As part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission, four crew members from three space agencies will launch in the coming months to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA astronauts Commander Zena Cardman and Pilot Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos […]
For Anum Ashraf, Ph.D., the interconnectedness of NASA’s workforce presents the exciting opportunity to collaborate with a multitude of people and teams. With more than 11 years at the agency, Ashraf has played a fundamental role in leading efforts that actively bridge these connections and support NASA’s mission. Ashraf serves as the mission commitment lead […]
The instrument enclosure of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Surveyor is prepared for critical environmental tests inside the historic Chamber A at the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in December 2024. Wrapped in silver thermal blanketing, the 12-foot-long (3.7-meter-long) angular structure was subjected to the frigid, airless conditions that the spacecraft […]
StarBurst, a wide-field gamma ray observatory, arrived at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, March 4 for environmental testing and final instrument integration. The instrument is designed to detect the initial emission of short gamma-ray bursts, a key electromagnetic indicator of neutron star mergers. “Gamma-ray bursts are among the most powerful explosions in […]
NASA’s Electrodynamic Dust Shield (EDS) successfully demonstrated its ability to remove regolith, or lunar dust and dirt, from its various surfaces on the Moon during Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, which concluded on March 16. Lunar dust is extremely abrasive and electrostatic, which means it clings to anything that carries a charge. It can […]
Winter sea ice cover in the Arctic was the lowest it’s ever been at its annual peak on March 22, 2025, according to NASA and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. At 5.53 million square miles (14.33 million square kilometers), the maximum extent fell below the prior […]
People often think about archaeology happening deep in jungles or inside ancient pyramids. However, a team of astronomers has shown that they can use stars and the remains they leave behind to conduct a special kind of archaeology in space. Mining data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the team of astronomers studied the relics that […]
Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center Earth planning date: Monday, March 24, 2025 If you’ve ever seen a geologist in the field, you may have seen a classic stance: one leg propped up on a rock, knee bent, head down looking at the rocks at their feet, and arm pointing […]
The team behind NASA’s X-59 completed another critical ground test in March, ensuring the quiet supersonic aircraft will be able to maintain a specific speed during operation. The test, known as engine speed hold, is the latest marker of progress as the X-59 nears first flight this year. “Engine speed hold is essentially the aircraft’s […]
How can I see the northern lights? To see the northern lights, you need to be in the right place at the right time. Auroras are the result of charged particles and magnetism from the Sun called space weather dancing with the Earth’s magnetic field. And they happen far above the clouds. So you need […]
Ivan Kashinsky has traveled the world for Smithsonian magazine, but when disaster struck earlier this month, he rushed home to point his lens at his own neighborhood
Your body is a collection of cells carrying thousands of genetic mistakes accrued over a lifetime—many harmless, some bad and at least a few that may be good for you
On Tetiaroa, a vibrant coral atoll dotted with sandy islets, archaeologists, marine biologists and cultural practitioners are working together to improve understanding of a unique ecosystem
Arctic sea ice had its weakest winter buildup since record-keeping began 47 years ago, a symptom of climate change that will have repercussions globally, scientists said Thursday.
Banning smartphone and social media access alone fails to equip children for healthy use of technology, argues a group of international experts in The BMJ.
Metamaterials are artificially-structured materials with extraordinary properties not easily found in nature. With engineered three-dimensional (3D) geometries at the micro- and nanoscale, these architected materials achieve unique mechanical and physical properties with capabilities beyond those of conventional materials—and have emerged over the past decade as a promising way to engineering challenges where all other existing materials have lacked success.
Superconductivity is a quantum physical state in which a metal is able to conduct electricity perfectly without any resistance. In its most familiar application, it enables powerful magnets in MRI machines to create the magnetic fields that allow doctors to see inside our bodies. Thus far, materials can only achieve superconductivity at extremely low temperatures, near absolute zero (a few tens of Kelvin or colder).
Nineteen sea turtles that were rehabilitated in Missouri after suffering the effects of cold water temperatures in New England were released Wednesday afternoon into the Atlantic Ocean off of Jacksonville, Florida.
University of Melbourne hydrology professor Dongryeol Ryu and his collaborator Ki-Weon Seo were on a train to visit Ryu's family when they found something startling. Stopped at a station for technical issues, Seo had pulled out his computer to pass the time with some work when a result popped up in their data that Ryu could hardly believe: It suggested a "remarkable" amount of Earth's water stored on land had been depleted.
A new species of fossil from 444 million years ago that has perfectly preserved insides has been affectionately named "Sue" after its discoverer's mom.
A new method based on optical interferometry, to monitor structural damage to buildings hit by earthquakes in real time, is the outcome of the Foresight research project, led by the Politecnico di Milano and carried out together with INRiM—the National Metrology Institute of Italy and INGV—the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
Researchers from the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and Lehigh University have developed a nanostructured copper alloy that could redefine high-temperature materials for aerospace, defense, and industrial applications.
The instrument enclosure of NASA's Near-Earth Object Surveyor was prepared for critical environmental tests inside the historic Chamber A at the Space Environment Simulation Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in December 2024.
Since January, the Trump administration has imposed a host of new tariffs and restrictive trade measures, including tariffs on steel and aluminum and increased levies on imports from China. The administration also issued and then temporarily paused sweeping tariffs on Mexico and Canada. In response, the European Union, Canada and China have imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports.
The Japanese singer-songwriter’s new album goes deep on their “fascination with science.” WIRED Japan took Hikaru Utada to visit the Large Hadron Collider to learn more.
DNA-testing company 23andMe has filed for bankruptcy, which means the future of the company’s vast trove of customer data is unknown. Here’s what that means for your genetic data.
As graduate programs lose spots and labs face shutdowns following Trump administration cuts to science funding, the path to a science career for students and researchers just got a whole lot harder.
A team of researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to uncover new details about SIMP 0136, a free-floating planet in the Milky Way that does not orbit a star.
In the face of the Trump administration's anti-trans efforts, researchers and volunteers around the world are backing up federally-funded studies, and vowing to keep the resources online.
The company has partnered with Nvidia to develop “cognitive AI,” which it says will allow people with severe physical disabilities to have more natural interactions with the world around them.
Thousands of US Department of Agriculture employees, including food inspectors and disease-sniffing-dog trainers, remain out of work, leaving food to rot in ports and pests to proliferate.
A young computer scientist and two colleagues show that searches within data structures called hash tables can be much faster than previously deemed possible.
An explosive crash between an oil tanker and a cargo ship in the North Sea could have huge consequences for ecologically and commercially crucial marine areas.
