courts in the same way.

Stokes said that efforts by autocratic leaders to diminish the power of the nations highest court are typical in countries experiencing an erosion of democracy. The U.S. is experiencing a distinct variation on that model, with everything indicating that the highest court itself, she said, has become more partisan and more aligned with Trumps movement. If Trump wins and pursues even a portion of the agenda he has outlined, she told me, were facing the scenario where we cant count on the legislative branch and we cant count on the courts to defend constitutional principles.

McKay Coppins: The most consequential TV show in history

Maybe the most revealing moment in the entire GOP eruption against the Trump verdict came last week, when Johnson reassured his Fox News hosts during an interview that he expected the Supreme Court to eventually overturn the conviction. I think that the justices on the CourtI know many of them personallyI think they are deeply concerned about that, as we are, the House speaker said. So I think theyll set this straight.

Johnson later clarified that he had not personally spoken with any of the justices about the Trump verdict, but that only magnified the import of his initial wordsrevealing the extent to which he considered the GOP-appointed justices part of the Republican team, receptive to the leaderships signals about the actions it expects. Right now, the clearest signal is that the leadership expects all Republicans to lock arms around Trump, no matter what he has done in the past or plans for the future. The guardrails, said Dach of the Congressional Integrity Project, are gone.

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BAFTAs 2025 key moments: Tennant, Take That, and Timothee Chalamet (and Kylie Jenner)

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BAFTAs 2025 key moments: Tennant, Take That, and Timothee Chalamet (and Kylie Jenner)

Tears, laughter and some Take That fangirling from a best actress nominee – this year’s BAFTA Film Awards had it all.

Conclave and The Brutalist were the night’s big winners, taking home four awards each – including best picture and outstanding British film for Conclave, and best actor for The Brutalist star Adrien Brody and directing award for its filmmaker, Brady Corbet.

But as always with these big entertainment awards ceremonies, there were plenty of moments to remember outside the big prizes.

Here are our BAFTA 2025 key talking points.

The return of Tennant

Hosts can make or break an awards ceremony, so when you get a good ‘un you want to keep them. After a successful stint in 2024, Doctor Who and Rivals star David Tennant was back to take the helm once again.

This time round, the Scottish actor, sporting a kilt and sporran at first, kicked things off by calling on the “BAFTA gods” – acting legends Dame Helen Mirren, Jim Broadbent and Brian Cox, naturally – before a sketch performance of The Proclaimers’ hit I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).

Of course, this needed some audience participation – including from US stars Camila Cabello, Colman Domingo and Anna Kendrick, who probably didn’t have a clue what was going on but joined in with gusto.

Tennant joked about actors “freshening up” while they age, after referencing that Doctor Who star Ncuti Gatwa took on his role in the BBC series, as well as the length of films such as The Brutalist (three-and-a-half hours).

“Who doesn’t like a chance to have a wee halfway through?” he asked, while talking about the film’s much-needed intermission.

Emilia Perez awards despite controversy – and Saldana’s speech

Zoe Saldana was named best supporting actress for her performance in Emilia Perez. Pic: PA
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Zoe Saldana was named best supporting actress for her performance in Emilia Perez. Pic: PA

It went into awards season as one of the favourites, but Emilia Perez has been surrounded by controversy in recent weeks.

As stars Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez enjoyed the show, leading actress Karla Sofia Gascon was notably absent from the ceremony following the resurgence of offensive tweets, and the film has also come under fire for its portrayal of Mexico and of trans people.

Despite this, it picked up the BAFTAs for best film not in the English language and best supporting actress for Saldana.

Earlier this month, director Jacques Audiard said Gascon’s tweets were “inexcusable” and that he was “very sad” to see the issue “taking up all the space” around the film.

However, collecting the BAFTA for best film not in the English language, the French filmmaker namechecked all his stars, including Gascon – and blew her a kiss through his translator.

“I’m deeply proud of what we have all achieved together – long live Emilia Perez,” he said.

Read more:
The full list of winners
The BAFTA red carpet in pictures

In her speech, an emotional Saldana said the film defied categorisation and also paid tribute to her co-stars, before realising she was taking too long and being given a countdown. “F***, f***, f***”, she panicked, before continuing with her speech anyway.

Thanking her mother for “being such a selfless person”, she broke down in tears, and added: “Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds and I hope Emilia Perez did something like this, because voices need to be heard.”

Kylie Jenner sneaks in

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Timothee Chalamet and Kylie Jenner at the BAFTAs

We didn’t see her on the red carpet, but sneaky old Kylie Jenner, girlfriend of Timothee Chalamet, was most definitely in attendance to show her support.

