Liftoff! NASA Launches Astronauts on Historic Artemis Moon Mission & NASA's Artemis II Moon Mission Lifts Off

The SLS (Space Launch System) launches with the Artemis II crew aboard the Orion spacecraft on April 1, 2026, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Spurred by American ingenuity, astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II mission are in flight, preparing for the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket lifted off from Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 p.m. EDT Wednesday, sending four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft on a planned test flight around the Moon and back.

“Today’s launch marks a defining moment for our nation and for all who believe in exploration. Artemis II builds on the vision set by President Donald J. Trump, returning humanity to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and opening the next chapter of lunar exploration beyond Apollo. Aboard Orion are four remarkable explorers preparing for the first crewed flight of this rocket and spacecraft, a true test mission that will carry them farther and faster than any humans in a generation,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Artemis II is the start of something bigger than any one mission. It marks our return to the Moon, not just to visit, but to eventually stay on our Moon Base, and lays the foundation for the next giant leaps ahead.”

The successful launch is the beginning of an approximately 10-day mission for NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen. As the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program, among its objectives, the flight will demonstrate life support systems for the first time with crew and lay the foundation for an enduring presence on the Moon ahead of future missions to Mars.

After reaching space, Orion deployed its solar array wings, enabling the spacecraft to receive energy from the Sun, while the crew and engineers on the ground immediately began transitioning the spacecraft from launch to flight operations to start checking out key systems.

“Artemis II is a test flight, and the test has just begun. The team that built this vehicle, repaired it, and prepared it for flight has given our crew the machine they need to go prove what it can do,” said NASA Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya. “Over the next 10 days, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy will put Orion through its paces so the crews who follow them can go to the Moon’s surface with confidence. We are one mission into a long campaign, and the work ahead of us is greater than the work behind us.”

About 49 minutes into the test flight, the SLS rocket’s upper stage fired to put Orion into an elliptical orbit around Earth. A second planned burn by the stage will propel Orion, which the crew named “Integrity,” into a high Earth orbit extending about 46,000 miles beyond Earth. After the burn, Orion will separate from the stage, flying free on its own.

In several hours, a ring on the rocket’s upper stage, which will be a safe distance away from the spacecraft, will deploy four CubeSats – small satellites from Argentina’s Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, German Aerospace Center, Korea AeroSpace Administration, and Saudi Space Agency – to perform scientific investigations and technology demonstrations.

The spacecraft will remain in high Earth orbit for about a day, where the crew will conduct a manual pilot demonstration to test Orion’s handling capabilities. The astronauts, with Mission Control Center teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, will continue checking spacecraft systems.

If all systems remain healthy, mission controllers will give Orion’s European-built service module a command to conduct the translunar injection burn on Thursday, April 2. This move is an approximately six-minute firing to send the spacecraft on a trajectory that will simultaneously carry crew around the Moon, while also harnessing lunar gravity to slingshot them back to Earth.

During a planned multi-hour lunar flyby on Monday, April 6, the astronauts will take photographs and provide observations of the Moon’s surface as the first people to lay eyes on some areas of the far side. Although the lunar far side will only be partially illuminated during the flyby, the conditions should create shadows that stretch across the surface, enhancing relief and revealing depth, ridges, slopes and crater rims that are often difficult to detect under full illumination. Crew observations and other human health scientific investigations during the mission, such as AVATAR, will inform science during future Moon missions.

Following a successful lunar flyby, the astronauts will return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

As part of Golden Age of innovation and exploration, NASA will send Artemis astronauts on increasingly difficult missions to explore more of the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build on our foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Follow the latest mission progress, including more images from the test flight, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/ 

Source: Liftoff! NASA Launches Astronauts on Historic Artemis Moon Mission - NASA 

Stroke triggers a hidden brain change that looks like rejuvenation

In a new study published in The Lancet Digital Health, scientists at the USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute (Stevens INI) have discovered that the brains of people who experience severe physical impairment after a stroke may reorganize themselves in unexpected ways, showing signs of “younger” brain structure in undamaged regions as they adapt to injury.

The international research effort is part of the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis (ENIGMA) Stroke Recovery Working Group, which analyzed brain scans from more than 500 stroke survivors across 34 research sites in eight countries. Using deep learning models trained on tens of thousands of MRI scans, the researchers estimated the “brain age” of different regions in each hemisphere to see how stroke damage affects brain structure and recovery.

