Tech News February 22, 2026 11:46
A nuclear reactor flown by C‑17 & Perseverance gets Mars‑GPS autonomy - Tech News (Feb 22, 2026)
A C‑17 flies a 5‑MW microreactor, Perseverance gets Mars‑GPS, Artemis II nears launch, and AI deepfakes surge—today’s tech briefing in 5 minutes.
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Topics
- 01 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.
- 02 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.
- 03 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.
- 04 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.
- 05 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.
- 06 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.
- 07 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.
- 08 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.
Sources
- 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