Science
Multi-source science news digests
NASA selects first European astronaut for Artemis III mission
NASA has announced the crew for Artemis III, a critical test mission scheduled for 2027. The crew includes four astronauts: NASA commander Randy Bresnik, European Space Agency pilot Luca Parmitano, and NASA mission specialists Frank Rubio and Andre Douglas. This marks the first time a European astronaut will participate in an Artemis mission. The flight will remain in low-Earth orbit to practice docking with two commercial lunar landers built by SpaceX and Blue Origin, setting the stage for Artemis IV, which aims to land humans on the lunar South Pole by 2028. The announcement builds on the success of Artemis II, which completed a flyby of the Moon earlier this year. Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut, brings extensive experience including two ISS missions and a dramatic spacewalk. The mission is described as highly complex and essential for future lunar landings. Outlets highlighted the international cooperation and the technological challenges involved, as well as the broader goal of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon and eventually Mars.
Philippines earthquake triggers tsunami alerts
A powerful earthquake struck the southern Philippines on June 8, 2026, triggering tsunami warnings across Asia. The earthquake, measured at magnitude 7.8 by the US Geological Survey, hit off the coast of Mindanao island at a depth of approximately 33 kilometres. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported the quake as the strongest in the country this year, causing widespread damage including collapsed buildings and multiple casualties. Tsunami alerts were issued by authorities in the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, and Papua New Guinea. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned of waves up to 3 metres on some coasts. Waves of about 1 metre were observed along nearby coastlines. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged residents in vulnerable areas to evacuate to higher ground, stressing that life is more important than property. At least 12 people were killed and over 200 injured, primarily in General Santos City and surrounding provinces. Rescue operations continued as aftershocks, including a magnitude 6.1 event, rattled the region. The international airport in General Santos was temporarily closed, and schools were shut in affected areas. The earthquake occurred on the Ring of Fire, an area of high seismic activity.
ISS air leak forces astronauts to shelter (June 2026)
On Friday June 5/6, 2026, a worsening air leak aboard the International Space Station prompted five astronauts to shelter inside the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for about two hours. The leak was located in the PrK transfer tunnel of Russia's Zvezda service module. NASA ordered the safe-haven procedure as Roscosmos cosmonauts attempted a more extensive repair, including plans to use a saw to access the crack. After the repair effort was paused for data assessment, NASA instructed the crew to resume normal operations. The incident did not pose an immediate threat to the crew or station systems, though the leak rate had doubled from one to two pounds of air per day.
ISS air leak prompts astronaut shelter
On June 5, 2026, NASA ordered five astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) to take shelter in their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule as a precaution while Russian cosmonauts attempted to repair worsening air leaks in the Russian Zvezda service module's transfer tunnel (PrK). The leaks, which had been an ongoing issue for years, escalated from a pound of air per day to two pounds, prompting the rare safe-haven procedure. The astronauts remained in the capsule for about two hours until Roscosmos paused the repair efforts for further assessment, after which they resumed normal operations. NASA and Roscosmos have been collaborating to find the root cause and a permanent fix for the cracks, which have been mitigated through temporary patches.
UFO Files Released
The US Defense Department has released a set of previously classified files related to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), also known as UFOs. The files include transcripts of astronaut debriefings, photographs, and videos of unexplained phenomena. The release is part of an effort to increase transparency around government knowledge of extraterrestrial phenomena. The files include incidents from the Apollo 12 and Apollo 17 moon missions, as well as more recent sightings from 2025. The release of the files has been met with interest and skepticism, with some experts urging caution in interpreting the evidence. The files are being housed on a dedicated government website and will be updated on a rolling basis. The release is seen as a significant step towards greater transparency and accountability in the study of UAP. The files include a range of intriguing incidents, including a transcript of astronaut Buzz Aldrin describing 'unusual' observations during the Apollo 11 mission. The files also include photographs of unexplained phenomena taken in recent months, including an infrared still image of an unidentified object spotted over the western US in September 2025.