“We found that larger strokes accelerate aging in the damaged hemisphere but paradoxically make the opposite side of the brain appear younger,” said Hosung Kim, PhD, associate professor of research neurology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and co-senior author of the study. “This pattern suggests the brain may be reorganizing itself, essentially rejuvenating undamaged networks to compensate for lost function.”

The research team used an advanced form of artificial intelligence known as a graph convolutional network to predict the biological age of 18 brain regions from MRI data. The difference between a person’s predicted brain age and their actual chronological age, known as the brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD), served as a sensitive marker of neural health.

When the team associated these measurements with motor performance scores, they found a striking pattern: stroke survivors with severe movement deficits, even after more than 6 months of rehabilitation, showed younger-than-expected brain age in regions opposite the lesion, particularly within the frontoparietal network, a key system involved in motor planning, attention, and coordination.

“These findings suggest that when stroke damage leads to greater movement loss, undamaged regions on the opposite side of the brain may adapt to help compensate,” Kim explained. “We saw this in the contralesional frontoparietal network, which showed a more ‘youthful’ pattern and is known to support motor planning, attention, and coordination. Rather than indicating full recovery of movement, this pattern may reflect the brain’s attempt to adjust when the damaged motor system can no longer function normally. This gives us a new way to see neuroplasticity that traditional imaging could not capture.”

The study was conducted through ENIGMA, a global alliance that unites data from more than 50 countries to better understand the brain across diseases. Researchers harmonized MRI data and clinical measures across dozens of cohorts to build the world’s largest stroke neuroimaging dataset of its kind.

“By pooling data from hundreds of stroke survivors worldwide and applying cutting-edge AI, we can detect subtle patterns of brain reorganization that would be invisible in smaller studies. These findings of regionally differential brain aging in chronic stroke could eventually guide personalized rehabilitation strategies,” said Arthur W. Toga, PhD, director of the Stevens INI and Provost Professor at USC.

The team plans to expand their work to include longitudinal studies tracking patients from the acute to chronic stages of stroke recovery. By observing how patterns of brain aging and reorganization develop over time, clinicians might be able to customize interventions based on each patient’s unique neural adaptation process, ultimately improving recovery outcomes and quality of life in the near future.

Source: https://keck.usc.edu/news/usc-study-identifies-brain-rewiring-mechanism-that-may-aid-stroke-recovery/ 

Source: Stroke triggers a hidden brain change that looks like rejuvenation – Scents of Science

Lost mosaic reveals first image of female beast-fighter from the Roman era - Other Sciences - Archaeology

The woman. (a) Drawing from Loriquet 1862: planche IX, n° 11. (b) Detail of the breasts. Credit: The International Journal of the History of Sport (2026). DOI: 10.1080/09523367.2026.2632176

When you think of a fight between an animal and a human in ancient Roman sports, the mental image is usually of a big man vs. an animal in a big arena filled with cheering spectators. In a new study, Alfonso Manas, a researcher from the University of California, challenges that image. Manas presents evidence that a 3rd-century Roman mosaic from Reims, which depicts a topless figure with prominent breasts battling a leopard, is actually a visual representation of a Roman female beast-fighter, or venatrix. This contradicts previous research, which read her role as that of an agitator, a clown-like arena staff member whose job was to whip the animals to make them attack during a hunt.

While written history has mentioned women participating in beast-fighting sports, the mosaic examined in this study is the first and only known depiction of it. This new evidence is presented in The International Journal of the History of Sport.

In search of women fighters

Fights held in Roman arenas were of two categories: Gladiatura, which refers to combat between humans, and Venatio, which is human-to-animal combat, or hunting in the arena. Gladiator sports have not only garnered public attention, making several appearances in movies and TV shows, but they have also been extensively studied by researchers, unlike Venatio, which has received much less attention. This bias toward man-versus-man fights has left many unanswered questions about the ancient practice. Some of them being: Did women ever take on the role of venatrices, fighting wild beasts in the arena? And if so, at what point in the historical timeline did this take place?

(a) Section of the mosaic showing the leopard and the woman. (b) Section of the mosaic showing the venator with the pole, the leopard, and the woman. Credit: The International Journal of the History of Sport (2026). DOI: 10.1080/09523367.2026.2632176

Over the years, historians have discovered 6 excerpts that mention women facing a beast in the arena, one of the earliest dating to the reign of the infamous emperor Nero from 54 to 68 CE. Documents also show that female venatrices took the center stage during the opening of the Colosseum in the summer of AD 80.

