5 days beneath the waves: What it's like to live in an underwater 'space station'

space.com Oct 29, 2026

5 days beneath the waves: What it’s like to live in an underwater ‘space station’

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Oct 29, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

Dr. Michaela Musilova, an award‑winning astrobiologist and explorer, has led 40 simulated Moon and Mars missions—the most of any commander—to date. She founded the nonprofit XtremeFrontiers, which is launching the Astro Seven Summits project, a world‑first program that pairs ascents of each continent’s highest peak with scientific research, NASA collaborations, educational outreach, and documentary filming. Musilova’s career spans work with NASA, ESA, CalTech and the Canada‑France‑Hawaii Telescope, and she has consulted for global firms and institutions such as the Smithsonian. Recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, Top 100 Women in Aerospace and Aviation, and the Emerging Space Leaders Grant, she also serves as a prolific science communicator, keynote speaker, and co‑author of the biography “Woman from Mars.”

💡 Why It Matters

· By merging extreme mountaineering with space research, Musilova creates a novel platform for testing technologies and engaging the public in planetary science.

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BioWare Co-Founder Speaks Out on Studio Closure, Mass Effect Cancellation

BioWare co‑founder Greg Zeschuk announced the studio’s closure, which cut 50 jobs and 400 total positions, and confirmed the cancellation of Mass Effect 5, now revealed as “Mass Effect: Universe.” Zeschuk reflected on his emotional farewell, noting his departure in 2012 and his current focus on a beer‑brewing business. He criticized the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s $55 million buyout of EA, arguing it shifted the company toward annual sports titles and away from long‑form RPGs. The announcement sparked strong reactions from fans, journalists, and industry insiders.

💡 The shutdown signals a broader shift in the gaming industry toward short‑term, high‑margin projects, undermining the viability of complex, narrative‑driven titles. It also highlights the tension between corporate ownership and creative autonomy in game development.

techcrunch.com · Oct 28

AI execs may be too out of touch to build for the…

Former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has drawn criticism for her AI assistant, Dazzle, after revealing it generated a generic description of her ten‑year‑old daughter. Mayer showcased the app’s ability to pull photos and suggest birthday themes, sparking debate over AI’s role in child‑rearing and personal relationships. The backlash echoes broader concerns about Silicon Valley’s perceived detachment from everyday life, as leaders like Sam Altman and Mark Zuckerberg promote AI‑driven social solutions. The controversy highlights tensions between technological ambition and societal values.

💡 The episode underscores a growing mistrust of AI in intimate, human‑centered contexts, challenging the narrative that automation can seamlessly replace emotional labor. It forces a reckoning on how tech leaders shape public expectations about the future of family and connection.

cleantechnica.com · Oct 27

Everybody Is Finally Talking About The Epstein Files Again

The House Judiciary Committee released a staff report on October 26 that accuses former President Donald Trump of actively participating in Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of young women in the mid‑to‑late 1990s, providing names and photographs as evidence. The report claims Trump “abused, assaulted, and even raped” victims alongside Epstein and alleges the Department of Justice and FBI are deliberately withholding information. The committee urges Congress to use its oversight powers to pursue justice for survivors, though Republican control of Congress may limit action before the November 3 mid‑term elections. The release follows the 2023 Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump signed into law, and comes amid heightened scrutiny of Elon Musk’s political spending to support Trump’s agenda.

💡 The allegations revive a decades‑old scandal at a moment when congressional control could determine whether any accountability is pursued.

techcrunch.com · Oct 27

Meta AI director Rohit Patel leaves to take on Microsoft Office and…

After eight years at Meta, Rohit Patel, former director of Meta Superintelligence Labs, is leaving to launch Ndoc, a startup that aims to replace Microsoft Office and Google Workspace with an AI‑native unified workspace. Ndoc combines three tabs—Stage for presentations, Narrative for analysis with citations, and Model for datasets and Python scripts—allowing users to upload data, generate analyses, and view underlying code. Patel, a reinforcement‑learning specialist who emphasized trustworthy AI, built Ndoc on open‑source models to keep operating costs low and plans to open‑source its “.ndoc.html” file format. The venture, staffed by three people and without external funding, enters a crowded market where OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google are adding AI layers to existing productivity suites. for enterprise collaboration worldwide.

💡 By bundling data, narrative and code in a single, open format, Ndoc challenges the entrenched lock‑in of legacy suites and could force big AI labs to rethink how they embed intelligence into workplace tools.

eurogamer.net · Oct 27

AI fan wikis riddled with errors are muddying the waters of an…

A surge of AI‑generated fan wikis has flooded search results for indie games, offering inaccurate or unrelated content that misleads players. The most notorious example is a site claiming to be the Nighthawks Wiki, which actually functions as a static page with email‑only corrections and contains fabricated companion data and unrelated references to a 1981 film and an Edward Hopper painting. Publisher Hooded Horse’s CEO, Tim Bender, notes that these sites compete with legitimate fan‑run wikis, eroding trust and frustrating gamers who rely on accurate guides.

💡 The proliferation of erroneous AI‑built wikis threatens the integrity of community knowledge bases, undermining player confidence and the collaborative culture that sustains indie game support.

techcrunch.com · Oct 26

Databricks co-founder shares his secrets for winning big enterprises customers

Databricks co‑founder and senior vice president of field engineering Arsalan Tavakoli‑Shiraji told TechCrunch Disrupt that startups chasing enterprise contracts must prioritize people and processes over pure technology. He recounted early failures, such as a missed meeting with UBS, and explained how a partnership with Microsoft’s Azure platform gave Databricks credibility, sales support, and access to Fortune‑500 buyers. Tavakoli‑Shiraji outlined his “four C’s” framework—context, choice, cost, and control—to address enterprise AI concerns, and urged startups to modernize costly legacy systems with AI agents that can interpret and refactor old code. He cited examples like Hightouch, Addepar and Tecton, which now sell under Databricks’ terms after successful collaborations or acquisitions. Their growth now positions Databricks as a $190 billion AI and data powerhouse.

💡 By exposing the playbook that turned a garage‑scale startup into a $190 billion enterprise AI leader, Tavakoli‑Shiraji gives emerging vendors a proven shortcut to bypass traditional gatekeepers.