🧠 How to recenter your mind in just 30 seconds flat

By Claire Cameron

‘Tis the season of stress. The year is ending, work is slowing down, your family is on their way — and every day is absolutely frantic. Just me? Maybe. But even if it is just me, let me ask you this: Do you have a go-to technique for re-centering yourself in times of mental chaos? If not, then our top story today is for you. And if yes, allow us to add another tool to your psychological utility belt.

I’m Claire Cameron, an editor at Inverse. It is Wednesday, everyone’s least favorite day of the week and most favorite tween goth. The James Webb Telescope launch has been delayed: It is now nine days till launch. Get yourself through the mid-week lull and into the weekend spirit with a few choice science stories from Inverse. Don’t forget to breathe.

Look: Stunning photos reveal Webb telescope finally on top of its rocket

We promised, and ESA delivered. The James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble successor has been placed atop an Ariane 5 rocket at the ESA spaceport in French Guyana in anticipation of its December 24 launch.

In the latest images released by the European Space Agency, Webb sits atop an Ariane 5 rocket. It’s surrounded by a “shower curtain” meant to protect the delicate mechanisms from contamination. The rocket attachment took place on Saturday.

These images are a clear sign that the James Webb Space Telescope really, maybe, could take off into space later this month. Keep following our coverage on-site to stay up to date with the latest news on this historic moment in space science.

See the images for yourself →

Go deeper:

• 4 new major space projects that rival the James Webb Space Telescope
  

Mindfulness: 6 techniques to recenter yourself amid absolute chaos

Feeling overwhelmed? Centering can be a useful mindfulness strategy to tap into your emotions and focus levels. Here are 6 techniques to try.

Step one: Slow down. 

Sounds deceptively simple, but if you can step away from what you are doing for just a few minutes, it can help you refocus and find your purpose. One way to make this a habit includes working in mini shifts: 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off. 

Read on for five more tips →

Go deeper:

• Therapy for social anxiety: How 2 different types compare and contrast
  

Ancient grave recasts gender roles in hunter-gatherer societies

Nicknamed Neve, researchers unearthed the grave of a young girl dating back 10,000 years ago. Her ornate burial reveals how some of the earliest human societies treated their young — and each other. 

Writing in the journal Scientific Reports on December 14, researchers describe her remains as the oldest-known burial of a female infant found in Europe. When she died, the Ice Age was nearing its end. Humans were adjusting to drastic environmental changes. 

This was the Mesolithic era, and with the changing climate, there were likely shifting societal concerns, too.

Discover the secrets entombed in the grave →

Read this next:

• Look: Ancient poop reveals 2 surprising foods in prehistoric diets
  

Elon Musk reveals ambitious timeline for getting to Mars

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk plans to send his landmark rocket, Starship, to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. In an interview published by TIME, which named Musk their 2021 Person of the Year, he lays out a new, ambitious timeline to make these dreams come true.

Musk says Starship is on track to make a trip around the Moon in 2023 and get to Mars this decade. It has yet to complete an orbital flight. 

If Musk succeeds, SpaceX could help transform humanity into a multi-planet species — he aims to use the early missions to kickstart a million-strong city on Mars as early as 2050. But as space consultant Rand Simberg told Inverse in November, Musk’s biggest hurdles could be a little closer to home.

Read our analysis here →

Go even further:

• Sign up for MuskReads+, a premium newsletter with exclusive analysis and interviews on all things Elon Musk
  

Meanwhile ...

• The 8 most exciting sports cars coming in 2022, from Acura to Z06
  
• 10 wild Elon Musk facts TIME’s Person of the Year profile taught us
  
• New 'Jurassic Park' visual history reveals incredible behind-the-scenes details
  
• 'Hawkeye' Episode 5's epic Netflix cameo just changed the MCU forever
  
• 'The King's Man' review: The most misguided prequel since Star Wars
  

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