Sci/Tech

More than most chemical markets, the cosmetic and personal care ingredient industry is subject to the feelings and fancies of everyday consumers. People tend to be conscious of the safety and environmental impact of the chemicals they apply directly to their skin and hair. It’s usually a good thing: the personal care sector often leads the way on sustainability, exerting influence on supply chains, novel chemistry, and industry practices. That responsiveness, though, also makes the industry susceptible to fads. Fashionable ingredients take flight far beyond what their actual performance merits, and a bit of bad press can imperil whole categories before rigorous science starts to speak. … read more in C&EN:

The increasing risk for wildfires is not just a problem for the western U.S. New research has found that the number of fire weather days are increasing nationwide, including in the eastern half of the country and New Jersey.

Lafarge and Heidelberg select technologies for CO2 capture and utilization projects Two construction-material firms have selected technology partners for facilities that will capture and use some of the carbon dioxide generated at their cement plants. In British Columbia, Lafarge is adding a CO2-to-chemicals system from the start-up Dimensional Energy to CO2-capture pilot equipment from Svante that has operated at its Richmond Cement Plant since January 2021. Svante captures CO2 with solid sorbents based on metal-organic frameworks. When completed, the system will pull 1 metric ton (t) of CO2 per day from Lafarge’s cement facility and react it with hydrogen to yield roughly 180 L of hydrocarbon waxes. ... Read more in C&EN

Four small rockets were launched from a ship in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday, testing a startup company's plan for developing offshore spaceports that could avoid much of the environmental and public safety concerns that arise when building launch pads on solid ground. The Spaceport Company, based in northern Virginia, launched 4-inch and 6-inch diameter rockets from a vessel about 30 miles south of Gulfport, Miss. The one-year-old company wanted to demonstrate its operations and logistics, which included getting approval from federal regulators, before developing larger floating platforms that would send satellites into orbit.

Houston’s Axiom Space sent two Americans and two Saudis into space Sunday. The crew will reach the International Space Station Monday morning, helping the company fine-tune its space operations while giving another country access to microgravity.

Blue Origin will develop the system that lowers astronauts to the moon for NASA's Artemis V mission, the third time astronauts walk on the lunar surface in NASA's current moon program. The space agency said the announcement is aimed at boosting competition and redundancy for these human landing systems. It's also likely a response to the massive backlash NASA received in 2021 from Blue Origin and members of Congress when it selected SpaceX — and only SpaceX — to develop this system. NASA is increasingly relying on commercial companies to own and operate space hardware. And Friday's news gives two prominent billionaires a lunar realm for battle: Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, and Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002.