Chernobyl Anniversary
The 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster has sparked reflections on the devastating event and its ongoing impact. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of 'nuclear terrorism' due to drone flights over the destroyed plant and damage to its protective shell. The disaster, which occurred on April 26, 1986, was the world's worst civilian atomic disaster, releasing radioactive fallout across northern Ukraine, Belarus, and Scandinavia. The immediate explosion killed a handful of plant technicians, but thousands of emergency workers, soldiers, and nearby residents were exposed to high levels of radiation. A massive concrete 'sarcophagus' was erected over the destroyed reactor to contain radioactive dust. The exclusion zone around Chernobyl remains largely uninhabited, with the nearby town of Pripyat becoming a radioactive ghost town. The anniversary has also raised concerns about the current risks posed by the conflict in Ukraine, particularly regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been under Russian control since March 2022. Experts warn of the potential for a catastrophic accident, highlighting the need for international cooperation to ensure nuclear safety and security.
NASA Space Updates
NASA has unveiled its new space telescope, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is set to launch in September 2026. The telescope will be used to scan the universe for planets outside our solar system and probe the mysteries of the cosmos. The launch is part of NASA's ongoing efforts to explore space and expand our understanding of the universe. The new telescope is a next-generation space observatory that will capture unprecedented panoramic images of the universe. It is designed to give an 'atlas of the universe' and will be used to study the formation of galaxies and the distribution of dark matter. The telescope is named after Nancy Grace Roman, a renowned astronomer who was known as the 'mother of the Hubble Space Telescope'. In addition to the new telescope, NASA is also facing challenges with its Voyager 1 spacecraft, which is losing power and may soon run out of energy. The agency is rushing to find a solution to prevent the spacecraft from shutting down. Meanwhile, lawmakers are debating the proposed NASA budget, with some expressing concerns about the agency's funding priorities.
Gene Therapy Breakthrough
A team of scientists has been awarded the Breakthrough Prize for their work in developing the first FDA-approved gene therapy for an inherited condition, which dramatically improves sight in people with a form of blindness called Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA). The therapy, named Luxturna, was approved in the US in 2017 and has transformed the lives of people born with LCA. The Breakthrough Prizes are considered the 'Oscars of Science' and are given out in five categories, including Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Math, each with an accompanying $3 million award. The scientists, including Jean Bennett, Albert Maguire, and Katherine High, developed a gene therapy that smuggled a working version of the gene into retinal cells, restoring lost vision in patients with LCA. The therapy has shown transformative outcomes for patients with sickle cell disease and independence from regular blood transfusions for patients with transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. The breakthrough has also led to the introduction of a new gene-editing therapy, Casgevy, which is now available in Qatar for patients aged 12 years and older, living with transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT) and severe sickle cell disease (SCD). Casgevy is the first-in-class CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited therapy that targets the genetic root cause of these inherited blood disorders.
NASA Space Telescope
NASA has unveiled the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, a powerful new observatory designed to map the universe and search for distant planets. The telescope is expected to discover tens of thousands of planets and reveal billions of galaxies, thousands of supernovae, and tens of billions of stars. It will also study dark matter and dark energy, whose origins remain unknown but which are thought to constitute 95 percent of our universe. The Roman Space Telescope is named after astronomer Nancy Grace Roman, nicknamed the 'Mother of Hubble' for her role in developing the landmark space telescope. It has a field of view at least 100 times larger than Hubble's and will sweep across vast regions of space from its position 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. The telescope will send 11 terabytes of data a day down to Earth and is expected to shed light on questions that remain unresolved. The telescope is set to launch in September aboard a SpaceX rocket and will work in concert with iconic observatories like the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes to solve some of the universe's biggest mysteries. NASA hopes that the Roman Space Telescope will help to create a new 'atlas of the universe' and revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos.