Science Articles

NASA's Artemis II mission successfully completed a lunar flyby on April 6 and 7, 2026. It was the first crewed mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972. The astronauts got a rare view of the Moon's far side. They also witnessed a total solar eclipse from deep space....

On April 1, Artemis II's Orion spacecraft blasted off into space for a trip around the Moon. Inside were four astronauts and an adorable stuffed toy named Rise. The tiny plush had a simple, but important job — to float when the spacecraft reached zero gravity. This gave the crew an easy, visual signal that it was safe to unbuckle their seatbelts....

Like many countries, Portugal has been experiencing increasingly hotter, drier weather. This has led to numerous massive wildfires. Since 2000, the country has lost about half of its forest cover to these blazes. More than 60 percent of these areas are on steep, dangerous slopes, making replanting difficult. Now, two teenagers have come up with an innovative solution — a tree-planting robot called Trovador....

NASA is taking the next step toward returning humans to the Moon with the Artemis II mission. Sometime during the first week of April 2026, the Orion spacecraft will carry four astronauts on a journey around the Moon before returning safely to Earth. The flight will test Orion and its systems for future missions that aim to land astronauts on the lunar surface again. The last time astronauts walked on the Moon was during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972....

The beautiful islands of Hawaii are reeling from their worst flooding in more than two decades. From early to mid-March, powerful rainstorms swept across the islands, drenching communities with record rainfall and causing flash floods. The brunt of the storms was felt on Maui and Oahu, though impacts were reported across all five islands....

Most dogs can learn their name and basic commands like "sit" or "walk." Some smart pooches are even able to build vocabularies of over 100 object names with consistent training. Now, a study suggests that a few exceptionally bright dogs may learn new words simply by listening in on their owners’ conversations....

On March 17, 2026, around 8:56 am EDT, a bright meteor lit up the sky over the northern United States. The fireball was seen across at least ten states and southern Ontario, Canada. Seconds after appearing, it produced a loud sonic boom that was heard and felt across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan....

Wind is an important source of clean electricity. Today, most of it is captured by ground-based turbines. These tall structures use spinning blades to convert moving air into power. However, winds closer to the surface can be unpredictable. Mountains, buildings, and trees can block or slow airflow. A Chinese start-up hopes to overcome these limitations by sending turbines high into the sky....

Punch-kun, a baby Japanese macaque at Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan, and his orangutan plushie have taken the internet by storm. Heartwarming videos of him clutching his plush toy have inspired fan art and caused a surge in sales of orangutan plush toys worldwide....