Hotnews

scientificamerican

NASA’s Artemis II crew returns today—here’s what to know ahead of splashdown

After a 10-day mission around the moon, the Artemis II astronauts will have traveled nearly 700,000 miles

See NASA’s Artemis II mission around the moon in 12 stunning photos

The Artemis II mission's 10-day odyssey around the moon and back was captured in stunning photographs at every moment.

What NASA’s Artemis II tells us about the ‘overview effect,’ moon joy and awe

Artemis II’s views from space trigger a special type of awe.

The Expanse authors James S. A. Corey explore alien war in new book The Faith of Beasts

Award winning duo James S. A.

Watch live—NASA’s Artemis II crew returns to Earth

On Friday these four astronauts and their Orion spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean after a 10-day mission around the moon

New study shows how the brain weighs evidence to make decisions

When presented with two different types of decisions, the brain accumulates evidence in a similar way

NASA’s Artemis II reveals why humans still love the moon

The triumph of NASA’s first crewed lunar mission in a half-century is a reminder of what the moon really means for Earth—and why we’re going back

NASA’s Artemis II crew returns to Earth

On Friday these four astronauts and their Orion spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean after a 10-day mission around the moon

NASA’s Artemis II moon mission splashes down

NASA’s Orion capsule and the four astronauts on board have made it back to Earth after 10 days in space and a record-breaking mission around the moon and back

NASA’s Dragonfly mission will send a nuclear-powered flying drone to Titan

NASA plans to launch a wildly ambitious nuclear-powered octocopter to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in 2028

This sci‑fi twist on Moby-Dick will blow your mind

Alexis Hall reimagines Melville’s classic with space whales, AI intrigue and a bold queer twist that launches Moby-Dick into an entirely new sci‑fi universe

Why bombing Iran’s nuclear power plant could cause an environmental disaster

Strikes to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could release long-lasting radioactive cesium 137 into the Persian Gulf, causing environmental calamity and threatening drinking-water supplies for millions

New metal with triple copper’s heat conduction challenges fundamental physics

With performance three times better than copper’s, this new material could substantially improve heat management of electronics, data centers and energy systems

Medieval aurora poetry provided clues to historic solar storms

Medieval poets, including a Japanese noble, provided key descriptions to track down solar events

Mysterious heart neurons maintain blood pressure to prevent fainting

Researchers pinpointed the purpose of mysterious heart neurons in mice—and humans have them, too

New particle mass measurement deepens quantum mystery

A new calculation helps narrow down the mass of the W boson, one of the heaviest fundamental particles in the universe