Nuclear energyMay 28, 2026
Trump plan to give start-ups plutonium harvested from Cold War–era nuclear weapons is risky, experts say
Weapons-grade plutonium can fuel nuclear reactors known as mixed oxide reactors, but none of these exist in the U.S.
Nuclear energy
Nuclear energyMay 20, 2026
Putting a nuclear reactor on the moon: big promise, bigger challenges
Nuclear power could enable long-term lunar missions, but NASA’s timeline may be too ambitious
The Young American Scientists Issue—Read Now
Nuclear energyMay 19, 2026
Helion Energy wants to build fusion power on a start-up timeline
This company says its pulsed plasma machine will deliver electricity to the grid by 2029. Some physicists warn that its promises are outrunning what the technology has proved
Space ExplorationMay 14, 2026
The next quantum revolution may require a helium ‘gold rush’ on the moon
The rare isotope helium-3 is one of Earth’s most precious commodities—so precious, in fact, that it might prove profitable to mine from the moon
Nuclear energyMay 8, 2026
Wildfire breaks out in Chernobyl exclusion zone
A fire covering at least five square miles burned through the exclusion zone around the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster on Friday after two drones crashed into the area
Space ExplorationApril 15, 2026
NASA needs nuclear power for its moon base. Here’s the White House plan to get it
If the U.S. is ever to set up a permanent outpost on the moon, it will need nuclear power. The White House just released a road map to get it as soon as 2028
Nuclear energyApril 10, 2026
Why bombing Iran’s nuclear power plant could cause an environmental disaster
Strikes to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could release long-lasting radioactive cesium 137 into the Persian Gulf, causing environmental calamity and threatening drinking-water supplies for millions
The UniverseApril 10, 2026
NASA’s Dragonfly will explore the air, land and seas of Titan, Saturn’s most mysterious moon
NASA plans to launch a wildly ambitious nuclear-powered octocopter to Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, in 2028
Space ExplorationMarch 31, 2026
Can NASA launch a nuclear mission to Mars by 2028?
The U.S. space agency’s Skyfall project calls for sending robotic helicopters to Mars on a nuclear-powered spacecraft before the end of Donald Trump’s presidency
Space ExplorationMarch 18, 2026
Modern rocketry turns 100—and NASA says the best is yet to come
A century after Robert Goddard’s first-ever launch of a liquid-fueled rocket, two NASA experts weigh in on what his legacy still holds for spaceflight’s future
Nuclear energyMarch 17, 2026
The Pentagon is looking to nuclear waste for power
A Rhode Island start-up is working to recycle spent nuclear fuel into long-lasting power systems for the military
Nuclear energyMarch 4, 2026
A Bill Gates–backed nuclear power plant just got cleared to start building
TerraPower, a start-up founded by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates, is set to build a new kind of nuclear power plant in Wyoming