The EVA of Astronauts James Irwin, or Apollo XV EVA, Pierre Mion.

I Was Among the Lucky Few to Walk in Space

On July 31, 1971, Al Worden performed the first deep-space extra-vehicular activity. “No one in all of history” saw what he saw that day

When Michigan Students Put the Car on Trial

In a famous 1970 teach-in demonstration, prosecutors hammered away at the nation’s most powerful defendant

In Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park, a 14-month-old male named Imbanzabigwi is poised to transition from mother’s milk to foraging.

Planet Positive

How Africa’s Mountain Gorillas Staged a Comeback

Long victimized by poaching and deforestation, the primate species is in the midst of a surprising rebound that is sparking new hopes of recovery

Follow along with the #SmithsonianEdu hashtag.

Education During Coronavirus

Eight Digital Education Resources From Around the Smithsonian

The newly launched #SmithsonianEdu campaign highlights 1.7 million online tools geared specifically toward students and teachers

The remains of the newly discovered structure.

A Mysterious 25,000-Year-Old Structure Built of the Bones of 60 Mammoths

The purpose of such an elaborate structure remains a big open question

Vampire bats, a highly social species, will continue interacting with each other even when they're feeling sick.

When Illness Strikes, Vampire Bat Moms Will Still Socialize With Their Kids

Studying how bats behave when they’re feeling ill could help researchers better understand how pathogens move through close-knit populations

The research vessel in December, two months after mooring to an ice floe nicknamed “the Fortress.”

Planet Positive

Why the MOSAiC Expedition’s Research Is So Vital to Climate Change Research

On a ship frozen in the Arctic, scientists have spent all winter to shed light on exactly how the world is changing

Jupiter's moon Europa may have the ingredients necessary for hosting life: liquid water, an energy source and organic compounds.

We’re Better Equipped to Find Extraterrestrial Life Now Than Ever Before

Astronomers have more places to look for signs of intelligent life and more advanced tools to find it

Why do sea turtles eat plastic? The smell.

Sea Turtles Might Be Eating Old Plastic Because It Smells Like Shrimp

Over time, trash that has been floating in the ocean gets covered in algae and other micro-organisms

Ostrich eggshell beads were exchanged between ancient hunter-gatherers living in distant, ecologically diverse regions of southern Africa, including deserts and high mountains.

Humans Have Been Taking Out Insurance Policies for at Least 30,000 Years

A study of beads made from ostrich eggshells suggests the humans of the Kalahari Desert region formed social networks to help each other

The "knapsack problem" is a widespread computing challenge—and no, it doesn't have to do just with literal backpacks.

How the Mathematical Conundrum Called the ‘Knapsack Problem’ Is All Around Us

A litany of issues in business, finance, container ship loading and aircraft loading derive from this one simple dilemma

Washing your hands doesn't just lift germs off your skin. It can destroy some of them, too—including the virus behind COVID-19.

Why Is Washing Your Hands So Important, Anyway?

A dive into the science behind why hand-washing and alcohol-based hand sanitizer work so well

NASA Names Its Next Mars Rover ‘Perseverance’

In an illustrated narrative, Perseverance—scheduled to launch this summer—searches for any signs of past microbial life on Mars

An artist’s depiction of Gunakadeit joseeae

215-Million-Year-Old, Sharp-Nosed Sea Creature Was Among the Last of Its Kind

Researchers gave the marine reptile the genus name Gunakadeit in honor of a sea monster from Tlingit oral history

Satellite image of the Thomas Fire's burn scar and active flames, in northern Ventura, on December 5, 2017.

Could Wildfire Ash Feed the Ocean’s Tiniest Life-Forms?

Ash falling on the ocean after a wildfire could fuel plankton growth

See the 17th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Finalists and Vote for the Readers’ Choice Winner

Over its two-minute lifetime, the faux rhino (above: The Substitute) adapts “to his environment and moves around. His form and his sound become more lifelike, but ultimately, he is coming to life without any natural context and in this completely digital form," says the museum's curator Andrea Lipps.

The Northern White Rhino Went Extinct, But for Two Minutes at a Time, the Animal Makes a Digital Comeback

An artist’s 3-D recreation of the immense mammal probes the paradox of efforts to bring such animals back in the lab

Swamp wallabies can nourish three separate offspring at once: an older joey that's left the pouch, a young one nursing inside of it, and an embryo that has yet to be born.

Swamp Wallabies Can Get Pregnant While Pregnant

These marsupials can conceive during the final days of an ongoing pregnancy, creating a “backup” embryo ready to take its predecessor’s place

A family commutes by cargo bike on a rail-and-trail path in Seattle.

Can We Really Combat Climate Change by Consuming Less? Maybe.

In her new book, scientist Hope Jahren talks about the warming planet and what can be done to slow its effects

Elisabeth Moss in The Invisible Man

Science in the Movies

‘The Invisible Man’ Isn’t Real, but This Invisibility Technology Is

A new take on H.G. Wells’ classic novel is in theaters, but how far has real-life cloaking tech come?

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