Sols 4525-4526: The Day After Groundhog Day (Between Ghost Mountain and Texoli, Headed South)

Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Earth planning date: Monday, April 28, 2025 Curiosity is back on the road! For sols 4525 and 4526, we have an isolated nominal plan in which the communication pass timing works out in such a way that the rover can fit in fully […]

May 01, 2025
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NASA STEM Programs Ignite Curiosity Beyond the Classroom

When curiosity takes flight, learning knows no bounds. The impact of supporting STEM education extends far beyond the classroom, shaping the future of innovation and exploration. NASA Engages is the agency’s outreach website that connects NASA experts and resources with communities, educators, and students across the country. Led by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement, the […]

April 30, 2025
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The Universe’s Brightest Lights Have Some Dark Origins

Did you know some of the brightest sources of light in the sky come from the regions around black holes in the centers of galaxies? It sounds a little contradictory, but it’s true! They may not look bright to our eyes, but satellites have spotted oodles of them across the universe.  One of those satellites […]

April 30, 2025
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NASA, International Astronauts to Connect with Students in Texas

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi will answer prerecorded questions about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics from students in Mansfield, Texas, while aboard the International Space Station. The 20-minute space-to-Earth call will take place at 10:40 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 5, and can be watched on the […]

April 30, 2025
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¿Qué es una caminata espacial? (Grados 5.o a 8.o)

Este artículo es para estudiantes de 5.o a 8.o grado. Cada vez que un astronauta sale de un vehículo espacial, se dice que hace una actividad extravehicular (EVA, por sus siglas en inglés). A esto también se le llama caminata espacial. El astronauta ruso Alexei Leonov hizo la primera caminata espacial el 18 de marzo de 1965. […]

April 30, 2025
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NASA Completes Kuiper Deconstruction, Plans for Display

The planned deconstruction, disposal, and preservation of historic parts of NASA’s decommissioned Kuiper Airborne Observatory is complete. Part of the airborne astronomy legacy of NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, Kuiper conducted more than two decades of astronomical observations from 1975 to 1995. Later this year, the Kuiper cockpit will go on display […]

April 30, 2025
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NPR News: Private eye accused of hacking American climate activists loses UK extradition fight

Private eye accused of hacking American climate activists loses UK extradition fight
The Justice Department has charged Amit Forlit with conspiracy to commit computer hacking, among other crimes.

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NPR News: More and more older Americans want to know their Alzheimer's status, survey finds

More and more older Americans want to know their Alzheimer's status, survey finds
A survey of 1700 Americans 45 and older found that 79% would want to know if they were in the early stages of Alzheimer's.

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NPR News: Here's how the Trump administration has changed health policy in its first 100 days

Here's how the Trump administration has changed health policy in its first 100 days
In its first 100 days, the Trump administration — specifically, the Department of Government Efficiency — shuttered agencies and slashed budgets pertaining to foreign aid, scientific research, food safety and more. How will this impact people's health and well-being both in the U.S., and around the world? To answer that question, we're calling in our colleagues: global health correspondent Gabrielle Emmanuel and health policy reporter Selena Simmons-Duffin. (P.S. If you liked this episode, check out the breakdown of health and science policy changes we did after Trump's first 50 days — with different NPR reporters — here.) Want to hear more about how policy changes affect scientific research and discovery? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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Sols 4522-4524: Up on the Roof

Written by Deborah Padgett, OPGS Task Lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Earth planning date: Friday, April 25, 2025 On Sols 4520 and 4521, Curiosity was supposed to study layered rocks in its workspace, then drive on. Unfortunately, a communications pass didn’t go as expected, preventing this plan from being transmitted. Our rover is fine, […]

April 30, 2025
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How to Contribute to Citizen Science with NASA

A cell phone, a computer—and your curiosity—is all you need to become a NASA citizen scientist and contribute to projects about Earth, the solar system, and beyond. Science is built from small grains of sand, and you can contribute yours from any corner of the world. All you need is a cell phone or a […]

April 29, 2025
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Robots, Rovers, and Regolith: NASA Brings Exploration to FIRST Robotics 2025

What does the future of space exploration look like? At the 2025 FIRST Robotics World Championship in Houston, NASA gave student robotics teams and industry leaders a first-hand look—complete with lunar rovers, robotic arms, and real conversations about shaping the next era of discovery.  NASA engaged directly with the Artemis Generation, connecting with more than […]

April 29, 2025
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NASA Advances Precision Landing Technology with Field Test at Kennedy

Landing on the Moon is not easy, particularly when a crew or spacecraft must meet exacting requirements. For Artemis missions to the lunar surface, those requirements include an ability to land within an area about as wide as a football field in any lighting condition amid tough terrain. NASA’s official lunar landing requirement is to […]

April 29, 2025
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NPR News: Bodega cats aren't just cute; some in N.Y. also consider them working animals

Bodega cats aren't just cute; some in N.Y. also consider them working animals
Kitty lovers started a petition to reclassify cats as necessary to tackle rodents at New York City bodegas.

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NASA Moon Observing Instrument to Get Another Shot at Lunar Ops

A NASA-developed technology that recently proved its capabilities in the harsh environment of space will soon head back to the Moon to search for gases trapped under the lunar surface thanks to a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between NASA and commercial company Magna Petra Corp. The Mass Spectrometer Observing Lunar Operations (MSOLO) successfully […]

April 28, 2025
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How Are We Made of Star Stuff? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 58

How are we made of star stuff? Well, the important thing to understand about this question is that it’s not an analogy, it’s literally true. The elements in our bodies, the elements that make up our bones, the trees we see outside, the other planets in the solar system, other stars in the galaxy. These […]

April 28, 2025
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NASA 3D Wind Measuring Laser Aims to Improve Forecasts from Air, Space

Since last fall, NASA scientists have flown an advanced 3D Doppler wind lidar instrument across the United States to collect nearly 100 hours of data — including a flight through a hurricane. The goal? To demonstrate the unique capability of the Aerosol Wind Profiler (AWP) instrument to gather extremely precise measurements of wind direction, wind […]

April 28, 2025
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NPR News: DOGE employees gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets

DOGE employees gain accounts on classified networks holding nuclear secrets
Two DOGE employees have access to a network used to transmit classified nuclear weapons data and a separate network used by the Department of Defense, sources tell NPR.

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Seeing the Cygnus Loop in a New Way

The Cygnus Loop, also known as the Veil Nebula, is a supernova remnant – the remains of the explosive death of a massive star. Studying images like these leads to discovery, but NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory provides another way to experience this data: three-dimensional (3D) models that allow people to explore – and print – […]

April 28, 2025
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NPR News: As a diversity grant dies, young scientists fear it will haunt their careers

As a diversity grant dies, young scientists fear it will haunt their careers
The Trump administration defunded the National Institute of Health's MOSAIC grant program, which launched the careers of scientists from diverse backgrounds.