The Kardashians star was in the audience next to Chalamet, who was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

During a break from awards announcements, Tennant spent time joking with some of the A-listers in the crowd, and the couple didn’t escape from his mic (or the cameras), despite their efforts to keep their appearance lowkey.

Referencing the Chalamet lookalike competition that made headlines in New York last year, Tennant joked about what a good likeness the “second place” doppelganger before him was – and how nice it was to have a Jenner lookalike, too.

Take That perform – and Saoirse Ronan fangirls

Take That perform Greatest Day, from Anora, at the BAFTA Film Awards 2025. Pic: BAFTA
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Take That performed Greatest Day, from Anora. Pic: BAFTA

If you’ve seen Anora, you’ll know the filmmakers behind it are fans of Take That, specifically the 2008 hit Greatest Day.

The band, now a trio of Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald, performed the hit remix used in the film on stage at the ceremony.

As host Tennant made his way through the crowd afterwards, he came across best actress nominee Saoirse Ronan and her husband Jack Lowden.

Is Ronan a Take That fan? “I’ve seen you twice,” she shouted at the boys as they made their way off stage.

That’s a yes, then.

Kieran Culkin couldn’t attend – so Jesse Eisenberg stepped up

Jesse Eisenberg won the BAFTA for best original screenplay for A Real Pain. Pic: PA
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Jesse Eisenberg won the BAFTA for best original screenplay for A Real Pain, and picked up best supporting actor for co-star Kieran Culkin. Pic: PA

Following best supporting actor wins at earlier ceremonies including the Golden Globes, Kieran Culkin has been a favourite when it comes to speeches this awards season.

It was no surprise to see him honoured at the BAFTAs, but as he sadly couldn’t attend the ceremony in person, his co-star and director Jesse Eisenberg stepped up – not only collecting the award on his behalf but also delivering the laughs, too.

In A Real Pain, the pair play two very different cousins on a trip exploring their Jewish grandmother’s roots in Poland.

The BAFTA was “like the fifth” award Eisenberg has picked up for Culkin, he told the audience. “We have a similar life, but his is 20% better than mine,” he added.

Accepting the award for best original screenplay, Eisenberg also joked that his wife had not attended the ceremony as she did not think he would win.

Breakthrough star pays tribute to sex workers

Mikey Madison was named best actress at the BAFTAs for her performance in Anora. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
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Mikey Madison was named best actress for her performance in Anora. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

After gaining a lot of support throughout the awards ceremony, Demi Moore was a favourite for a prize for her performance in The Substance. However, Mikey Madison had also gained momentum in recent weeks thanks to her breakout role as a young sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch in Anora.

This one is a particularly exciting win as Madison, 25, was also up for the rising star award for up-and-coming talent. Being nominated in a major category in the same year is quite a feat in itself – winning it even more so.

On stage, Madison thanked her mother for driving her “to so many auditions”, as well as her fellow castmates.

She also paid tribute to the sex worker community, after working with many women in the industry to perfect her performance.

“I want to take a second to recognise the sex worker community,” Madison said. “You deserve respect and decency, and I… (urge) others to do the same… I will always be a friend and an ally.”

Kneecap: ‘It’s a movement’

Kneecap on the BAFTA Film Awards 2025 red carpet. Pic: PA
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Kneecap do the BAFTA red carpet. Pic: PA

Irish-language film Kneecap, a semi-autobiographical story starring a trio of rappers of the same name from Belfast, picked up the award for outstanding debut for a British filmmaker.

Band member JJ O Dochartaigh always wears a balaclava featuring the Irish flag – but for the BAFTAs he went all out, matching his suit.

The award went to director and writer Rich Peppiatt, who collected the prize on stage.

“Within two weeks of moving to Belfast I met Kneecap and now I’m standing here,” he told the audience, saying his movie was “more than a film, it’s a movement – about how everyone should have their language respected, their culture respected, their homeland respected.

“This award is dedicated to everyone out there fighting that fight.”

British success and a new collab?

Nick Park, left, Merlin Crossingham, right, and presenter Camila Cabello, pose with the award for best children's family film at the 78th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA's, in London, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
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Camila Cabello meets Wallace and Gromit… and Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Here’s a look backstage at US singer-songwriter Camila Cabello and the Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl filmmakers Nick Park, left, and Merlin Crossingham.

The pair picked up the prize for best children’s and family film, becoming the first ever recipients of the award, which was presented by Cabello.

We’re hoping this could be the start of a new partnership.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl also took home the animated film trophy, with Park joking on stage: “I didn’t actually write a second speech.”

