The interplanetary aircraft will launch no earlier than next week because of glitches in its flight-control softwareNASA’s Ingenuity helicopter rests on the surface of Mars awaiting a software upgrade before it can fly. Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech and ASU We’ll have to wait a bit longer to see the first Mars helicopter lift off. NASA had…

Asia Pacific|Fukushima Wastewater Will Be Released Into the Ocean, Japan Sayshttps://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/world/asia/japan-fukushima-wastewater-ocean.htmlThe government says the plan is the best way to dispose of water used to prevent the ruined nuclear plant’s damaged reactor cores from melting.The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan. The government has decided to release radioactive water from the plant into…

When cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to fly in space, he also became an instant celebrity, a diplomatic icon of the Soviet Union around the world. Gagarin blasted off Earth 60 years ago on Monday (April 12), kicking off the era of human spaceflight. Rooted in the Cold War, human spaceflight was, at the time, inherently…

Muldrow Glacier, perched on the side of Alaska’s highest peak, is on the move for the first time in more than 60 years. Scientists noticed last month that the 39-mile stretch of ice had begun to “surge” down the northeast slope of Denali. Surges are natural events in which ice begins to flow downhill at…

Recommendations from the editors of Scientific AmericanHUMPBACK WHALES are known for their long, complex songs, which carry for miles underwater. The purpose of their music remains a mystery. Credit: Adam Geiger National Geographic Secrets of the Whales by Brian Skerry Streaming on Disney+, starting April 22 Despite being warm-blooded, air-breathing mammals descended from land animals, whales…