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NPR News: Regeneration, super strength, stolen powers: Meet sea creatures inspiring research

Regeneration, super strength, stolen powers: Meet sea creatures inspiring research
From starfish and sea slugs to jellyfish and sponges, the ocean's invertebrates are some of the most ancient and diverse critters on Earth. And so are their superpowers, as marine biologist Drew Harvell calls their unique abilities. In her new book, The Ocean's Menagerie, she chronicles the amazing abilities of some of these spineless creatures and showcases how they've inspired our science and medicine. Listen to our past episode on nudibranchs — the potent slugs of the sea — HERE. Want to hear more stories about underwater marvels? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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NPR News: A vanished kingdom comes alive in the songs of griots and a new archaeological dig

A vanished kingdom comes alive in the songs of griots and a new archaeological dig
The legendary west African kingdom of Kaabu has long been memorialized in the songs and stories of griots. That's inspired archaeologists to excavate the kingdom's capital.

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NPR News: Scientists are raising the alarm about Trump's deep sea mining executive order

Scientists are raising the alarm about Trump's deep sea mining executive order
President Trump signed an executive order aimed at making it easier for companies to mine the ocean floor. Scientists and environmentalists worry it could harm an ecosystem we don't know much about.

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Searching for the Dark in the Light

Written by Eleanor Moreland, Ph.D. Student Collaborator at Rice University  Perseverance has been busy exploring lower “Witch Hazel Hill,” an outcrop exposed on the edge of the Jezero crater rim. The outcrop is composed of alternating light and dark layers, and naturally, the team has been trying to understand the makeup of and relationships between […]

April 25, 2025
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Hubble Visits Glittering Cluster, Capturing Its Ultraviolet Light

As part of ESA/Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations, the European Space Agency (ESA) shared new images that revisited stunning, previously released Hubble targets with the addition of the latest Hubble data and new processing techniques. ESA/Hubble released new images of NGC 346, the Sombrero Galaxy, and the Eagle Nebula earlier in the month. Now they are revisiting the star cluster Messier 72 […]

April 25, 2025
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Sols 4520-4521: Prinzregententorte

Written by Scott VanBommel, Planetary Scientist at Washington University Earth planning date: Wednesday, April 23, 2025 I will start this blog with an apology, an apology because I suspect, by the end of this post, you, the reader, may have a craving for chocolate, or cake, or both. While we saw hints of it in […]

April 25, 2025
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Navigation Technology

Science in Space April 2025 Humans have always been explorers, venturing by land and sea into unknown and uncharted places on Earth and, more recently, in space. Early adventurers often navigated by the Sun and stars, creating maps that made it easier for others to follow. Today, travelers on Earth have sophisticated technology to guide […]

April 25, 2025
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Hubble Visits Glittering Cluster, Capturing Its Ultraviolet Light

As part of ESA/Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations, the European Space Agency (ESA) shared new images that revisited stunning, previously released Hubble targets with the addition of the latest Hubble data and new processing techniques. ESA/Hubble released new images of NGC 346, the Sombrero Galaxy, and the Eagle Nebula earlier in the month. Now they are […]

April 25, 2025
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NASA’s Roman Mission Shares Detailed Plans to Scour Skies

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team shared Thursday the designs for the three core surveys the mission will conduct after launch. These observation programs are designed to investigate some of the most profound mysteries in astrophysics while enabling expansive cosmic exploration that will revolutionize our understanding of the universe. “Roman’s setting out to do […]

April 24, 2025
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NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Images Asteroid Donaldjohanson

NASA’s Lucy spacecraft took this image of the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson during its flyby on April 20, 2025, showing the elongated contact binary (an object formed when two smaller bodies collide). This was Lucy’s second flyby in the spacecraft’s 12-year mission.  Launched on Oct. 16, 2021, Lucy is the first space mission sent to […]

April 23, 2025
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NPR News: After nearly 50 years cooped up inside, Rockalina the turtle finds the great outdoors

After nearly 50 years cooped up inside, Rockalina the turtle finds the great outdoors
Rockalina was an adult eastern box turtle living in the wild when she was taken into a New York home in 1977. When a reptile rehabilitation center got a hold of her this February, they worried for her survival.

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NASA, Boeing, Consider New Thin-Wing Aircraft Research Focus

NASA and Boeing are currently evaluating an updated approach to the agency’s Sustainable Flight Demonstrator project that would focus on demonstrating thin-wing technology with broad applications for multiple aircraft configurations. Boeing’s proposed focus centers on a ground-based testbed to demonstrate the potential for long, thin-wing technology. Work on the X-66 flight demonstrator – which currently […]

April 24, 2025
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NASA Tests Key Spacesuit Parts Inside This Icy Chamber

A JPL facility built to support potential robotic spacecraft missions to frozen ocean worlds helps engineers develop safety tests for next-generation spacesuits. When NASA astronauts return to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and eventually venture farther into the solar system, they will encounter conditions harsher than any humans have experienced before. Ensuring next-generation spacesuits […]

April 24, 2025
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2025 EGU Hyperwall Schedule

EGU General Assembly, April 27 – May 2, 2025 Join NASA in the Exhibit Hall (Booth #204) for Hyperwall Storytelling by NASA experts. Full Hyperwall Agenda below. MONDAY, APRIL 28 TUESDAY, APRIL 29 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30 THURSDAY, MAY 1

April 24, 2025
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NPR News: Mercury, Venus and Saturn to delight stargazers in a parade across the sky

Mercury, Venus and Saturn to delight stargazers in a parade across the sky
The pre-dawn sky will feature a glowing crescent moon, joined by planets Mercury, Venus and Saturn.

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NASA Engineering Sparks Innovative New Battery

Nickel-hydrogen technology is safe, durable, and long-lasting – now it’s affordable too.

April 24, 2025
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Eye on Infinity: NASA Celebrates Hubble’s 35th Year in Orbit

In celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope’s 35 years in Earth orbit, NASA is releasing an assortment of compelling images recently taken by Hubble, stretching from the planet Mars to star-forming regions, and a neighboring galaxy. After more than three decades of perusing the universe, Hubble remains a household name — the most well-recognized and […]

April 23, 2025
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NASA Astronaut Don Pettit to Discuss Seven-Month Space Mission

Media are invited to a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT Monday, April 28, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston where astronaut Don Pettit will share details of his recent mission aboard the International Space Station. The news conference will stream live on NASA’s website. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety […]

April 23, 2025
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NASA Stennis Continues Prep for Future Artemis Testing

Crews at NASA’s Stennis Space Center recently completed activation of interstage gas systems needed for testing a new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage to fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The activation marks a milestone in preparation for future Green Run testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the […]

April 23, 2025
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Nine Finalists Advance in NASA’s Power to Explore Challenge

NASA has named nine finalists out of the 45 semifinalist student essays in the Power to Explore Challenge, a national writing competition for K-12 students featuring the enabling power of radioisotopes. Contestants were challenged to explore how NASA has powered some of its most famous science missions, and to dream up how their personal “superpowers” […]

April 23, 2025
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NPR News: Environmental groups say Trump administration violated their free-speech rights

Environmental groups say Trump administration violated their free-speech rights
A lawsuit alleges the Trump administration violated the free-speech rights of nonprofits and municipalities that have had federal funding for climate and environmental projects frozen or cancelled.

