This week in science

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and more: Understand the world in 11 images

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter reached new heights on Mars as the ISS saw a successful experiment and new crew members the week of April 22–28.

Here are the week’s biggest science stories, told in 11 astounding images.

11. Cute but deadly

Nunes et al. PLOS ONE (2021)
April 28

Researchers identified a new species of highly poisonous Brachycephalus ephippium, or pumpkin toadlet, in Brazil. Members of the Brachycephalus species can be hard to identify, due to the slight differences between them.

Nunes et al. PLOS ONE (2021)

10. Aiming for the stars

HI-SEAS
April 28

Scientists from HI-SEAS presented research on Hawaii’s lava tube at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2021. At the HI-SEAS research station, astronauts in training explore lava tubes in spacesuits to prepare for missions on Mars and the Moon.

HI-SEAS

9. Supermoon sighting

Australian Antarctic Program
April 27

The first of two supermoons in 2021 was captured on camera by expeditioner Tiarnan Colgan from the Davis research station in Antarctica.

Australian Antarctic Program

8. Crocs’ distant relatives

M. Ellison/©AMNH
April 27

A study by American Museum of Natural History scientists found that horned crocodiles are closely related to modern crocodiles. The finding suggests modern crocodiles can trace their lineage to Africa.

M. Ellison/©AMNH

7. Space station salad

NASA
April 27

ISS astronauts harvested vegetables from two crop-growing experiments, which included the longest leafy greens ever grown on the station.

NASA

6. Deep-sea diversity

UoC / Hartmut Arndt
April 27

A study by University of Cologne researchers revealed that deep-sea habitats contain an incredible diversity of animal life specific to each region. Scientists previously assumed the deep-sea basins had little diversity.

UoC / Hartmut Arndt

5. Home of the hadrosaurs

Masato Hattori
April 27

Remains belonging to a new species of duck-billed dinosaur were discovered in Japan’s southern islands. The discovery suggests that hadrosaurs originated in Asia.

Masato Hattori
April 25

A new augmented reality heads-up display using LiDAR (light detection and ranging) could one day be used to highlight road hazards for drivers. The U.K. researchers who designed it are working on a version to test on the road.

Jana Skirnewskaja

3. Falcon 9 from above

Thomas Pesquet
April 25

Astronaut Thomas Pesquet captured the second stage of a Falcon 9 rocket on camera from aboard a Crew Dragon. The second stage had just detached after bringing the Crew Dragon to orbit.

Thomas Pesquet

2. Antarctic earthquake sensor

Michael Kendall/ University of Oxford
April 23

Researchers shared methods for using fiber optic cables to detect earthquakes under Antarctic ice at the Seismological Society of America meeting. Their findings could help future climate change research.

Michael Kendall/ University of Oxford

1. In-flight photos

NASA/JPL-Caltech
April 22

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter captured a color image from the air during its second flight on Mars.

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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