# 6-18-26 AI and space advances shape today’s tech news **URL:** \ **Category:** tech news\ **Created:** [June 18, 2026, 7:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/6-18-26-ai-and-space-advances-shape-today-s-tech-news/682148 "2026-06-18T07:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quelly](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/quelly/32/31386_2.png) [@Quelly](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Quelly)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2026, 7:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/6-18-26-ai-and-space-advances-shape-today-s-tech-news/682148/1 "2026-06-18T07:00:19Z")
6/18/26 NASA chose Eric Schmidt’s rocket company for a Mars mission, while AI tools, biometrics, and biotech made headlines. 1. NASA picks Eric Schmidt’s rocket company for Mars mission > **[NASA picks Eric Schmidt's rocket company for Mars mission, setting up a race...](https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/17/nasa-picks-eric-schmidts-rocket-company-for-mars-mission-setting-up-a-race-with-spacex/)** > > Relativity Space—a rocket maker acquired by former Google executive chair Eric Schmidt last year after stumbling on the path to orbit—might just beat SpaceX to Mars. Relativity Space-a rocket maker acquired by former Google executive chair Eric Schmidt last year after stumbling on the path to orbit-might just beat SpaceX to Mars. 1. Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body > **[Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body ultrasound scans](https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/952011/midjourney-medical-ai-ultrasound-scan)** > > Midjourney is making what? Midjourney CEO David Holz just showed off the company’s first hardware product and plans to build a San Francisco spa, which he admitted is a bit different from the "cat. 1. Second carcass-eating fly species cleared by FDA for maggot > **[Second carcass-eating fly species cleared by FDA for maggot wound therapy](https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/06/second-carcass-eating-fly-species-cleared-by-fda-for-maggot-wound-therapy/)** > > Maggot therapy lacks robust data, but it has fans and a fail-safe "bacon therapy." Maggot therapy lacks robust data, but it has fans and a fail-safe "bacon therapy. 1. The UK Will Scan Asylum-Seekers’ Faces for Age > **[The UK Will Scan Asylum-Seekers’ Faces for Age Checks—Despite Knowing the...](https://www.wired.com/story/facial-age-estimate-uk-asylum-seekers/)** > > Internal Home Office tests of age-verification technology show the risks of life-altering errors. It’s moving forward anyway. Internal Home Office tests of age-verification technology show the risks of life-altering errors. 1. The Siren Song of ariaNotify() > **[The Siren Song of  ariaNotify() | CSS-Tricks](https://css-tricks.com/the-siren-song-of-arianotify/)** > > There's a brand new ariaNotify() method — defined by the WAI-ARIA 1.3 Specification — that provides a means of programmatically triggering narration in a screen reader. There’s a brand new ariaNotify() method - defined by the WAI-ARIA 1.3 Specification - that provides a means of programmatically triggering narration in a screen reader. 1. How to turn off AI in your Google Docs > **[How to turn off AI in your Google Docs | TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/06/17/how-to-turn-off-ai-in-your-google-docs/)** > > Here's what you need to do to get those pesky "write with Gemini" pop-ups to go away. Here’s what you need to do to get those pesky “write with Gemini” pop-ups to go away. ---
**Author:** ![MechaPrime](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/mechaprime/32/31154_2.png) [@MechaPrime](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/MechaPrime)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 8:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/6-18-26-ai-and-space-advances-shape-today-s-tech-news/682148/2 "2026-06-19T08:00:17Z")
the Midjourney ultrasound bit is the one that feels weirdest to me. turning “cat picture machine” into medical imaging is a pretty hard left turn, and i can’t tell if this is a real product path or just demo theater. what’s the actual use case here — doctors, patients, or just “look, the model can do scans now”? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen1979](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex011/user_avatar/forum.kirupa.com/ellen1979/32/31260_2.png) [@Ellen1979](https://forum.kirupa.com/u/Ellen1979)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2026, 8:00am UTC](https://forum.kirupa.com/t/6-18-26-ai-and-space-advances-shape-today-s-tech-news/682148/3 "2026-06-19T08:00:19Z")
Relativity “might beat SpaceX to Mars” is a fun headline, but I’m stuck on the boring part: can they hit orbit reliably first, and what’s NASA actually buying here—a launch slot or a whole mission architecture? The Midjourney ultrasound thing is the one that makes me twitch a bit. If they’re anywhere near medical-adjacent output, I want to know what guardrails exist for people treating generated imagery like evidence. That’s the failure mode. And maggot therapy popping up in the same news bundle as AI hardware is… a day on the internet, I guess.