And there was more recognition for British technical creatives in other categories, too.

Nathan Crowley and Lee Sandales picked up the award for best production design, for their incredible visual work on the blockbuster smash Wicked.

Paul Lambert was on the team awarded the BAFTA for best visual effects, for his work on the science fiction blockbuster Dune: Part Two – which also won best sound, with a winning team including British mixer and engineer Gareth John.

Warwick Davis’s emotional speech

Warwick Davis was given the BAFTA fellowship award. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP
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Warwick Davis was given the BAFTA fellowship award. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Honoured with the prestigious BAFTA fellowship award, Warwick Davis dedicated the prize to his late wife Samantha, who died in March last year.

Davis, who is known for fantasy film Willow and the Harry Potter movies, received the organisation’s highest honour for his performing and advocacy work.

“This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me – and I’ve been in Star Wars,” he joked at the start of his speech, before getting emotional as he talked about his wife and referenced his children, Annabelle and Harrison, who were in the audience.

“Thank you to the support of our wonderful children, I’ve been able to keep engaging in life,” he said.

Davis was born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, a rare bone disorder that results in dwarfism.

Previous recipients of the fellowship include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Sir Alfred Hitchcock, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, Ken Loach, Sir Michael Caine, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Lord Laurence Olivier and Dame Judi Dench.

Look out for David Jonsson

David Jonsson poses with the EE Rising Star Award at the 78th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA's, in London, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
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David Jonsson is this year’s rising star. Pic: Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

British actor David Jonsson was named this year’s BAFTA rising star – the only award voted for by the public.

The 31-year-old recently starred in the film Alien: Romulus and his credits also include TV series Industry as well as the 2023 romantic comedy Rye Lane.

“I’ve got to be honest, this isn’t why I do it,” he told the BAFTA audience in his speech. “Do you know what I mean? I’m just an east London boy.

“I didn’t really see a space for me in this industry. But this award is about people and as long as we can keep telling stories about people I think there’s got to be a space for me.”

Jonsson saw off competition from his fellow Industry and Back To Black star Marisa Abela, American actor Jharrel Jerome, Anora’s Madison and Informer star Nabhaan Rizwan.

Previous winners include Kristen Stewart, Daniel Kaluuya, John Boyega and Tom Hardy, all before they became big names in the industry.

Sing Sing stars visas denied, filmmakers say

Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing. Pic: Dominic Leon
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Clarence Maclin in Sing Sing. Pic: Dominic Leon

This wasn’t a moment from the ceremony, but on the red carpet ahead of the awards the filmmakers behind Sing Sing, which tells the true story of a group of men who take part in an arts rehabilitation project at a maximum security prison, spoke to Sky News on the red carpet.

While Colman Domingo, an established Hollywood star who was nominated for best actor, was able to attend the ceremony, the real-life person he portrayed in the film, Divine G Whitfield, was not – and neither was his co-star Clarence Maclin.

Maclin is a former inmate who played himself in the film, after being rehabilitated through the programme, and was nominated for best supporting actor.

Both were denied denied entry to the UK earlier this week due to their previous convictions, filmmakers Greg Kwedar and Clint Bentley said.

“Their visas were denied to enter the country because they have served prison time, which goes against the grain of everything this movie stands for,” Kwedar told us. “It shows that people have the capacity to grow and to come back into their communities when they leave prison.

“These two particular men have such courage, vulnerability, integrity – and they’re not here tonight and they should be. The story is about them, it was built with them.”

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NASA’s new mission could change how we mine resources on the Moon

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NASA’s new mission could change how we mine resources on the Moon

NASA’s Polar Resources Ice Mining Experiment-1 (PRIME-1) is being prepared to analyse the Moon’s subsurface for resource extraction, with its technology expected to aid future Artemis missions. The experiment, which will assess lunar soil and identify potential resources, has been developed to support sustained human exploration. The instruments onboard will work together to drill, collect, and examine samples, providing data crucial for understanding the lunar environment. The mission is expected to deliver insights that could contribute to establishing long-term lunar habitation.

Instruments to Extract and Analyse Lunar Samples

According to the study, PRIME-1 consists of two primary instruments designed for simultaneous operation. The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploring New Terrains (TRIDENT) has been engineered to drill into the Moon’s surface and collect samples, while the Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) will analyse the gases released from these samples. Insights gained from this experiment could influence strategies for lunar resource utilisation, facilitating the production of essential supplies for deep-space missions.

Jackie Quinn, PRIME-1 project manager at NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre, stated in a report that the ability to drill and analyse samples simultaneously will provide critical information for future lunar missions. The technology is expected to assist in developing efficient methods for extracting and utilising resources available on the Moon’s surface and subsurface.