For a long time, researchers believed that they were part of arena hunting, but they disappeared after AD 100.

A closer look at the Reims mosaic calls this stance into question. Manas argues that the images in the mosaic tiles are carefully arranged to depict the pointy breasts of a topless woman. This was intentionally done by the artist to clearly distinguish a woman's anatomy from the flat-chested male figures in the rest of the mosaic.

The study challenges earlier claims that she was a clown or an agitator—a role with little evidence of ever existing—and instead identifies her as a trained hunter, a venatrix. In the mosaic, she holds a whip used to control animals in one hand and possibly the knob at the hilt of a weapon in the other. These weapons make it clear she was not a helpless condemned prisoner, who would have been sent into the arena unarmed and defenseless.

Mosaic from Reims, third century. Found in Reims in 1860, destroyed in 1917 during WWI. Lost. Drawing from Loriquet 1862: planche XVIII. Credit: The International Journal of the History of Sport (2026). DOI: 10.1080/09523367.2026.2632176

A 1860 study by archaeologist Jean Charles Loriquet dated it to the 3rd century by comparing it with the artistic style of other uncovered Roman mosaics. This further supports the evidence that female beast-fighters remained active in the arena for at least a century longer than previously believed. Even though historical records state that female gladiators were banned around AD 200, the study shows that female animal hunters continued to perform well beyond that point.

These findings might help dispel stereotypes about women's roles in ancient societies and inform more accurate museum displays and educational materials on Roman history. 

by Sanjukta Mondal, Phys.org

edited by Gaby Clark, reviewed by Robert Egan 

Source: Lost mosaic reveals first image of female beast-fighter from the Roman era

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Solar energy could be key to making sustainable aviation fuel - Energy & Green Tech - Automotive

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new way of making sustainable aviation fuel that could cut the reliance on used cooking oil as a feedstock has been developed by a team of engineers led by the University of Sheffield. The new technique captures CO₂ from the air, combines it with hydrogen, and then heats it using concentrated solar energy to produce the fuel. For their study published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers used comprehensive computer modeling and simulation to understand how and where this first-of-a-kind technology could function at an industrial scale.

Where the new fuel could scale

Their analysis suggests that five countries across different continents could be suitable for such large-scale SAF production plants due to their high levels of sunlight and low costs of hydrogen or land. These are: the U.S. (North America), Chile (South America), Spain (Europe), South Africa (Africa), and China (Asia).

The research follows recent statistics from the UK's SAF mandate, which show the majority of SAF in the U.K. is made from used cooking oil.

Why new feedstocks are needed

Professor Meihong Wang, Professor of Energy Systems at the University of Sheffield, who led the research, said, "Decarbonizing the aviation industry is key to slowing global warming and achieving net zero. SAF has emerged as a promising solution to meet energy needs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as it works in existing engines, potentially allowing for sustainable air travel without major mechanical changes to airplanes. However, a major challenge in switching to SAF is ensuring that we have enough feedstock to produce the huge amount of fuel that the industry needs and also making the fuel in a way that doesn't require fossil fuels.

"The process we have proposed has the potential to address key challenges in scaling up SAF. It's a renewable energy-powered way of capturing CO₂ from the air and making SAF that is cost-effective and can be scaled to industrial levels. It also reduces electricity consumption in the production process and can fit within a circular economy."

Schematic representation of DAC for CO2 storage or utilization pathways. Credit: Nature Communications (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-67977-x

How the solar-driven process works

The solar-driven SAF technique was developed in collaboration with researchers from the East China University of Science and Technology. It improves on an existing proposed way of making SAF called Direct Air Capture and CO₂ Utilization (DACCU), which is currently in the research and development phase.

This existing DACCU method captures CO₂ from the air and combines it with hydrogen, similar to the proposal led by Sheffield; however, it heats the chemicals using a fossil fuel—natural gas—a process which the Sheffield-led team says would prevent SAF from being a truly sustainable fuel.

The researchers from Sheffield and China have shown in their study that replacing the fossil fuel with concentrated solar energy is capable of providing the intense heat needed to create the chemical reactions to produce SAF. It could also cost less than existing DACCU pathways—projections estimate US$4.62 per kg compared to US$ 5.6 per kg.

