NASA announced Tuesday it may turn to Elon Musk's SpaceX or Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin to help reduce the soaring costs of returning Martian rocks collected by the Perseverance rover to Earth. Originally planned to deliver 30 sample tubes to Earth by the 2030s, the Mars Sample Return mission has faced rising expenses and delays, prompting the US space agency to explore more streamlined solutions. The pivot comes as China progresses towards a simpler "grab-and-go" sample return mission to the Red Planet "around 2028," according to state media, potentially making it the first nation to achieve the feat.

THE HIGH COSTS OF RETRIEVING ITEMS FROM MOON, MARS

Over the last few years, artificial intelligence, especially generative AI (Gen AI), has attracted enormous investments, stirring up huge expectations. Co-founder of Technosophics Adi Andrei, research fellow at University College London (UCL) Ali Chaudhry, both of whom are members of Oxylabs' AI/ML Advisory Board, and the company's CEO Julius Černiauskas agree that there will be obstacles for a continuation of this hype in 2025. Yet, the experts also expect the upcoming year to be marked with exciting developments in AI and machine learning.

SEE HOW MACHINE LEARNING WILL REVOLUTIONIZE GEN AI

Tech giant Meta's shock announcement to end its US fact-checking program triggered scathing criticism Tuesday from disinformation researchers who warned it risked opening the floodgates for proliferating false narratives. Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg announced the company was going to "get rid" of its third-party fact-checkers in the US, a sweeping policy shift that analysts saw as an attempt to appease anti-fact checker President-elect Donald Trump.

SEE WHY ZUCKERBERG IS BEING CRITICIZED FOR THE MOVE

What is the most popular social media platform? How many users?

Tuesday's answer: German immigrant and baker Charles Feltman is credited with inventing the hot dog on a bun in 1867 on Coney Island.