First Thing: US returns to lunar surface for first time in more than 50 years

Intuitive Machines’ spacecraft Odysseus lands after a 73-minute descent, touching down near moon’s south pole. Plus, how Finland halved its suicide rate

Good morning.

The United States has returned to the lunar surface for the first time in more than 50 years after a privately built spacecraft named Odysseus capped a nail-biting 73-minute descent from orbit with a touchdown near the moon’s south pole.

Amid celebrations of what Nasa hailed “a giant leap forward”, there was no immediate confirmation of the status or condition of the lander, other than that it had reached its planned landing site at crater Malapert A. But later, Intuitive Machines, the Texas-based company that built the first commercial craft to land on the moon, said the craft was “upright and starting to send data”.

The statement said mission managers were “working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface”.

What’s the plan for further moon exploration? The so-called “soft landing” yesterday, which Steve Altemus, the company’s founder, had given only an 80% chance of succeeding, was designed to open a new era of lunar exploration as Nasa works towards a scheduled late-2026 mission to return humans there.

When was the last time the US landed on the moon? It was the first time any US-built spacecraft had landed on the moon since Nasa’s most recent crewed visit, the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. Last month, Peregrine One, another partnership between the space agency and a private company, Astrobotic, failed to reach the moon.

Ukrainian children who lost loved ones in war to address UN security council

A small group of Ukrainian child survivors of war will address a private session of the UN security council today, part of an effort by Kyiv to remind Americans of the human costs of a conflict increasingly affected by US domestic politics.

Those due to address the UN body, a stop on a broader visit to the US, include Kira, 14, and Ilya, 11, from the besieged city of Mariupol, and the hope is that their personal stories will resonate with Republicans at a time when a military aid for Ukraine package is stalled in the House.

“I was standing at a bus stop at 6am, waiting to go to school, when I started hearing a few explosions. It was then I realised the war had started,” Kira told the Guardian before her trip to New York, which will be followed by a visit to Washington.

The loss of Kira’s childhood innocence was immediate. She spent about a month sheltering, hiding in houses, basements and at one point a church, as Mariupol was pounded and food, water and electricity were desperately short.

How many children have been killed in Ukraine? Ukraine’s prosecutor general estimates that 528 children have been killed since the full-scale invasion began almost two years ago and 2,134 are missing. Another 19,500 are believed to have been abducted and taken to Russia, with some being forcibly re-educated with a “pro-Russia patriotic and military-related education”, a US report said.

Huge cybersecurity leak lifts lid on world of China’s hackers for hire

A big leak of data from a Chinese cybersecurity company has revealed state security agents paying tens of thousands of pounds to harvest data on targets, including foreign governments, while hackers gather huge amounts of information on any person or institution who might be of interest to their prospective clients.

The cache of more than 500 leaked files from the Chinese firm I-Soon was posted on the developer website Github and is thought by cybersecurity experts to be genuine. Some of the targets discussed include Nato and the UK Foreign Office.

The leak provides an unprecedented insight into the world of China’s hackers for hire, which the head of the UK’s security services has called a “massive” challenge for the country.

The files, which are a mixture of chat logs, company prospectuses and data samples, reveal the extent of China’s intelligence gathering operations, while also highlighting the market pressures felt by the country’s commercial hackers as they vie for business in a struggling economy.

What has Nato said in response? A Nato official said: “The alliance faces persistent cyber-threats and has prepared for this by investing in extensive cyber defences. Nato reviews every claim of cyber-threats.”

In other news …

International efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza appeared to gain new momentum as the White House said talks were “going well”. Meanwhile, Médecins Sans Frontières said “there is no health system to speak of left in Gaza” and that “the humanitarian response in Gaza today is an illusion” during a briefing to the UN security council yesterday.

Lawyers for Donald Trump have asked a federal judge to throw out the indictment charging him with retaining classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago club on grounds of presidential immunity, claiming they were his to keep because he designated them personal records while he was president.

Vice plans to make hundreds of employees redundant next week and stop publishing on Vice.com, according to a memo sent to staffers by Bruce Dixon, the Vice Media chief. On Friday, Dixon confirmed that “several hundred” staffers would lose their jobs.

At least four people have died in Spain after a fire gutted a multi-storey apartment block in Valencia, with firefighters battling high winds to put out the blaze. The toll could rise, with 19 people missing, a source on the city council who asked not to be named told Agence France-Presse.

The death of a non-binary 16-year-old in Oklahoma has left LGBTQ+ Americans overwhelmed by anger and grief this week. Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old non-binary student, died on 8 February after a “physical altercation” with classmates in their high school bathroom, according to a statement by authorities.

Don’t miss this: the Finnish miracle – how the country halved its suicide rate and saved countless lives

It is now often called the “world’s happiest country”, but Finland was relatively recently known for having one of the highest suicide rates in the world. Over the past three decades, the country has halved the number of suicides through a series of national initiatives and interventions. In 1990 Finland recorded 1,512 deaths by suicide, according to the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, in what was then a population of just under 5 million. By contrast, in 2022 Finland had 740 suicides, in a population of 5.6 million – more in line with (though slightly higher than) the EU average. From alcohol to antidepressants, here are the changes that made the difference.

Climate check: US supreme court seems skeptical about letting EPA enforce pollution rule

The supreme court’s conservative majority seemed skeptical this week as the Environmental Protection Agency sought to continue enforcing an anti-air-pollution rule in 11 states while separate legal challenges proceed around the country. The EPA’s “good neighbor” rule is intended to restrict smokestack emissions from power plants and other industrial sources that burden downwind areas with smog-causing pollution. Three energy-producing states – Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia – challenged the rule, along with the steel industry and other groups, calling it costly and ineffective.

Last Thing: ‘Everyone hates them’ – see-through pants add to MLB’s uniform controversy

MLB’s new uniform reveal hasn’t gone very well. Now some of the rampant criticism has moved below the belt. Major League Baseball Players Association deputy executive director, Bruce Meyer, confirmed yesterday that the organization was relaying concerns from players to MLB about the new pants, which are somewhat see-through. The complaints – first reported by ESPN – are part of broader scorn for the new uniforms, which are designed by Nike and manufactured by Fanatics. Commissioner Rob Manfred previously said he expected criticism to fade, but that was before the below-the-belt complaints.

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