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NPR News: Our medications are leaking into waterways — and may be changing fish behavior

Our medications are leaking into waterways — and may be changing fish behavior
A fish walks into a pharmacy ... well, not exactly. Fish aren't being prescribed anti-anxiety drugs. But they are experiencing the effects. Researchers have found more than 900 different pharmaceutical ingredients in rivers and streams around the world, though they're not yet sure how this could change the behavior of fish and other aquatic animals in the wild. "We can't, you know, dump a bunch of pharmaceuticals into the river," says Jack Brand, biologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. Instead, Jack's team did the next best thing – with some surprising results. This episode was reported by NPR science correspondent Jon Lambert. Check out more of his reporting. Want to hear more stories about animal behavior? Email us and let us know at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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First Results from the Eclipse Soundscapes Project: Webinar on May 7

How do the sudden darkness and temperature changes of a solar eclipse impact life on Earth? The Eclipse Soundscapes project invited you to document changes in the environment during the week of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse, using your own senses or an audiomoth sound recorder.  Thanks to your participation, the Eclipse Soundscapes […]

April 22, 2025
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Sunshine on Earth

The Sun’s glint beams off a partly cloudy Atlantic Ocean just after sunrise as the International Space Station orbited 263 miles above on March 5, 2025. The space station serves as a unique platform for observing Earth with both hands-on and automated equipment. Station crew members have produced hundreds of thousands of images, recording phenomena […]

April 22, 2025
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Entrepreneurs Challenge Winner PRISM is Using AI to Enable Insights from Geospatial Data

NASA sponsored Entrepreneurs Challenge events in 2020, 2021, and 2023 to invite small business start-ups to showcase innovative ideas and technologies with the potential to advance the agency’s science goals. To potentially leverage external funding sources for the development of innovative technologies of interest to NASA, SMD involved the venture capital community in Entrepreneurs Challenge […]

April 22, 2025
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NASA Tests Ultralight Antennas to Benefit Future National Airspace

NASA engineers are using one of the world’s lightest solid materials to construct an antenna that could be embedded into the skin of an aircraft, creating a more aerodynamic and reliable communication solution for drones and other future air transportation options.  Developed by NASA, this ultra-lightweight aerogel antenna is designed to enable satellite communications where […]

April 22, 2025
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NPR News: Meet the artists behind the UN's second annual nature sounds mixtape

Meet the artists behind the UN's second annual nature sounds mixtape
30 artists release songs with nature sounds to generate royalties for nature conservation in second annual United Nations Earth Day mixtape

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NPR News: Meet the artists behind the UN's second annual nature sounds mixtape

Meet the artists behind the UN's second annual nature sounds mixtape
30 artists release songs with nature sounds to generate royalties for nature conservation in second annual United Nations Earth Day mixtape

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NPR News: Trump wants a Golden Dome over America. Here's what it would take

Trump wants a Golden Dome over America. Here's what it would take
Experts are divided whether a new missile defense system for the U.S., inspired by Israel's Iron Dome, would be worth the cost.

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NPR News: UN releases second annual Earth Day mixtape for nature conservation efforts

UN releases second annual Earth Day mixtape for nature conservation efforts
The United Nations is launching a second annual Earth Day mixtape on Spotify on Tuesday featuring artists using sounds from nature to generate streaming royalties for conservation efforts.

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NASA’s Lucy Spacecraft Images Asteroid Donaldjohanson

In its second asteroid encounter, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft obtained a close look at a uniquely shaped fragment of an asteroid that formed about 150 million years ago. The spacecraft has begun returning images that were collected as it flew approximately 600 miles (960 km) from the asteroid Donaldjohanson on April 20, 2025. The asteroid was […]

April 21, 2025
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Fuzzy Rings of a Dying Star

In this photo released on April 14, 2025, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope revealed the gas and dust ejected by a dying star at the heart of NGC 1514. Using mid-infrared data showed the “fuzzy” clumps arranged in tangled patterns, and a network of clearer holes close to the central stars shows where faster material […]

April 21, 2025
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Celebrating Earth as Only NASA Can

From the iconic image of Earthrise taken by Apollo 8 crew, to the famous Pale Blue Dot image of Earth snapped by Voyager I spacecraft, to state-of-the-art observations of our planet by new satellites such as PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem), NASA has given us novel ways to see our home. This Earth Day, […]

April 21, 2025
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Sols 4515-4517: Silver Linings

Written by Lucy Thompson, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick Earth planning date: Friday, April 18, 2025 As the APXS operations person today, I was hopeful that we could plan a compositional measurement after brushing one of the bedrock blocks in front of the rover. However, it soon became clear that the rover was not on […]

April 21, 2025
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NASA Science, Cargo Launch on 32nd SpaceX Resupply Station Mission

Following the successful launch of NASA’s SpaceX 32nd Commercial Resupply Services mission, new scientific experiments and supplies are bound for the International Space Station. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carrying approximately 6,700 pounds of cargo to the orbiting laboratory for NASA, lifted off at 4:15 a.m. EDT Monday, on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch […]

April 21, 2025
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NPR News: Need Earth Day optimism? Here are some environmental do-gooders in your backyard

Need Earth Day optimism? Here are some environmental do-gooders in your backyard
At a time when communities feel fractured, here's a look at online communities taking a pragmatic approach to changing the world for the better.

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NPR News: Need Earth Day optimism? Here are some environmental do-gooders in your backyard

Need Earth Day optimism? Here are some environmental do-gooders in your backyard
At a time when communities feel fractured, here's a look at online communities taking a pragmatic approach to changing the world for the better.

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NPR News: This is what living on Mars could do to the human body

This is what living on Mars could do to the human body
As global warming continues and space technology improves, there is more and more talk about the growing possibility of a sci-fi future in which humans become a multiplanetary species. Specifically, that we could live on Mars. Biologist Kelly Weinersmith and cartoonist Zach Weinersmith have spent four years researching what life on Mars would look like if we did it anytime soon. In their book A City On Mars, they get into all sorts of questions: How would we have babies in space? How would we have enough food? They join host Regina G. Barber and explain why it might be best to stay on Earth. Check out Kelly and Zach Weinersmith's book A City On Mars. Have another space story you want us to cover on a future episode? Email us at shortwave@npr.org — we'd love to hear from you!

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NPR News: Into the barn: The joys of spring lambing season

Into the barn: The joys of spring lambing season
Spring brings lambing season, a time of hard work and long hours for farmers. But it's also a time made joyful by cuddly newborns.

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NASA Astronaut Don Pettit, Crewmates Complete Space Station Expedition

NASA astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth Saturday, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, concluding a seven-month science mission aboard the International Space Station. The trio departed the space station at 5:57 p.m. EDT aboard the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft before making a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 9:20 p.m. (6:20 a.m. on Sunday, […]

April 20, 2025
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NPR News: Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed rule

Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed rule
The Trump administration is reinterpreting a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could have big consequences for species at risk.

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NPR News: Two small studies show how stem cells could help treat Parkinson's

Two small studies show how stem cells could help treat Parkinson's
Two new studies suggest that stem cells are close to helping people with Parkinson's disease. The results are a victory for scientists who have spent decades trying to treat it with brain cells.

