Science & Earth

On April 6, 2026, NASA's Artemis II crew flew past the Moon and reached the farthest distance from Earth in history, including a roughly 40-minute period out of radio contact. The mission delivered new science observations and tested Orion spacecraft systems as the crew heads back toward Earth.

Artemis II's crew returned after a 10-day lunar mission when the Orion capsule re-entered at about Mach 33 and splashed down off the coast of California; all four astronauts were recovered and taken aboard a U.S. Navy ship.

Volunteers from Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix repair and maintain the cobbled sectors used in the 250 km Paris‑Roubaix race, and they made last‑minute fixes at the Trouée d'Arenberg ahead of the 2026 edition.

A Navy medical diver and a three-person team entered the Orion capsule after its Pacific splashdown to evaluate the four Artemis II astronauts, and NASA reported the crew was healthy.

Artemis II splashed down Friday, returning its crew safely after a test flight; MIT professor Richard Binzel and astronaut Suni Williams said the mission tested reentry and landing systems and helps inform plans for lunar and Mars missions.

The Artemis II crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center to begin final preparations ahead of a scheduled April 1 launch that would send them on a nearly 700,000-mile trip around the moon and back. Countdown clocks are expected to start Monday, with the crew able to launch through April 6 before conditions would force a delay.

The four Artemis 2 astronauts splashed down off San Diego on April 10 after a planned free-return lunar flyby that set a new human-distance record; the flight was the first crewed launch of NASA's SLS and Orion and served as a systems test for future Artemis missions.

The USS John P. Murtha, MH-60S helicopters and Navy dive teams based in San Diego will assist NASA in recovering the four-person Artemis II crew after a planned splashdown off the San Diego coast on April 10; officials are monitoring weather that could affect timing and location.

After a 10-day lunar flyby that set a distance record, the four Artemis II astronauts are due to splash down in the Pacific late Friday; the mission is described as a step toward returning humans to the Moon and testing technologies for future exploration.

An NBC Select article reviews countertop and outdoor compost bins, tumblers, worm farms and electric units and cites three gardening experts on materials to include or avoid, bin features, and placement guidance.

American woodcocks are frequently injured or killed by window collisions during seasonal migrations in some U.S. cities, and the Bird Center of Michigan is documenting cases in Detroit and seeking reports from the public.

NASA released a timelapse showing Artemis 2 astronauts observing a total solar eclipse from beyond the moon during their April 6 far-side flyby, with totality lasting about 53 minutes and the solar corona visible.

Researchers combined medieval observations and ultra-precise carbon-14 dating of buried trees to identify a peak in solar activity around 1200–1205 CE.

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Steve Kapala of Alpena, Michigan, is part of a four-member U.S. Navy dive medical team that will open the Orion capsule and perform initial checks when Artemis II splashes down about 60 miles off San Diego at roughly 8:07 p.m. ET on April 10.

Artemis 2, scheduled to launch no earlier than April 1, will be the first crewed flight of the Artemis program and will carry four astronauts on a free-return flyby that goes beyond the moon; the Artemis effort is focused on establishing a sustainable lunar presence rather than a short-term demonstration.

NASA's Artemis II is expected to splash down about 5:07 p.m. Friday, April 10, roughly 50–70 miles off San Diego between Catalina and San Clemente islands as the four-person crew ends a 10-day lunar mission.

FibroBiologics presented preclinical data at the Keystone Symposia showing a transplantable thymic organoid that generated multiple T cell lineages in immunodeficient mice and produced antigen-specific responses that slowed tumor growth in a melanoma model.

Aoshima is a 0.2-square-mile island in the Seto Inland Sea with about 80 feral cats and three elderly residents, and its cat population fell sharply after a 2018 spay-and-neuter program.

Ember's monthly data shows renewable sources produced 35% of U.S. electricity in March, surpassing gas at 34% and marking the cleanest month on record; wind and solar together provided 26% of power.

Artemis II has entered the Moon's sphere of influence and is now closer to the Moon than Earth; the crew says Earth looks like a small 'marbled marble' while the Moon fills their windows. The spacecraft is on a planned free-return trajectory and the crew is performing life‑support checks ahead of a scheduled far-side communication blackout.

NOAA data show March averaged 50.85°F across the continental United States, 9.35°F above the 20th-century March normal, marking the largest monthly departure in 132 years of records.

Artemis II launched last week on NASA's first crewed trip toward the moon since 1972 and is on course to exceed Apollo 13's maximum distance from Earth during a roughly six-hour lunar flyby.

Artemis II crew members described their time behind the moon as surreal and profound, and the mission reached a record 252,756 miles from Earth as they prepare for a planned Friday Pacific reentry and splashdown.

The Dallas Zoo said Sumatran tiger Sukacita gave birth to twin cubs on Feb. 22, and the zoo has opened a fundraising naming contest for the female cub that runs through April 20.

Harvard researchers report that on-site fossil-fuel power at some AI data centers can raise fine particulate pollution and that case analyses estimate substantial annual health and economic damages in affected communities.

A recent article questions the alarm over a possible "Super El Niño," noting the term was popularized by The Weather Channel and that market forward curves cited in the piece do not show commercial traders signaling long-term supply tightness for key crops.

Researchers report that DFNZ, a modified compound from the nitazene family, relieved pain in rodents while producing limited drug-seeking and minimal withdrawal signs; experts say human effects remain undetermined and further study is required.

Forecasts from major climate centers show a high chance of El Niño developing by fall, and models indicate sea surface temperatures could reach levels some call a 'super' El Niño; such events tend to increase the likelihood of wetter winters in Southern California while also raising risks of flooding, debris flows and coastal erosion.

About 180 people attended two community sessions after a developer proposed converting a former microchip site near Centennial Boulevard into a data center; residents raised concerns about noise, air and water use.

Eight endangered Mexican gray wolves were flown from New Mexico to Durango in March and are acclimating in large outdoor enclosures before planned release into nearby mountains and temperate forests. The transfers bring Mexico's total to about 38 wolves and follow decades of captive breeding and earlier reintroduction efforts.