Scheduled Launch and Mission Objectives

Reports indicate that PRIME-1 is part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, set to launch no earlier than February 26. The mission will be transported aboard Intuitive Machines’ Athena lunar lander, which is expected to explore the Mons Mouton plateau near the Moon’s South Pole. This location has been selected due to its potential for resource-rich deposits.

Technology Developed for Lunar Drilling and Analysis

TRIDENT, developed by Honeybee Robotics, a subsidiary of Blue Origin, has been designed as a rotary percussive drill capable of penetrating up to one metre below the lunar surface. The drill will extract 10-centimetre-long samples, allowing scientists to examine the distribution of frozen gases at varying depths. Equipped with carbide cutting teeth, the drill is built to handle the challenging lunar terrain. Unlike the Apollo-era drills, TRIDENT will be remotely operated from Earth, offering valuable data on regolith composition and temperature variations.

MSOLO, developed by INFICON and adapted for spaceflight at Kennedy Space Centre, will analyse the gases released from the drilled samples. This mass spectrometer is expected to identify the presence of water ice and other volatile compounds, contributing to a better understanding of lunar resource availability.

NASA’s CLPS Initiative and Future Exploration

Under the CLPS model, NASA is investing in commercial partnerships to enable lunar deliveries, with the goal of supporting long-term exploration. NASA, as a primary customer, is one of several organisations utilising these missions for scientific and technological advancements. The PRIME-1 mission has been funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Game Changing Development program and is expected to provide foundational data for future lunar operations.

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Sir Keir Starmer ‘prepared to send troops to Ukraine’ if peace deal reached – as European leaders gear up for crisis talks

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Sir Keir Starmer 'prepared to send troops to Ukraine' if peace deal reached - as European leaders gear up for crisis talks

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to put “our own troops on the ground if necessary” in Ukraine if there is a deal to end the war with Russia.

Ahead of an “emergency meeting” of European leaders on Monday, the prime minister said he was “ready and willing” to put British troops into a peacekeeping force in Ukraine.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, the prime minister also said the UK was “ready to play a leading role” in Ukraine’s defence and security, by committing £3bn a year until 2030.

It comes as Emmanuel Macron rallies the likes of Sir Keir and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at a hastily-arranged Paris summit to discuss Ukraine’s next steps.

The French president will look to recapture Ukraine’s future at the informal meeting, which has been swiftly put together following announcements from the United States.

It will take place as the US sends senior officials to Saudi Arabia for peace talks with Russia – which representatives from Europe have not been invited to. It is unclear if Ukraine will take part.

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European leaders to hold meeting

A delegation from Ukraine is in Saudi Arabia to pave the way for a possible visit from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, one Ukrainian official said on Sunday.

However, less than 24 hours prior, a top Zelenskyy adviser had denied Ukraine would take part in the discussions.

“There is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing,” Mykhailo Podolyak said in a TV interview.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters upon arrival in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., February 16, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Trump spoke to reporters on the tarmac as he arrived in Florida for the Daytona 500. Pic: Reuters

Speaking prior to attending a NASCAR event in Florida on Sunday, Donald Trump said of Mr Putin: “I think he wants to stop fighting.

“They [Russia] have a big powerful machine, you understand that. They defeated Hitler and they defeated Napoleon. They’ve been fighting a long time.”

Mr Macron’s meeting is expected to be attended by British Prime Minister Sir Keir, Germany’s Mr Scholz, Danish PM Mette Frederiksen and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, alongside other European leaders.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and NATO chief Mark Rutte are also expected at the Paris summit.

The goal of the discussions is to “bring together all partners interested in peace and security in Europe”, a French statement said.

More from Sky News:
Rattled EU leaders need to think fast – analysis
Zelenskyy calls for ‘armed forces of Europe’

JD Vance Zelenskyy Munich
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President Zelenskyy met with US vice president JD Vance last week

Meanwhile, representatives from the Trump administration are travelling to Saudi Arabia for peace talks with Russia. The discussions are expected to begin in Riyadh on Tuesday, according to Russian newspaper Kommersant.

Mr Trump’s push for a quick way out of Russia’s war on Ukraine has stirred concern and uncertainty from European leaders.

After a recent phone call with Mr Putin, Mr Trump has – on multiple occasions – said he and the Russian president will meet soon to discuss a peace deal over Ukraine.

He has assured Mr Zelenskyy he will have a seat at the table, but it is unclear if European officials will be invited.

The Ukrainian president has previously said he will not accept any negotiations that do not include his country.

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