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NASA to Cover US Spacewalk 93, Hold Preview News Conference

Two NASA astronauts will venture outside the International Space Station, conducting U.S. spacewalk 93 on Thursday, May 1, to complete station upgrades. NASA will preview the upcoming spacewalk during a news conference at 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 24, on the agency’s website from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Learn how to watch […]

April 18, 2025
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Lightweight Deployable Solar Reflectors

ECF 2024 Quadchart Arya.pdf Manan Arya Stanford University This grant will design and develop lightweight, low-cost modular solar reflectors that can be stowed for transport in a compact volume. These reflectors can potentially be used to reflect and concentrate sunlight into a permanently shadowed area of the Moon where it could power photovoltaics. These reflectors […]

April 18, 2025
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Stabilized Z-Pinch Fusion Driven Electromagnetic Propulsion

ECF 2024 Quadchart Underwood.pdf Thomas Underwood University of Texas, Austin This project will demonstrate a fusion propulsion system based on z-pinch which is a method of compressing plasma by running electrical current though it. The z-pinch will compress and heat the plasma to produce fusion reactions, and the system will be paired with an electromagnetic […]

April 18, 2025
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Origami-inspired Diffractive Sail for Directed Energy Propulsion

ECF 2024 Quadchart Oguri.pdf Kenshiro Oguri Purdue University This project will investigate one of the key fundamental challenges associated with directed-energy light-sailing technology, similar to solar sails but powered by a laser beam pointed at the sail instead of by the sun. The effort will first mathematically model, then design, build, and test a prototype […]

April 18, 2025
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Concept Demonstration of Directed Energy Propulsion with Metasurface Lightsails

ECF 2024 Quadchart Ilic.pdf Ognjen Ilic University of Minnesota This effort will aim to demonstrate the feasibility of directed-energy propulsion through a combination of computational simulations and prototype testing. The project will model the interactions between lightsail material and a laser beam that can be pointed at the sail to propel the spacecraft. The results […]

April 18, 2025
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Development of a MW-Scale High-Voltage Multiphase Dual-Rotor Generator and Rectifier for a PMAD in an NEP System

ECF 2024 Quadchart Beik.pdf Omid Beik Colorado School of Mines This project will design a power management and distribution (PMAD) system that can be coupled with a megawatt-scale nuclear power generation system for nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) that is suitable for a Mars mission. The system will include all needed components including a dual rotor […]

April 18, 2025
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A Fond Farewell: NASA’s C-130 Begins New Mission in California

NASA’s C-130 Hercules, fondly known as the Herc, went wheels up at 9:45 a.m., Friday, April 18, as it departed from its decade-long home at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, for the final time. The aircraft is embarking on a new adventure to serve and protect in the state of California where it is […]

April 18, 2025
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NASA Calibrates Second Shock-Sensing Probe for X-59 Testing

When you’re testing a cutting-edge NASA aircraft, you need specialized tools to conduct tests and capture data –but if those tools need maintenance, you need to wait until they’re fixed. Unless you have a backup. That’s why NASA recently calibrated a new shock-sensing probe to capture shock wave data when the agency’s X-59 quiet supersonic […]

April 18, 2025
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Hubble Spies Cosmic Pillar in Eagle Nebula

As part of ESA/Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations, the European Space Agency (ESA) is sharing a new image series revisiting stunning, previously released Hubble targets with the addition of the latest Hubble data and new processing techniques. New images of NGC 346 and the Sombrero Galaxy have already been published. Now, ESA/Hubble is revisiting the Eagle Nebula […]

April 18, 2025
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NASA Glenn to Test Air Quality Monitors Aboard Space Station

As NASA prepares to return to the Moon, studying astronaut health and safety is a top priority. Scientists monitor and analyze every part of the International Space Station crew’s daily life—down to the air they breathe. These studies are helping NASA prepare for long-term human exploration of the Moon and, eventually, Mars. As part of […]

April 18, 2025
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Hubble Spots a Squid in the Whale

Today’s rather aquatic-themed NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy Messier 77, also known as the Squid Galaxy, which sits 45 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (The Whale). The designation Messier 77 comes from the galaxy’s place in the famous catalog compiled by the French astronomer Charles Messier. Another French astronomer, […]

April 18, 2025
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NASA Astronaut to Answer Questions from Colorado Students

Students from Woodland Park, Colorado, will connect with NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers as she answers prerecorded science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-related questions from aboard the International Space Station. Watch the 20-minute space-to-Earth call at 11:55 a.m. EDT on Monday, April 21, on the NASA STEM YouTube Channel. The event, hosted by Woodland Park High School, […]

April 17, 2025
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Science Meets Art: NASA Astronaut Don Pettit Turns the Camera on Science

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is scheduled to return home in mid-April after a seven-month mission aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 72. Throughout his stay, Pettit contributed to research that benefits humanity and future space missions. Pettit also shared what he calls “science of opportunity” to demonstrate how experimenting with our surroundings […]

April 17, 2025
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NASA Glenn and Cleveland Cavaliers Score With STEM

NASA’s Glenn Research Center supported Northeast Ohio STEM (NEOSTEM)’s annual Score with STEM event in collaboration with the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 16 at Tower City Center in Cleveland. More than 1,500 students, their families, and others gathered at Tower City’s Skylight Park for the event.   NASA Glenn’s presence included virtual reality and augmented reality […]

April 17, 2025
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NPR News: Stem cells to treat Parkinson's? Two small studies hint at success

Stem cells to treat Parkinson's? Two small studies hint at success
Two new studies suggest that Parkinson's disease can potentially be treated with stem cells placed in a patient's brain.

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NPR News: Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump rule

Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump rule
The Trump administration is re-interpreting a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could have big consequences for the habitats of species at risk.

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NPR News: Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump rule

Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump rule
The Trump administration is re-interpreting a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could have big consequences for the habitats of species at risk.

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NPR News: Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump

Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump
The Trump administration is re-interpreting a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could have big consequences for species at risk. Digital + SSP for ME. Lambert/Khan.

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Hubble Provides New View of Galactic Favorite

As part of ESA/Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations, the European Space Agency (ESA) is sharing a new image series revisiting stunning, previously released Hubble targets with the addition of the latest Hubble data and new processing techniques. ESA/Hubble published a new image of NGC 346 as the first installment in the series. Now, they are revisiting a fan-favorite galaxy […]

April 16, 2025
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Going Home: NASA Retires S-3B Viking to POW/MIA Museum

After supporting the center’s research missions for more than a decade, NASA’s S-3B Viking aircraft is moving on from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland to begin a new and honorable assignment. The aircraft is heading to the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum in Jacksonville, Florida, where it will be on display, honoring all Prisoners […]

April 16, 2025
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NPR News: California battery faciilty fire raises concerns over energy storage plant regulation

California battery faciilty fire raises concerns over energy storage plant regulation
Following a lithium-ion battery fire at the Moss Landing plant in Monterey County in California, communities nationwide are expressing concerns about hosting similar plants.

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NPR News: Trump orders coal revival, but market favors natural gas

Trump orders coal revival, but market favors natural gas
Four new executive orders aimed at reviving coal mines include plans to keep coal fired power plants open even if companies operating them want to close.

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NPR News: California battery faciilty fire raises concerns over energy storage plant regulation

California battery faciilty fire raises concerns over energy storage plant regulation
Following a lithium-ion battery fire at the Moss Landing plant in Monterey County in California, communities nationwide are expressing concerns about hosting similar plants.

