Trump to address the nation about Iran, NASA shoots for the moon, India begins counting a billion-plus people

Trump takes Iran war to prime-time

What areDonald Trump’s aims in Iran? He’s sent conflicting signals in recent days — is heending the war soon orlaunching a ground invasion? Is he forcing open the Strait of Hormuz orforgetting about it? Has the Iranian regimechanged, or not? This evening may bring some clarity when he addresses the nation at 9 pm Eastern with what the White House called an “important” update. He faces a tough crowd: the American publiclargely opposes the war, partly because it has driven up energy costs, further stoking high prices that 87% of Americanssay have now reached “crisis” levels. The average price for gasoline has now topped $4 per gallon for the first time in three years.

NASA goes back to the future with moon mission

Tonight, weather permitting,the US will launch the first crewed mission to the moon since the Apollo 17 expedition of 1972. The four astronauts — three Americans and one Canadian — will orbit the moon (without touching down on it) before returning to Earth on April 10. There’s a lot riding on the mission, known as Artemis II. Success would be a critical step towards returning humans to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17. The mission comes as space is taking on a new role in geopolitics and technology – not as a distant frontier, but as an emerging industrial zone. Since 2009, the US and China have invested some $400 billion in the space economy – with applications spanning defense, connectivity, and navigation. Space is also attracting the AI industry’s attention – companies like OpenAI and xAI want to build solar-powered, space-cooled data centers in space to meet the enormous energy demands of the AI boom.

The world’s largest census begins

Can you count to 1.4 billion? India is about to. The world’s most populous country is beginning its census, blending in-person surveys with a first-ever digital option that allows residents to submit their information on a mobile app. After being delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the process will proceed in two phases. The first will record the number of people and facilities in the country, the second will take into account people's economic indicators, quality of life, and – for the first time since India’s independence – caste. Caste is an ancient social hierarchy system in India that has been influential in deciding access to opportunities and resources, and the government is collecting it to create targeted welfare programs, though some fear it will increase social tension. Once the data is collected (which will employ 3 million enumerators over a year), it could prompt changes to India's political map, including seats in Parliament and state legislatures, as well as the distribution of government welfare programs in the world’s fastest-growing major economy.