Surprising Science — March 11, 2014

Can American Astronauts Return Without Russia?

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Due to the closing of America’s space shuttle program, the US now has to pay Russia to take American astronauts into Space. So the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is being monitored closely by NASA.

With growing tensions between Russia and the rest of the world over the invasion of Crimea, Ukraine, what does this mean for the scheduled launch on March 25th? It’s still on schedule, but what if Russia backs out? DNews explores NASA’s options in this video.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

a large map of the world with all the countries.

Strange Maps

An astronaut’s view reveals China’s geopolitical claustrophobia

When you turn a map of East Asia upside down, Beijing’s geographic constraints and regional ambitions become much clearer.

Hard Science

The long-awaited mission that could transform our understanding of Mars

A next-generation instrument on a delayed rover may be the key to answering the question of life on Mars.

a drawing of a lobster on a white background.

The Present

How $125 lobster rolls crack the mystery of inflation

The pandemic and the Great Resignation fed into a perfect storm of inflation — and some restaurateurs cleaned up.

A 3D illustration of a typhoon as seen from orbit.

The Learning Curve

We need an “orbital perspective” to solve Earth’s problems

Retired astronaut Ron Garan believes that before we can begin solving our problems, we must understand our interrelatedness through the “orbital perspective.”

The Past

Why Russia sees itself as much more than just a nation

All nations have founding myths, but none are quite like Russia’s.

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