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NPR News: Trump orders coal revival, but market favors natural gas

Trump orders coal revival, but market favors natural gas
Four new executive orders aimed at reviving coal mines include plans to keep coal fired power plants open even if companies operating them want to close.

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NPR News: How nature makes a complex brain — and why humans may not be so special after all

How nature makes a complex brain — and why humans may not be so special after all
A recent series of studies suggests that the brains of birds, reptiles and mammals all evolved independently — even though they share a common ancestor. That means evolution has found more than one way to make a complex brain, and human brains may not be quite as special as we think. To learn more about this, we talk to Fernando García-Moreno about this series of studies he co-authored that came out in Science in February. Want to hear more about the complex road of evolution? Send us an email at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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Sols 4509-4510: A weekend of long drives

Written by Abigail Fraeman, Planetary Geologist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Earth planning date: Friday, April 11, 2025 Curiosity is continuing to book it to the potential boxwork structures.  The rover drove over 50 meters on Wednesday, and we plan to drive more than 50 meters again in today’s plan thanks to an unusually good […]

April 16, 2025
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NPR News: Scientists worry about free speech rights under the Trump administration

Scientists worry about free speech rights under the Trump administration
Morning Edition's First Amendment series looks at the cost of speaking out or staying silent in the scientific community, amid pressure from colleagues or officials in Washington.

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NPR News: Climate activists were hacked. There was a link between the victims and an alleged attacker

Climate activists were hacked. There was a link between the victims and an alleged attacker
Prosecutors say the operation was aimed at gathering information to foil lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry over damage communities have faced from climate change.

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NPR News: Spring allergies are in bloom. Here's why and what to do about it

Spring allergies are in bloom. Here's why and what to do about it
Plants are blooming right now – and so are people's allergies. And if it feels like those pesky symptoms are getting worse ... you're probably right. Wednesday, a review published in the journal The Laryngoscope looked at the link between climate change and increasing rates of allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. So today, we turn back to a classic Short Wave episode from Brit Hanson and Maddie Sofia, who spoke to allergy expert Dr. Juanita Mora about some quick tips for managing seasonal allergies. Want more of the science behind your health questions? Send us an email at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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NPR News: Spring allergies are in bloom. Here's why and what to do about it

Spring allergies are in bloom. Here's why and what to do about it
Plants are blooming right now – and so are people's allergies. And if it feels like those pesky symptoms are getting worse ... you're probably right. Wednesday, a review published in the journal The Laryngoscope looked at the link between climate change and increasing rates of allergic rhinitis, or hay fever. So today, we turn back to a classic Short Wave episode from Brit Hanson and Maddie Sofia, who spoke to allergy expert Dr. Juanita Mora about some quick tips for managing seasonal allergies. Want more of the science behind your health questions? Send us an email at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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NPR News: Federal funding freeze halts key infrastructure projects in tribal communities

Federal funding freeze halts key infrastructure projects in tribal communities
Riverbank stabilization, lead and asbestos contamination are just some of the projects tribes planned to address before the Trump administration froze funds.

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NPR News: Federal funding freeze halts key infrastructure projects in tribal communities

Federal funding freeze halts key infrastructure projects in tribal communities
Riverbank stabilization, lead and asbestos contamination are just some of the projects tribes planned to address before the Trump administration froze funds.

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NPR News: WATCH: Katy Perry and star-studded crew launch into space aboard Blue Origin rocket

WATCH: Katy Perry and star-studded crew launch into space aboard Blue Origin rocket
Monday's flight features the first all-female crew since 1963 and includes big names like Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez. Here's what else to know about it.

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NASA Announces Call for New Computing Approaches to Earth Science

In an open challenge, NASA is seeking innovative business models that propose new approaches to solving complex Earth science problems using unconventional computing methods and is holding an informational webinar on Monday, April 28.   The agency’s Beyond the Algorithm Challenge, sponsored by NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office, asks for proposals to more rapidly and […]

April 14, 2025
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NPR News: Anxiety drugs found in rivers make salmon take more risks

Anxiety drugs found in rivers make salmon take more risks
New research suggests that pharmaceutical pollution can change the behavior of salmon in the wild.

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NPR News: How the Trump administration is impacting the First Amendment rights of scientists

How the Trump administration is impacting the First Amendment rights of scientists
Morning Edition's First Amendment series looks at the cost of speaking out or staying silent in the scientific community, amid pressure from colleagues or officials in Washington.

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NPR News: A bug that jets pee? These comics illustrate nature's real-life superpowers

A bug that jets pee? These comics illustrate nature's real-life superpowers
Did you know there's an insect that can fling its pee 40 times faster than a cheetah accelerates? We did — thanks to a comic from the Bhamla Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Since 2020, principal investigator Saad Bhamla has been leading the charge to make science more accessible by publishing comics alongside every paper his lab publishes. Today, he introduces Emily to two of the most popular characters — Sheriff Sharpshooter and Captain Cicada — and shares why a comic about butt-flicking insects is a valuable way to take science beyond the lab. Want to hear more about nature's superpowers? Send us an email at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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NPR News: A breakthrough in tracking biodiversity

A breakthrough in tracking biodiversity
Scientists have found a way to sample DNA out of the air on a nationwide scale -- making it possible to one day track the health and well being of species around the globe.

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NPR News: A changing ecosystem is depleting the whitefish population in the Great Lakes

A changing ecosystem is depleting the whitefish population in the Great Lakes
Changes in ecosystems mean bad news for lake whitefish and those who love it. The species' population is rapidly declining in some areas of the Great Lakes.

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NPR News: A crow's math skills include geometry

A crow's math skills include geometry
Crows in a lab were able to distinguish shapes that exhibited right angles, parallel lines, and symmetry, suggesting that, like humans, they have a special ability to perceive geometric regularity.

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Kudos Test Article

The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program is calling on volunteers of all ages to help students and citizen scientists document seasonal change through leaf color and land cover. The data collection event will support students across North America, Latin America, Central America, and Europe, who are working together to document […]

April 11, 2025
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NPR News: Pig kidney transplant fails after patient rejection

Pig kidney transplant fails after patient rejection
Surgeons at NYU Langone Health in New York City had to remove a genetically modified pig kidney from Towana Looney, 53, of Gadsden, Ala., because her body rejected the organ. She's back on dialysis.

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Apollo 13 Launch: 55 Years Ago

NASA astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert launch aboard the Apollo 13 spacecraft from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 11, 1970. The mission seemed to be going smoothly until 55 hours and 55 minutes in when an oxygen tank ruptured. The new mission plan involved abandoning the Moon landing, looping […]

April 11, 2025
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NASA’s IMAP Arrives at NASA Marshall For Testing in XRCF

On March 18, NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) arrived at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for thermal vacuum testing at the X-ray and Cryogenic Facility, which simulates the harsh conditions of space. The IMAP mission is a modern-day celestial cartographer that will map the solar system by studying the heliosphere, a […]

April 11, 2025
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Hubble Captures a Star’s Swan Song

The swirling, paint-like clouds in the darkness of space in this stunning image seem surreal, like a portal to another world opening up before us. In fact, the subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image is very real. We are seeing vast clouds of ionized atoms and molecules, thrown into space by a dying […]

April 11, 2025
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NPR News: Lightning strikes usually kill trees. This one just grows stronger

Lightning strikes usually kill trees. This one just grows stronger
An author of a recent study about lightning's effect on trees in Panamanian forests says his team has gotten a large, positive response from people, including those who call the trees inspirational.

