Deep in the Amazon rainforest, a tall, slender palm known as Socratea exorrhiza has sparked one of nature’s most intriguing myths. Often described as a “walking tree”, it is said to slowly shift its position over time, moving a few centimetres each year in search of sunlight. The claim has been widely repeated in travel…
Synthetic fuels demonstration plant in the Laboratory What if fuel could be made not from oil wells, but from the air around us? That idea moved closer to reality when Japan’s energy giant ENEOS Corporation successfully produced synthetic fuel using captured carbon dioxide and hydrogen at its Yokohama demonstration plant. The project showed that it…
When NASA launches Artemis II, the spacecraft will carry far more than a crew of four astronauts. Alongside critical systems and experiments, it will also transport a digital archive containing the names of over 5.6 million people from around the world. Collected through NASA’s “Send Your Name to the Moon” campaign, these names represent a…
Space, as most of us think of it, is a quiet and peaceful place, but for those living and working on the International Space Station (ISS), it can also be a place of physiological surprises. A recent occurrence, where a veteran NASA astronaut, Michael Fincke, told the Associated Press that he apparently lost his ability…
PC: National Endowment for the Humanities Before smartphones, spreadsheets, or even written alphabets as we know them, the Inca appear to have managed information in a way that still feels surprisingly advanced. Their system, known as quipu, used knotted cords and colour-coded strings to store records across a vast empire. It was long thought to…
However, when you hear of food in space, the first thing that comes to mind is tubes and paste. But NASA’s Artemis II is rewriting the entire script. With a carefully selected list of 189 food and drink products, the astronauts are in for a treat as they travel around the moon for 10 days….
Space travel is not as easy as it looks, though. The human body is not designed to function properly outside the gravitational pull of Earth. Muscles atrophy, bones become less dense, and walking becomes an exercise. Space travel is not an easy feat, especially when planning to travel to Mars. One thing that scientists are…
While space agencies are making significant preparations for long-term missions to the Moon and Mars, a fundamental human query is emerging: can life be initiated outside of Earth? While space travel has progressed significantly, human reproduction in space is an unexplored area of uncertainty. Scientists are using animal research, lab experiments, and space missions to…
If all systems are go and barring force majeure , four astronauts will in two days lift off towards the Moon on a giant rocket, becoming the first humans to head in that direction in over 50 years, since Nasa’s Apollo programme ended in 1972. After technical delays in Feb and March, Nasa is now…
NASA’s Artemis II mission will allow humanity to return to the lunar frontier as we near the end of decades-long silence (since the Apollo era). Launching from Kennedy Space Centre on April 1, 2026, this historic mission will be the first crewed Luna flight in more than 50 years; it will be a long-duration (10-day)…
