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NASA's MAVEN Mars orbiter stopped responding to Earth in early December, with fragmentary tracking data suggesting the spacecraft is tumbling unexpectedly and may have changed its orbital trajectory. Recovery efforts are urgent as an approaching solar conjunction will block communications between Earth and Mars, potentially leaving NASA with only two aging operational orbiters around the red planet.

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The Year in Physics

Physics researchers gathered on Helgoland, the historic birthplace of quantum mechanics, for a significant conference marking a major anniversary of the groundbreaking theory. The summer meeting brought together hundreds of the...

Is Earth’s Core Like an Onion?

Earthquake waves traveling through Earth's center behave strangely—moving 3 to 4 percent faster when parallel to our planet's rotation axis than when crossing the equatorial plane. This puzzling phenomenon has intrigued...

Scientific breakthroughs of the year

Scientists achieved major breakthroughs across multiple fields this year, including advances in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and medical research that could transform how we treat diseases. These discoveries...

The Emerging Science of Being Hangry

German researchers tracked 90 adults for four weeks using glucose monitors and smartphone apps to understand the science behind being "hangry." They discovered that hunger-related mood changes depend on consciously sensing bodily...