The Moon Is Shrinking and That’s Bad News for NASA’s Artemis Program
Do not scratch your eyes: the Moon is slowly shrinking, causing quakes on its surface that complicate NASA’s plans for landing Artemis 3, the first Artemis mission that will make…
The Most Precious Human Relics Left in Space
Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster and Starman manikin shortly after launch on February 6, 2018. Photo: SpaceX Being the space nerd that I am, I often imagine a museum filled with…
7 Endangered U.S. Animals That Don’t Get Enough Love
Photo: Hal Beral / VWPics (AP) This bird’s name is matched only by its nickname: this species is sometimes called the “Kickboxer,” thanks to its habit of lying on its…
An Ambitious Mission to Venus Is Set to Launch in 2031
The EnVision mission to Venus was officially adopted by the European Space Agency on Thursday, which means the organization has committed to getting the spacecraft Venus-bound by the early 2030s.…
NASA’s Mars Helicopter Breaks a Blade and Will Never Fly Again
After nearly three years of flying across the Martian terrain, the Ingenuity helicopter has finally ended its mission. NASA declared Thursday that Ingenuity had sustained damage to a blade during…
Ghostly White Roly Poly Bug Discovered in the Deep Sea
Meet the animal kingdom’s newest little guy. This is Booralana nickorum, a recently described species of deep-sea isopod found in The Bahamas. It is a cirolanid isopod—a member of the…
The Sun Just Spewed Material From Opposite Sides in Rare Phenomenon
NASA’s SDO captured this rare moment of two solar flares erupting at the same time.Gif: NASA/Solar Dynamic Observatory No, you’re not seeing double. The Sun just flung out two massive…
Zoo Hopes Plan to Introduce Famous Cursing Parrots to Larger Flock Doesn’t Backfire
Two African grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) perching on something.Photo: LocHuynh (Shutterstock) The Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in the UK is trying a new plan to contain its growing group of foul-mouthed…
Solar Opposites Wants to Be Your Horny Alien Valentine
The awkward aliens of Solar Opposites have already had a blast ripping into Earth’s embrace of Christmas and Halloween, and their next holiday target—er, special, now has a trailer to…
You Don’t Win Friends With Space Salad
If you’re ever on your lunch break in space, you might actually want to stay away from the salad. A team of scientists grew lettuce in a simulated microgravity environment…