Astronomy

Two or more satellites could communicate and manoeuvre around one another using magnetic fields, although getting the technique to work at scale in space might be tricky

A bright reflection nebula shares the stage with a protostar and planet-forming disk in this Hubble image.

The US’s federally funded space program has been struggling of late. With the recent cancellation of the Mars Sample Return mission, and mass layoffs / resignations taking place at NASA, the general sense of a lack of morale at the agency is palpable, even from a distance. Jared Isaacman, the billionaire software entrepreneur and rocket enthusiast who was recently confirmed as NASA administrator during his second confirmation hearing, hopes to change that, and one of his priorities is pushing the Artemis missions for a permanent human presence on the Moon. However, at least one big technical hurdle remains before being able to do so - how to power a base during the two week long lunar night. A recent press release describes how NASA, and another branch of the federal government (the Department of Energy - DoE) hope to solve that problem - with a lunar-ready nuclear fission reactor

It is impossible to get rid of anxiety because it exists to help us, says cognitive psychotherapist Owen O'Kane. Instead, he suggests three ways to reframe your relationship with anxiety in order to take back control

It is impossible to get rid of anxiety because it exists to help us, says cognitive psychotherapist Owen O'Kane. Instead, he suggests three ways to reframe your relationship with anxiety in order to take back control

Image: Helix Nebula (NIRCam image)

We recently discussed the different types of worlds that the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is expected to find that might have noticeable biosignatures. However, no matter how good the instrumentation on board the observatory is, the data it collects will be useless if scientists don’t know how to interpret it. A paper explaining what data they need to collect before analyzing HWO data was authored by Niki Parenteau, a research biologist at NASA, and her co-authors, which is now available in pre-print on arXiv.

Image: This image, captured by Copernicus Sentinel-3 on 18 January 2026, shows clouds of smoke from wildfires on the coast of Chile.

The U.S. has held its measles-free status for more than 25 years. Experts say unrelenting outbreaks in the past year may change that

Spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet have helped researchers map out an ancient coastline that surrounded a large ocean billions of years ago

Spacecraft orbiting the Red Planet have helped researchers map out an ancient coastline that surrounded a large ocean billions of years ago

In rethinking whether AI is sentient, we are asking bigger questions about cognition, human-machine interaction and even our own consciousness

Consciousness researchers studying “islands of awareness” have found that disconnected brains likely sink into a strange form of deep sleep

Extremophile molds are invading art museums and devouring their collections. Stigma and climate change have fueled their spread

Giant atoms; corpses for science

A large dataset shows some dog stereotypes are based in reality, and others might be unfair characterizations

Letters to the editors for the October 2025 issue of Scientific American

The Nobel Prizes remind us how science can unite society and inspire hope for the future

Will brain science deliver answers about consciousness or hit another wall?

The James Webb Space Telescope should soon be able to spot the first generation of stars in space