A nuclear reactor flown by C‑17 & Perseverance gets Mars‑GPS autonomy - Tech News (Feb 22, 2026)

Today's topics: A nuclear reactor flown by C‑17 - The U.S. Department of Defense completed a first-of-its-kind airlift of a 5‑MW Ward250 microreactor using C‑17 aircraft, highlighting rapid-deployment nuclear power logistics, TRISO fuel, and the Janus Program. Perseverance gets Mars‑GPS autonomy - NASA upgraded Perseverance with Mars Global Localization, matching rover panoramas to orbital maps for ~25 cm positioning—cutting drift, enabling longer drives, and reducing Earth-in-the-loop delays. Artemis II crewed lunar flyby - Artemis II is targeting an early March launch for the first crewed Moon mission since 1972, testing Orion life support, manual controls, and re-entry heat-shield performance on a free-return trajectory. JWST maps Uranus auroras in 3D - Using JWST NIRSpec, astronomers produced the first 3D map of Uranus’s upper atmosphere, revealing auroral structure, ion densities, magnetic-field effects, and a continuing multi-decade cooling trend. Gemini 3.1 Pro boosts reasoning - Google previewed Gemini 3.1 Pro with stronger multi-step reasoning and agentic tool use, rolling it out across Gemini app, NotebookLM, Vertex AI, and the Gemini API for unified consumer-to-enterprise access. Grok image tools and exploitation - Human Rights Watch argues lax safeguards in AI image tools—spotlighting xAI’s Grok on X—enabled large-scale sexualized and nonconsensual imagery, prompting investigations, bans, and calls for platform accountability. ByteDance Seedance deepfake video surge - ByteDance’s Seedance 2.0 made high-quality AI video generation easier, triggering deepfake and copyright alarms from Hollywood while raising questions about safeguards, voice cloning, and content labeling enforcement. Space deterrence and nuclear signals - Germany is investing billions in space security with SAR reconnaissance and SATCOMBw upgrades, as U.S. intelligence claims China is pursuing next-gen nuclear capabilities—both underscoring modern deterrence pressures. https://www.space.com/space-exploration/mars-rovers/nasas-perseverance-rover-now-has-its-own-gps-on-mars-weve-given-the-rover-a-new-ability https://newatlas.com/military/us-air-force-airlifts-complete-nuclear-reactor/ https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2026/02/21/commentary-the-human-cost-of-unregulated-ai-tools/ https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/google-just-doubled-its-ai-reasoning-power-with-the-surprise-launch-of-gemini-3-1-pro https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2026-02-21/artemis-2-mission-scheduled-to-launch-humans-moon-travel/106273572 https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/21/politics/china-nuclear-arsenal-new-technology https://www.moneycontrol.com/world/why-bytedance-s-new-ai-video-tool-has-hollywood-worried-and-beijing-walking-a-tightrope-article-13838695.html https://www.deccanherald.com/india/uttar-pradesh/made-in-india-chips-key-to-developed-india-pm-modi-lays-foundation-for-hcl-foxconn-semiconductor-plant-3906968 http://www.euronews.com/2026/02/21/the-new-space-race-how-satellites-are-reshaping-germanys-defence http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260221000303.htm