The reactor at the heart of it

Professor Wang added, "The innovation lies in a hydrogen-fluidized calciner. This is a specialized reactor that uses a field of mirrors to focus sunlight, eliminating the need for onsite fossil fuel combustion. By using hydrogen to circulate the carbon particles, the system also streamlines production as it serves as the medium to circulate the carbon particles while simultaneously providing the essential feedstock for fuel synthesis.

"This dual-purpose design allows us to bypass traditional, complex steps like syngas production and CO₂ purification, resulting in a much more streamlined and cost-effective production cycle. By converting atmospheric carbon into SAF directly onsite, we transform CO₂ from a waste product into a valuable resource, fostering a circular economy that eliminates the need for the expensive pipeline networks and geological reservoirs required by traditional carbon capture and storage." 

Provided by University of Sheffield 

by Sean Barton, University of Sheffield

edited by Lisa Lock, reviewed by Robert Egan 

Source: Solar energy could be key to making sustainable aviation fuel   

Huge study finds no evidence cannabis helps anxiety, depression, or PTSD

A landmark paper published in The Lancet Psychiatry – the largest-ever review of the safety and efficacy of cannabinoids across a range of mental health conditions – found no evidence that medicinal cannabis is effective in treating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The study comes amid more than one million prescription approvals and a tripling of sales of cannabinoid medications (including both cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products) in Australia over the past four years, often for the treatment of mental health and substance-use disorders.  In the United States and Canada, 27 percent of people aged 16–65 have used cannabis for medical purposes, with about half using it to manage their mental health.

The study’s lead author, Dr Jack Wilson at the University of Sydney’s The Matilda Centre, said the results call into question the approval of medicinal cannabis for the treatment of depression, anxiety and PTSD.

“Though our paper didn’t specifically look at this, the routine use of medicinal cannabis could be doing more harm than good by worsening mental health outcomes, for example a greater risk of psychotic symptoms and developing cannabis use disorder, and delaying the use of more effective treatments,” he said. 

More than 700,000 Australians have reported using medicinal cannabis to treat over 250 different health conditions. The research found evidence to suggest that medicinal cannabis could potentially be beneficial for some conditions – such as the treatment of cannabis use disorder (otherwise known as cannabis dependency), autism, insomnia, and tics or Tourette’s syndrome.

Dr Wilson said: “But the overall quality of evidence for these other conditions, such as autism and insomnia, was low. In the absence of robust medical or counselling support, the use of medicinal cannabis in these cases are rarely justified. 

“There is, however, evidence that medicinal cannabis may be beneficial in certain health conditions, such as reducing seizures associated with some forms of epilepsy, spasticity among those with multiple sclerosis, and managing certain types of pain, but our study shows the evidence for mental health disorders falls short.

“In the case of autism specifically, while the study showed some evidence medicinal cannabis could assist with a reduction in symptoms, it is worth noting that there is no one – or universal – experience of autism, so this finding should be treated with caution.”

The study found that medicinal cannabis was not effective for every type of substance-abuse disorder. While medicinal cannabis may help with cannabis dependence, it was found to increase cocaine cravings among people with cocaine-use disorder

“Similar to how methadone is used to treat opioid-use disorder, cannabis medicines may form part of an effective treatment for those with a cannabis-use disorder. When administered alongside psychological therapy, an oral formulation of cannabis was shown to reduce cannabis smoking,” Dr Wilson said. 

“However, when medicinal cannabis was used to treat people with cocaine-use disorder, it increased their cravings. This means it should not be considered for this purpose and may, in fact, worsen cocaine dependence,” he said. 

Researchers urge greater regulation for prescribing of medicinal cannabis

The rapid expansion in medicinal cannabis use and prescribing rates has raised concerns among major medical bodies, including the Australian Medical Association (AMA), the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the American Medical Association in the United States, about the largely unregulated growth in prescribing and the uncertainty surrounding the efficacy and safety of these products.

In response, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) initiated a review of the regulatory oversight of medicinal cannabis, with more than 500 responses published in February.

“Our study provides a comprehensive and independent assessment of the benefits and risks of cannabis medicines, which may support the TGA and clinicians to make evidence-based decisions, helping to ensure patients receive effective treatments while minimising harm from ineffective or unsafe cannabis products,” Dr Wilson said.

Source: https://www.sydney.edu.au/research.html 

Source: Huge study finds no evidence cannabis helps anxiety, depression, or PTSD – Scents of Science  

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