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NASA Webb’s Autopsy of Planet Swallowed by Star Yields Surprise

Observations from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have provided a surprising twist in the narrative surrounding what is believed to be the first star observed in the act of swallowing a planet. The new findings suggest that the star actually did not swell to envelop a planet as previously hypothesized. Instead, Webb’s observations show the […]

April 10, 2025
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NASA Offers Free High School Engineering Program This Summer

NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is launching the NASA Glenn High School Engineering Institute this summer. The free, work-based learning experience is designed to help high school students prepare for a future in the aerospace workforce. Rising high school juniors and seniors in Northeast Ohio can submit applications for this new, in-person summer program […]

April 10, 2025
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NPR News: Aging former research chimps move to Chimp Haven

Aging former research chimps move to Chimp Haven
All of the former research chimpanzees that had been living on an Air Force base in New Mexico have finally arrived at a sanctuary in Louisiana. Many of these chimps are in their 50s and 60s.

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NPR News: Pain pathway in a dish could aid search for new analgesic drugs

Pain pathway in a dish could aid search for new analgesic drugs
Scientists have recreated a pathway that senses pain, using clusters of human nerve cells grown in a dish.

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NPR News: Doggles and dog booties: Anchorage residents prep pets for volcanic explosion

Doggles and dog booties: Anchorage residents prep pets for volcanic explosion
Mount Spurr, which scientists say is likely to erupt in the coming weeks or months, is about 80 miles west of Anchorage. But ash clouds could reach the state's biggest city.

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NPR News: Doggles and dog booties: Anchorage residents prep pets for volcanic explosion

Doggles and dog booties: Anchorage residents prep pets for volcanic explosion
Mount Spurr, which scientists say is likely to erupt in the coming weeks or months, is about 80 miles west of Anchorage. But ash clouds could reach the state's biggest city.

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NPR News: 20 musicians who should get to go to space before Katy Perry

20 musicians who should get to go to space before Katy Perry
On April 14, Blue Origin plans to launch a space flight with a crew that includes the singer behind the 2010 hit "Firework." But we can think of many other artists who deserve to be among the stars.

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NASA’s Planetary Defenders Documentary Premieres April 16

NASA is bringing the world of planetary defense to the public with its new documentary, “Planetary Defenders.” What would humanity do if an asteroid were headed for Earth? The documentary takes viewers inside the real-life efforts of scientists and engineers working to detect, track, and mitigate potential asteroid threats. Featuring firsthand accounts from experts on […]

April 09, 2025
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NPR News: If Planet Nine is out there, this telescope might actually find it

If Planet Nine is out there, this telescope might actually find it
A powerful new observatory is the best hope yet for finding the elusive Planet 9, a large planet that some scientists say is hidden in our solar system.

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NPR News: NOAA contracts are being reviewed one by one. It's throwing the agency into chaos

NOAA contracts are being reviewed one by one. It's throwing the agency into chaos
NOAA relies on hundreds of contracts to keep the agency running. The new commerce secretary is reviewing many of them individually, causing disruptions to many normal operations within the agency.

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NPR News: Four critically endangered Galápagos tortoises hatch at the Philadelphia Zoo

Four critically endangered Galápagos tortoises hatch at the Philadelphia Zoo
The birth of tortoises native to Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos increases their U.S. population from 44 to 48. A few thousand remain globally, according to estimates by experts.

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NPR News: Here's why researchers are making new psychedelic-like drugs — without the trip

Here's why researchers are making new psychedelic-like drugs — without the trip
This week, we've heard from researchers trying to untangle the effects of the "trip" that often comes with psychedelics and ketamine from the ways these drugs might change the human brain. For part three of our series on psychedelic drug research, we get a glimpse into why some researchers are taking the "trip" out of these drugs altogether. You don't need to have heard the previous two episodes to understand this episode on what could be next for psychedelic medicine. Catch the rest of this series on psychedelics and related drugs this week by following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. They're the previous two episodes in our podcast feed. Have other questions about psychedelics and the brain? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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Sols 4505-4506: Up, up and onto the Devil’s Gate

Written by Catherine O’Connell-Cooper, Planetary Geologist at University of New Brunswick Earth planning date: Monday, April 7, 2025 Over the weekend, we completed our drive up the steep side of a canyon, up onto “Devil’s Gate,” a small butte which forms part of the ridge along the top of the canyon and now we can see down into the next […]

April 08, 2025
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NASA’s First Flight With Crew Important Step on Long-term Return to the Moon, Missions to Mars

The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under Artemis. Astronauts on their first flight aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft will confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space.  Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon […]

April 08, 2025
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NASA’s Deep Space Network Starts New Dish, Marks 60 Years in Australia

Canberra joined the global network in 1965 and operates four radio antennas. Now, preparations have begun on its fifth as NASA works to increase the network’s capacity. NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia celebrated its 60th anniversary on March 19 while also breaking ground on a new radio antenna. The pair of achievements […]

April 08, 2025
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Style Guidelines for ‘The Earth Observer’ Newsletter

IntroductionThe Earth Observer Editorial ProcessTypes of Articles in The Earth ObserverGeneral article format— Announcement article— Feature article— Hybrid article— In Memoriam article— Kudos article— Summary articleGuidelines for Preparing Articles for The Earth Observer— Writing for the web— Catchy headline— Naming files— Use visuals to draw the reader in— Search engine optimization—— Headline and subheads—— Links—— […]

April 08, 2025
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Eclipses, Science, NASA Firsts: Heliophysics Big Year Highlights

One year ago today, a total solar eclipse swept across the United States. The event was a cornerstone moment in the Heliophysics Big Year, a global celebration of the Sun’s influence on Earth and the entire solar system. From October 2023 to December 2024 — a period encompassing two solar eclipses across the U.S., two […]

April 08, 2025
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NASA Welcomes Bangladesh as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory

Following a signing ceremony Tuesday in Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka, NASA congratulates Bangladesh as the 54th nation to commit to the safe and responsible exploration of space that benefits humanity. “We are thrilled by Bangladesh’s signature of the Accords,” said NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro. “Bangladesh affirms its role in shaping the future of […]

April 08, 2025
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NASA Astronaut, Crewmates Arrive Safely at Space Station

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, arrived at the International Space Station on Tuesday, bringing the number of residents to 10 for the next two weeks. The Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft carrying Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky docked to the Prichal module at 4:57 a.m. EDT, following a three-hour, two-orbit […]

April 08, 2025
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NPR News: New, powerful telescope facility in Chile to film 10-year long 'movie' of the sky

New, powerful telescope facility in Chile to film 10-year long 'movie' of the sky
Later this year, astronomers will start filming an unprecedented 10-year movie of the southern sky, using a brand-new and super-powerful telescope facility in Chile.

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NPR News: Would ketamine treatment help if you didn't know you got it?

Would ketamine treatment help if you didn't know you got it?
What if you could get all the potential benefits of ketamine without the "trip"? For part two of our series on psychedelics, we look at how some researchers are trying to disentangle the "trip" from the drugs' effects on the brain — and why the answer could help direct the future of psychedelic research. (Spoiler alert: People generally know if they're tripping or not.) This episode: a researcher navigating this challenge by putting his patients to sleep. Catch the rest of this series on psychedelics and related drugs this week by following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Have other questions about psychedelics and the brain? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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NPR News: Health secretary RFK Jr. endorses the MMR vaccine — stoking fury among his supporters

Health secretary RFK Jr. endorses the MMR vaccine — stoking fury among his supporters
Prominent anti-vaccine activists lined up on social media to denounce the move.

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Connected Learning Ecosystems: Educators Gather to Empower Learners and Themselves

Many educators would agree that despite working and communicating with dozens, even hundreds, of people each year, the role can feel isolating. Learners come and go, leaving educators to question: Was anything retained? Will they take this knowledge home? Will they share it at their after-school activities? How will it ultimately impact their lives and […]

April 07, 2025
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From FIRST Robotics to NASA Rockets: Angel Saenz’s Journey to White Sands

Long before joining NASA’s Test and Evaluation Support Team contract in October 2024, Angel Saenz was already an engineer at heart. A STEM education program at his high school helped unlock that passion, setting him on a path that would eventually lead to NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The program […]

April 07, 2025
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Gateway’s First Habitation Module Arrives Stateside

From the mountains of Turin to the deserts of Arizona, a core element of Gateway, humanity’s first lunar space station, is now one step closer to the Moon. As seen in this April 1, 2025, photo, HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost), Gateway’s first pressurized module and one of its foundational elements, recently arrived in Gilbert, […]

April 07, 2025
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NASA+ to Stream Nomination Hearing for Next Agency Administrator

Jared Isaacman is set to participate in a hearing to become the next NASA administrator at 10 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 9, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. The nomination hearing will take place at Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. The agency will stream the hearing on NASA+, and […]

April 07, 2025
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Back to Earth, Forward to the Future: NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 Returns

After months of groundbreaking research, exploration, and teamwork aboard the International Space Station, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 has returned to Earth.   NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, splashed down safely on March 18, 2025, as a pod of dolphins circled the Dragon spacecraft near Tallahassee, Florida.  […]

April 07, 2025
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NPR News: The (artificial intelligence) therapist can see you now

The (artificial intelligence) therapist can see you now
Many AI products claim to deliver mental health therapy, but with little quality control. But new research suggests with the right training, AI can be effective at helping people.

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NPR News: Why it's hard to study the neuroscience of psychedelics

Why it's hard to study the neuroscience of psychedelics
Researchers are studying psychedelics as a possible treatment for conditions like depression, PTSD and substance use disorders. But they don't know exactly how these drugs work. Getting the answer to this question is especially difficult when people often take psychedelics like LSD and psilocybin for the "trip." This week on Short Wave, we're talking to researchers about how they're trying to untangle the effects of this "trip" from the ways psychedelics might change the human brain ... and why the answer could help direct the future of psychedelic research. Catch the rest of this series on psychedelics and related drugs this week by following us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Have other questions about psychedelics and the brain? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

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NPR News: As honeybees die off again, some bee enthusiasts want to give mason bees a chance

As honeybees die off again, some bee enthusiasts want to give mason bees a chance
Honeybee populations are again declining, threatening crops. But the honeybee is not the only bee that can work in the fields.

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NPR News: Second child dies from measles-related causes in West Texas, where cases near 500

Second child dies from measles-related causes in West Texas, where cases near 500
A second school-aged child in West Texas has died from a measles-related illness, a hospital spokesman confirmed Sunday, as the outbreak continues to swell.

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NPR News: People are buying PPE for pets to protect dogs against volcanic ash in Alaska

People are buying PPE for pets to protect dogs against volcanic ash in Alaska
Mount Spurr in Alaska is likely to erupt soon. So people are buying goggles and masks to protect themselves from ash — and also pet versions to protect their dogs.

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NPR News: Got a dying plant? These tips could help you save it

Got a dying plant? These tips could help you save it
Here's what a few plant and gardening experts say it takes to save a dying plant.

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NPR News: The Mason bee has become the unsung hero of the honey bee population

The Mason bee has become the unsung hero of the honey bee population
Honey bee populations are again declining, threatening crops. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Dave Hunter, who raises the unsung hero of the orchard (and champion pollinator), the Mason bee.

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NASA Selects Finalist Teams for Student Human Lander Challenge

NASA has selected 12 student teams to develop solutions for storing and transferring the super-cold liquid propellants needed for future long-term exploration beyond Earth orbit. The agency’s 2025 Human Lander Challenge is designed to inspire and engage the next generation of engineers and scientists as NASA and its partners prepare to send astronauts to the […]

April 04, 2025
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NASA Welcomes Gateway Lunar Space Station’s HALO Module to US

From Italy to Arizona: Gateway’s first habitation module takes a major step on its path to launch.

April 04, 2025
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NPR News: Has a shelter pet changed your life? We want to hear about it

Has a shelter pet changed your life? We want to hear about it
National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day is on April 30. To celebrate, NPR wants to know how your pet has changed your life. We would also love to see photos of your purr-fect fur-ever friend.

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Hubble Studies a Nearby Galaxy’s Star Formation

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the picturesque spiral galaxy NGC 4941, which lies about 67 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo (The Maiden). Because this galaxy is nearby, cosmically speaking, Hubble’s keen instruments are able to pick out exquisite details such as individual star clusters and filamentary clouds of gas and […]

April 04, 2025
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NPR News: Marathon runners' bodies have a surprising snack — their own brains

Marathon runners' bodies have a surprising snack — their own brains
Running an entire marathon takes a lot of energy. Neuroscientist Carlos Matute knows this: he's run 18 of them. He wondered how runners' bodies get the energy they need to make it to the finish line. His new research in the journal Nature Metabolism may be the first step in answering the question – and suggests their brains might be (temporarily) depleting a fatty substance that coats nerve cells called myelin. Have other questions about the brain? Let us know by emailing shortwave@npr.org! Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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NASA Supports Wildland Fire Technology Demonstration

Advancements in NASA’s airborne technology have made it possible to gather localized wind data and assess its impacts on smoke and fire behavior. This information could improve wildland fire decision making and enable operational agencies to better allocate firefighters and resources. A small team from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, is demonstrating […]

April 03, 2025
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NPR News: This week in science: running and the brain, fermented space food and bat navigation

This week in science: running and the brain, fermented space food and bat navigation
NPR's Short Wave brings us the stories of how running a marathon could change your brain, fermenting food in space, and the mystery of how bats in flight avoid colliding with each other.

