The Conversation

Artemis II’s long countdown – a space historian explains why it has taken over 50 years to return to the Moon

Written by Emily A. Margolis, Curator of Contemporary Spaceflight, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution

The Artemis I crew and service modules with the Moon and Earth in the distance on Nov. 28, 2022.NASA

While I was leading a tour of the National Air and Space Museum in January 2026, a visitor posed this insightful question: “Why has it taken so long to return to the Moon?”

After all, NASA had the know-how and technology to send humans...

How sea mines threaten global trade, and how navies detect them

Written by John Femiani, Associate Professor of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Miami University

Iranian forces have used small speedboats to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz.Tasnim News Agency, CC BY

U.S. intelligence officials have assessed that Iranian forces have deployed a small number of mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical choke point for global shipping, according to reports. The move gives the Iranians a means, along with...

Decades of hostility between Iran and the US were preceded by a little-remembered century-long friendship

Written by Daniel Thomas Potts, Professor of Ancient Near Eastern Archaeology and History, New York University

The ouster of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh marked a turning point in U.S.-Iran relations.AP Photo

The British- and American-backed plot to overthrow Iran’s prime minister in 1953 laid the groundwork for the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and decades of hostility with the U.S. that have now culminated in a war launched on Iran by the U.S. and...

NASA wants to build a base on the Moon by the 2030s – how and why it plans to build up to a long-term lunar presence

Written by Michelle L.D. Hanlon, Professor of Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi

NASA's Space Launch System rocket that will take an astronaut crew around the Moon rolls out to the launchpad. Joel Kowsky/NASA via Getty Images

The next U.S. trip to the Moon isn’t about planting a flag. It’s about learning how to live and work there.

NASA has just reset its Artemis program, marking a clear strategic shift: Space...

Basic income’s appeal today is similar to its roots in 18th-century England – it’s a way to compensate people for a common good taken for private gain

Written by Will Glovinsky, Research Assistant Professor of Humanities, Binghamton University, State University of New York

The first basic income proposals were a reaction to the seizure of common fields by English landlords.George Stubbs/The Yorck Project, CC BY

A story has been going around about artificial intelligence for the past decade: At some point, AI advances, robots and self-driving cars will throw countless people out of work.

The rich folks who control AI...

Are multiverses real? An astrophysicist explains why it depends on how you define ‘real’

Written by Zachary Slepian, Associate Professor of Astronomy, University of Florida

Physics has multiple theories and interpretations of the existence of a multiverse.Yana Iskayeva/Moment via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Are multiverses real? If so, what do they look like? How do you get...

Panicking scientists, canceled experiments – federal funding cuts turned my work as a research dean into crisis management

Written by Nara Parameswaran, Senior Associate Dean for Research, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State University

Cuts to federally funded research slow the progress of scientific innovations and new treatments.Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Fielding frantic faculty emails and panicked texts was not how I had hoped my 2025 would begin. Little did I imagine that my role as a research dean at a medical school would be taken over by...

Sex test used in IOC’s new transgender ban more likely to exclude from Olympics intersex women who were assigned female at birth

Written by Ari Berkowitz, Presidential Professor and Graduate Liaison for biology programs; Director, Cellular & Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma

Sex testing in elite sports has had a long, inconsistent history.anton5146/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The International Olympic Committee announced a new policy on March 26, 2026, for women’s competitions: Every athlete must be tested for a gene called SRY, usually found on the Y chromosome. Males typically have a Y chromosome and females...

Shiite grief over attacks on Iran’s sacred cities has deep historical roots

Written by Mary Thurlkill, Professor of Religion, University of Mississippi

Several Shiite communities in South Asia recently refrained from celebrating Eid as they mourned the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. From Nigeria to Kashmir – well beyond the Gulf region – the assassination has stirred deep concerns among Shiite Muslims.

Shiite Islam is the official, and majority, religion...

We analyzed Philly street scenes and identified signs of gentrification using machine learning trained on longtime residents’ observations

Written by Maya Mueller, Ph.D. Candidate in Architectural Engineering, Drexel University

Researchers used Google Street View to pull images of gentrifying neighborhoods.@2021 Google Street View, CC BY-NC

What does gentrification in Philadelphia look like?

“High-rise, modern apartment buildings.”

“(A) modern look that’s so out of place with our traditional row homes that have been here for a hundred years.”

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