China advances lunar ambitions with year-long crewed mission while SpaceX's Starship completes 12th test flight; new radio astronomy arrays and upcoming solar eclipse mark major observational milestones

China launched its Shenzhou-23 mission with three crew members, including an astronaut who will spend a year in orbit—a key milestone in Beijing's plan to land people on the moon by 2030.

SpaceX completed its 12th test flight of the Starship rocket on Friday evening, with the vehicle traveling over an hour before landing in the Indian Ocean in what was largely a successful mission for the NASA-contracted spacecraft designed for lunar landings.

A rare blue moon will occur on May 31st, highlighting how calendar-based lunar cycles create unusual astronomical terminology, as the full moon will be the second in a single calendar month.

The Next Generation Very Large Array, featuring 263 antennas spread across the US and Mexico, will usher in a new era of radio astronomy capable of unprecedented observations of the universe.

A total solar eclipse will be visible on August 12 across parts of Greenland, Iceland, Spain, and Portugal, offering observers in these regions the rare experience of daytime darkness.

Scientists have created a wearable ultrasound patch (UPatch) that can continuously monitor fetuses in the womb, with researchers hoping it will enable early detection of complications and help prevent stillbirths.

The Sacramento Mountains checkerspot butterfly caterpillar, the last individual of its species in human care, has died; the species has not been sighted in the wild since 2022.

Researchers are conducting a pioneering study on how repeated head impacts in women's rugby affect the brain, addressing a significant gap in concussion research as female brains are noted to be softer and more vulnerable than male brains.