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Sols 4498-4499: Flexing Our Arm Once Again

Written by Conor Hayes, Graduate Student at York University Earth planning date: Monday, March 31, 2025 Planning today began with two pieces of great news. First, our 50-meter drive (about 164 feet) from the weekend plan completed successfully, bringing us oh-so-close to finally driving out of the small canyon that we’ve been traversing through and […]

April 03, 2025
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NASA Astronaut Chris Williams Assigned to First Space Station Mission

NASA astronaut Chris Williams will embark on his first mission to the International Space Station, serving as a flight engineer and Expedition 74 crew member. Williams will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft in November, accompanied by Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev. After launching from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the trio […]

April 03, 2025
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Perseverance Rover Witnesses One Martian Dust Devil Eating Another

The six-wheeled explorer recently captured several Red Planet mini-twisters spinning on the rim of Jezero Crater. A Martian dust devil can be seen consuming a smaller one in this short video made of images taken by a navigation camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover. These swirling, sometimes towering columns of air and dust are common […]

April 03, 2025
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La NASA aumenta su eficiencia con un piso modificado para el avión X-66

Read this story in English here. La NASA diseño unas tablas de piso temporales para el avión MD-90, que se utilizaran mientras el avión se transforma en el demostrador experimental X-66. Estas tablas de piso protegerán el piso original y agilizarán el proceso de modificación.   En apoyo al proyecto Demostrador de Vuelo Sostenible de la agencia, […]

April 03, 2025
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NASA Langley’s Legacy of Landing

Landing safely on the surface of another planetary body, like the Moon or Mars, is one of the most important milestones of any given space mission. From the very beginning, NASA’s Langley Research Center has been at the heart of the entry, descent and landing (EDL) research that enables our exploration. Today, NASA Langley’s legacy […]

April 03, 2025
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What Are the Dangers of Going to Space? We Asked a NASA Expert: Episode 55

What are the dangers of going to space? For human spaceflight, the first thing I think about is the astronauts actually strapping themselves to a rocket. And if that isn’t dangerous enough, once they launch and they’re out into space in deep exploration, we have to worry about radiation. Radiation is coming at them from […]

April 02, 2025
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NASA Sets Coverage for Crew Launch to Join Station Expedition 72/73

NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will launch aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft to the International Space Station, accompanied by cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, where they will join the Expedition 72/73 crew in advancing scientific research. Kim, Ryzhikov, and Zubritsky will lift off at 1:47 a.m. EDT Tuesday, April 8 (10:47 a.m. Baikonur time) […]

April 02, 2025
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X-ray Clues Reveal Destroyed Planet

This image of the Helix Nebula, released on March 4, 2025, shows a potentially destructive white dwarf at the nebula’s center: this star may have destroyed a planet. This has never been seen before – and could explain a mysterious X-ray signal that astronomers have detected from the nebula for over 40 years. This view combines X-rays […]

April 02, 2025
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NASA Continues Support for Private Astronaut Missions to Space Station

NASA is seeking proposals for two new private astronaut missions to the International Space Station, targeted for 2026 and 2027, as the agency continues its commitment to expanding access to space. These private missions enable American commercial companies to further develop capabilities and support a continuous human presence in low Earth orbit. “We are in […]

April 02, 2025
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NASA Research Examines the Multicellular Behavior of Unique Bacteria

In a recent study, NASA-supported researchers gained new insight into the lives of bacteria that survive by grouping together as if they were a multi-cellular organism. The organisms in the study are the only bacteria known to do this in this way, and studying them could help astrobiologists explain important steps in the evolution of […]

April 02, 2025
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Rocket Test Group Visits NASA Stennis

NASA Stennis partnered with Mississippi Enterprise for Technology to host more than 100 members of the 57th Rocket Test Group on March 18-19. The group toured the south Mississippi NASA center on March 19, learning how NASA Stennis operates as NASA’s primary, and America’s largest, rocket propulsion test site to serve the nation and commercial […]

April 02, 2025
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NASA Webb Explores Effect of Strong Magnetic Fields on Star Formation

Follow-up research on a 2023 image of the Sagittarius C stellar nursery in the heart of our Milky Way galaxy, captured by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, has revealed ejections from still-forming protostars and insights into the impact of strong magnetic fields on interstellar gas and the life cycle of stars.   “A big question […]

April 02, 2025
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NPR News: How do 'torpedo bats' work? We asked baseball physicists to explain

How do 'torpedo bats' work? We asked baseball physicists to explain
They look like baseball bats morphing into bowling pins, their ends flaring into an aggressive bulge that suddenly tapers. So how do they work?

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NPR News: Latest Alzheimer's lab tests focus on memory loss, not brain plaques

Latest Alzheimer's lab tests focus on memory loss, not brain plaques
New tests of blood and spinal fluid can identify people experiencing memory loss from Alzheimer's disease.

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NPR News: Top scientists warn that Trump policies are causing a 'climate of fear' in research

Top scientists warn that Trump policies are causing a 'climate of fear' in research
Some 2,000 scientists, including dozens of Nobel Prize winners, have signed an open letter warning that the U.S. lead in science is being "decimated" by the Trump administration's cuts to research.

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Who Was Alan Shepard? (Grades 5-8)

This article is for students grades 5-8. Alan Shepard was the first American in space. He was one of NASA’s first seven astronauts. Later, he walked on the moon during the Apollo program. What Was Shepard’s Early Life Like? Alan Shepard was born on Nov. 18, 1923. He was born in East Derry, N.H., and […]

April 01, 2025
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What’s Up: April 2025 Skywatching Tips from NASA

April (Meteor) Showers and See a City of Stars! Enjoy observing planets in the morning and evening sky, look for Lyrid meteors, and hunt for the “faint fuzzy” wonder that is the distant and ancient city of stars known as globular cluster M3.  Skywatching Highlights All Month – Planet Visibility: Daily Highlights: April 1 & […]

April 01, 2025
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NASA’s SPHEREx Takes First Images, Preps to Study Millions of Galaxies

Processed with rainbow hues to represent a range of infrared wavelengths, the new pictures indicate the astrophysics space observatory is working as expected. NASA’s SPHEREx (short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer) has turned on its detectors for the first time in space. Initial images from the […]

April 01, 2025
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Studying Ice for the Future of Flight

Thomas Ozoroski, a researcher at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, takes icing accretion measurements in October 2024 as part of transonic truss-braced wing concept research. In the future, aircraft with long, thin wings supported by aerodynamic braces could help airlines save on fuel costs – but those same wings could be susceptible to ice […]

April 01, 2025
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NASA History News and Notes–Spring 2025

The NASA History Office brings you the new Spring 2025 issue of NASA History News & Notes reflecting on some of the transitional periods in NASA’s history, as well as the legacies of past programs. Topics include NASA’s 1967 class of astronauts, historic experiments in airborne astronomy, NASA’s aircraft consolidation efforts in the 1990s, lightning […]

April 01, 2025
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Ways Community College Students Can Get Involved With NASA

For many students, the path to a NASA career begins at a community college. These local, two-year institutions offer valuable flexibility and options to those aspiring to be part of the nation’s next generation STEM workforce. NASA offers several opportunities for community college students to expand their horizons, make connections with agency experts, add valuable […]

April 01, 2025
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NPR News: How did iguanas end up in Fiji? By raft

How did iguanas end up in Fiji? By raft
Most iguanas are indigenous to the Americas. So how did the Fijian species end up on the island, nearly 5000 miles away in the South Pacific? According to a new study in the journal PNAS, it was probably via raft ... that is, on clump of floating trees. And this rafting hypothesis isn't entirely unprecedented. After hurricanes Luis and Marilyn hit the Caribbean in the 1990s, researchers found that a group of iguanas had floated over 180 miles away from Guadeloupe to the territory of Anguilla. Want to hear more about iguanas? Or rafts? Or evolutionary biology? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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