The family tree of humanity is long and tangled. Scientists classify our ancient relatives into three family groups: Homo, Australopithecus, and Paranthropus. Each of them is a “genus,” the rank just above a species. (In Homo sapiens, Homo is the genus and sapiens is the species). These names dominate the way we talk about human … Read more
Nshan Kazaryan, the NASA engineer responsible for communicating with the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes, is younger than the spacecraft he is talking to. At 25, Mr. Kazaryan is one of a new generation of engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California working to keep the geriatric but rugged spacecraft running. “Every … Read more
A NASA spacecraft in orbit around the Moon captured dramatic images of the impact crater left when a SpaceX rocket crashed into the lunar surface this month. The defunct upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket crashed uncontrollably into the Moon on August 5 at an estimated speed of 5,400 mph. The roughly 10,800-pound booster … Read more
New images from a NASA satellite orbiting the Moon reveal a new 60-foot-wide crater formed by a wayward SpaceX rocket that crashed into the lunar surface earlier this month. The accident involved the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket that originally launched on January 15, 2025 and was carrying two commercial lunar landers. As … Read more
A strange jellyfish-like object captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover in 2023 has some people convinced that the small shape could be something much more mysterious. The strange figure appears on a distant Martian ridge but disappears in another image of the same location taken less than a minute later, fueling speculation. The image has sparked … Read more
Some bottlenose dolphins have learned to use tools to help them fish, a clever technique that can be passed from mother to calf. Scientists in Australia observed dolphins chasing fish into empty seashells and bringing them to the surface before putting the prey in their mouths. A baby dolphin was also seen copying its mother … Read more
The liver is one of the most notable organs in the human body. This multitasking dynamo performs around 500 vital functions, including processing nutrients and filtering harmful substances from the blood. Despite the chemical toxins it has to deal with daily, the liver is preternaturally young, thanks to its unique ability to regenerate. However, not … Read more
August 17, 2026 Updated August 18, 2026 at 5:47 am ET The FAA predicts that commercial rocket launches will increase dramatically over the next decade. NASA’s Artemis lunar missions and commercial satellite deployments are driving the increase in launches. Florida and California, the top launching states, have already experienced record years in rocket activity. The … Read more
If you look up on a dark night, the Milky Way appears as a quiet band of stars in the sky. But our galaxy has a violent past. For more than 13 billion years it has grown through star formation and mergers with other galaxies. We already know that several important galaxies helped build the … Read more
The “mini-dragon” that survived extinction: why scientists are obsessed – Futura-Sciences August 17, 2026 3 min It’s called the “Holy Grail” of reptiles: here’s why it’s so coveted. © reptiles4all, iStock See also