Good morning, Quartz readers!
What to watch for today and over the weekend
SpaceX launches the first private moon mission… On Friday morning (HK time) a rocket will carry a spacecraft named Beresheet, built by the Israeli non-profit SpaceIL, into orbit. It will spend two months traveling to Earth’s nearest neighbor and attempt to land on the lunar surface and transmit video and photography back home.
…And a Japanese spacecraft touches down on an asteroid. The Hayabusa2 craft is due to land on Ryugu, which is about 900 meters (3,000 feet) in diameter, before collecting samples that will be sent back to Earth.
China’s chief trade negotiator meets with Donald Trump. Liu He and the US president will discuss multiple documents on agriculture, trade barriers, services, technology transfers, and intellectual property on Friday, which could form the basis of a lasting US-China trade pact (paywall) ahead of a March 1 deadline.
The Saudi crown prince meets with Xi Jinping. Mohammed bin Salman and the Chinese president will discuss sales of oil and military drones on Friday, along with Saudi participation in Beijing’s overarching Belt and Road trade initiative.
Nigeria’s rescheduled election. Nigeria’s presidential election is set to take place on Saturday (Feb. 23) after a last-minute postponement due to logistics issues a week earlier. Incumbent president Muhammadu Buhari is facing his biggest challenge from former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, and polls are tightening between the two septuagenarians.
While you were sleeping
Nike reeled from a busted shoe scandal. Shares fell nearly 2% after Duke college basketball phenom Zion Williamson suffered a scary knee injury on Wednesday night, when his Nike PG 2.5 shoe disintegrated in a high-profile game against archrival North Carolina.
NASA warned Boeing and SpaceX of design risks in their human spaceflight programs. The agency, which is paying the companies billions of dollars to build rockets and capsules to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, issued a report raising concerns about four key components ahead of test flights next month, Reuters reported.
The death toll rose to more than 110 in a catastrophic Dhaka fire. The blaze, apparently ignited by a cylinder of compressed natural gas (paywall), spread through an entire neighborhood in Bangladeshi capital, igniting several other cylinders, a plastics store, and a shop illegally storing chemicals.
Softbank invested $1 billion in Flexport. The freight forwarder startup, now valued at $3.2 billion, will use the infusion of funds from Japan and the Gulf to manage the supply chains of customers in new markets like Europe.
New research suggests Chinese CRISPR babies may have altered cognition. A new study of mice showed that removing the CCR5 gene, as was done to increase HIV resistance in a controversial Chinese human twin study last year, may result in improved memory and the ability to form new neural connections.
Membership
Lists are the secret weapon of Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. His 2017 memoir Hit Refresh is essentially a 287-page list of lists. It’s not just a way to help make his talking points more easily digestible, it tracks with his overall communication strategy of making clear priorities alongside points. Read the Quartz list of Nadella lists.
Quartz Obsession
Neurostimulation: Our brains are sophisticated computers that can be turned on and off again, which doctors have long used to treat OCD and Parkinson’s disease. Now new over-the-counter devices are promising to boost motor skills and memory—is that a good thing? Expand your mind with today’s Quartz Obsession.
Matters of debate
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Kids are discovering their parents’ oversharing. Posting pictures of your children gives them an online identity, whether they want it or not.
It’s time to flip the workplace. Doing work outside of the office, then getting together for discussion and collaboration is the cure for office malaise.
The 22nd century will belong to Africa. Chinese infrastructure investment will lay the groundwork for a cultural and financial renaissance.
Surprising discoveries
A tiny T. rex… Scientists discovered fossils of a meter-high tyrannosaurus ancestor they’ve given the jaunty name Moros intrepidus, or “harbinger of doom.”
…And a colossal bee. Wallace’s giant bee, as long as a human thumb, was presumed extinct before a single female was found in Indonesia.
Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” has wizard-level security. Writers for the new series are kept under lock and key, including taped windows, guards, and fingerprint access.
The mighty moose is no match for the mightier tick. Herds are being sucked dry by the vociferous blood-sucking pests, driven to new habitats by climate change.
Breakdancing may become an Olympic sport. Paris has nominated the pop-and-lock dance discipline as an event for the 2024 games.
Our best wishes for a productive day. Please send any news, comments, little dinosaurs, and big bees to hi@qz.com. Join the next chapter of Quartz by downloading our app and becoming a member. Today’s Daily Brief was written and edited by Susan Howson and Adam Pasick.