Science - Thursday, May 14, 2026

On Thursday, NASA issued a Request for Proposal (RFP), seeking industry collaboration for the Mars Telecommunications Network. Reliable, high bandwidth communications is necessary to relay science data, high-definition imagery, and critical information during Mars missions. The network will use high-performance Mars telecommunications orbiters at the Red Planet to support future surface, orbital, and human exploration. […]

The virus is clearly far less contagious than the coronavirus, scientists agree, but they have found cases where it spread among people without direct contact.

NASA is collaborating with Eta Space of Rockledge, Florida, on an in‑orbit technology demonstration to advance a key capability for future deep space missions. The Liquid Oxygen Flight Demonstration, or LOXSAT, will test cryogenic fluid management technologies necessary for creating in-space propellant depots, essentially gas stations in space, that could support long-term exploration. During a […]

Scientists studying mysterious ultra-powerful cosmic rays have uncovered a surprising hidden pattern that could finally help explain where these particles come from. Using the DAMPE space telescope, researchers found that cosmic ray particles—from tiny protons to heavy iron nuclei—all begin fading away more sharply at the exact same point, hinting at a universal rule governing their behavior across the galaxy.

Deep beneath Portugal’s São Jorge Island, a massive surge of magma silently pushed upward from more than 20 kilometers underground in 2022, triggering thousands of earthquakes and briefly raising fears of a volcanic eruption. Scientists discovered that the molten rock climbed astonishingly fast — enough to fill 32,000 Olympic swimming pools — before stalling just 1.6 kilometers below the surface in what researchers call a “failed eruption.”

NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway (bottom left), Jessica Meir (middle left), and Chris Williams (bottom right), and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot (top right) have some fun with food and microgravity in this April 19, 2026, photo. Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft delivered a shipment of fresh food, including oranges, apples, onions, and […]

Scientists have uncovered compelling evidence that dinosaur fossils may still contain traces of their original proteins, overturning a long-standing belief that fossilization destroys all organic material. In a remarkably well-preserved Edmontosaurus fossil from South Dakota, researchers detected remnants of collagen — the main protein found in bone — using advanced techniques including mass spectrometry and protein sequencing.

Pictures and striking scenes from the making of perhaps the world’s most celebrated naturalist.

Scientists exploring deep underwater canyons off the coast of Western Australia uncovered a hidden world packed with bizarre and elusive marine life — including signs of the legendary giant squid. By analyzing traces of DNA floating in seawater from depths exceeding 4 kilometers, researchers identified 226 species ranging from deep-diving whales to strange fish rarely or never seen in the region before. Some of the creatures may even be unknown to science.

Scientists have uncovered a hidden mathematical secret inside the leaves of the Chinese money plant: a naturally occurring geometric pattern known as a Voronoi diagram, something typically associated with city planning, computer science, and network design. By mapping tiny pores and looping veins in the plant’s leaves, researchers discovered that the plant organizes itself using the same kind of elegant spatial logic humans use to solve complex distance problems — without ever “measuring” anything.