A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center on Jan. 18, 2024 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four private astronauts make their way to the International Space Station.
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
Space exploration is not a waste of resources, but a source of technological and medical advances, a tool for climate monitoring and a source of educational inspiration for youth.
In the late 1980s, well diggers in Mali struck a rich source of naturally-created hydrogen. Now prospectors are scouring South Australia, looking for natural hydrogen.
A landscape view of Mabu Forest, Zambezia, Mozambique.
Gimo Daniel/Author.
Caves form over millions of years, as a result of flowing water slowly working away at ‘soft’ calcareous rock.
Scientists hunt for meteorites on the Nansen blue ice area in East Antartica, close to the Belgian Antarctic research station Princess Elisabeth.
BELARE 2019-2020 meteorite recovery expedition on the Nansen Ice Field
Scientists have crafted the world’s first “treasure map” to reveal Antarctica’s meteorites. These chunks of stone-like material could throw light on the mysteries of our early solar system.
‘Captain Scott’s last Birthday Dinner’, Antarctica, June 6th 1911.
Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo
In an era before clinical trials, medical writers drew on the stories of explorers as evidence about the health effects of different foods and drinks.
Tube worms, anemones and mussels clustered near a hydrothermal vent on the Galapagos Rift.
NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program, Galapagos Rift Expedition 2011/Flickr
Oceanographer Robert D. Ballard, who is best known for finding the wreck of Titanic, has written a memoir recounting his biggest discoveries and calling for more ocean exploration.
Two new NASA missions hope to answer important questions about Venus’ past.
NASA/JPL/USGS
Two new NASA missions – VERITAS and DAVINCI+ – are headed to Venus. The missions will use radar and a probe to learn about Earth’s hard-to-study and potentially prophetic neighbor.
The Philippines is taking an Indigenous-led approach to remembering European colonialism in the Pacific — a refreshing contrast to the dominant stories about James Cook in Australia and New Zealand.
While people may be familiar with precious metals, which are often at the heart of conflicts, there are also metals that are essential to good health.
(Shutterstock)
Iron fights anemia. Bismuth relieves gastric problems. Lithium acts against depression and gold can treat rheumatoid arthritis. Metals are precious tools for good health.
This wooden dish from Broome, pre-1892, was made by Yawuru people, collected by police and later presented by the Commissioner of Police, Colonel Phillips, to the WA Museum.
Courtesy of the WA museum
A spear-thrower, a shell, a bowl, a vase, a bucket. Five very different items tell us much about the history of collecting, the role of Indigenous experts and the shadow of colonial violence.
On Isla Hornos, Magellan’s beech trees grow in wind-protected nooks and crannies.
Andres Holz
A team of researchers found the southernmost tree and forest on Earth at the extreme tip of South America. Wind limits where trees grow on Isla Hornos and those wind patterns are shifting.
A modern portrait of Jeanne Barret disguised as a man, based on the author’s interpretation.
Timothy Ide
Two centuries after it was first sighted by Russian explorers, Antarctica is a key site for studying the future of Earth’s climate – and for global scientific cooperation.
The remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer captures images of a newly discovered hydrothermal vent field in the western Pacific.
NOAA
In some places, the ocean is almost 7 miles deep. Scientists exploring the ocean floor have found strange sea creatures, bizarre geologic formations and records of Earth’s history.
Helium is a vital element in several industries, and a global shortage could have devastating effects.
Shutterstock
Notes unearthed from the British Library suggest that Captain Scott’s Antarctic expedition may have been fatally undermined by Lieutenant Teddy Evans, furious after being sent back to base.