theSIGNAL SCIENCE
10 June 2026
"Exploration is not a choice, really; it's an imperative."
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Science

NASA Names Crew for Moon's Next Giant Leap

Four astronauts have been chosen for Artemis III, a daring rehearsal that could put humans back on the Moon by 2028.

Fifty-six years is a long time to wait. The last person to leave footprints on the Moon was Gene Cernan in December 1972, and since then humanity has, rather remarkably, simply not gone back. That drought may finally be ending. On Tuesday, at Houston's Johnson Space Center, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman revealed the four-man crew of Artemis III — the mission designed to clear the path for a crewed lunar landing on Artemis IV in 2028.

Standing at the podium, Isaacman did not reach for cautious language. He called it the birth of "Earth's first Starfleet." The crew is a notably international one. Three Americans — Andre Douglas, Frank Rubio, and Randy Bresnik — will be joined by Luca Parmitano, an Italian astronaut from the European Space Agency.

Parmitano, who has previously logged time aboard the International Space Station, will serve as pilot. The two-week mission is planned for next year and will stay in lower Earth orbit rather than flying to the Moon itself.

Photo: Niketh Vellanki / Unsplash
Astronauts gather at Johnson Space Center as NASA unveils its Artemis III Moon mission crew.
Discuss
  • Why do you think it has taken 56 years for humans to plan a return to the Moon?
  • What are the possible advantages and risks of having international crews on deep-space missions?
  • Should rival nations like the US, Russia, and China cooperate in space exploration, and why?
  • Do you think private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin should play a central role in government space programmes?
  • If you could send one non-astronaut person to the Moon, who would you choose and why?
Science

Once-rare floods are now frighteningly common

In 1900, a catastrophic coastal flood was a once-in-a-century event. Today, thanks to human-driven sea-level rise, that same flood is roughly twelve times more likely to happen — and the numbers only get stranger from there. Researcher Sönke Dangendorf of Tulane University led an international team that examined 130 tide-gauge sites worldwide. …
  • Should every coastal city be legally required to update its flood risk models?
∞
This seems like the very beginning of Earth's first Starfleet to me.
Jared Isaacman, NASA Administrator
Science

Nature's Collapse Could Crash Credit Ratings

Here is a number worth pausing on: US$83 trillion in global assets may be mispriced because financial markets simply ignore what bees, fish, and forests quietly do for economies. A team from the Universities of Sussex, Sheffield, and Heriot-Watt adjusted S&P credit ratings to include biodiversity loss. …
  • Should credit-rating agencies be legally required to factor in biodiversity risk?
WORLD · Science
Scientists found a new Alzheimer’s trigger and a drug that stops it
AMERICAS · Science
Removing ‘invisibility cloaks’ and safely skipping chemo: new weapons in war on cancer shared at US conference
EUROPE · Science
Stonehenge's most mysterious stone traveled 700 kilometers across Britain
GLOBAL · Science
Tiny X-ray telescope could unlock the Moon's hidden chemistry
theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
1VOCABULARY
anomalyvying for
sovereign ratingsmispricedtide-gauge
lunar permanencedrought
2GRAMMAR FOCUS
Relative clauses — defining vs non-defining with commas
A defining relative clause (no commas) identifies which person or thing you mean; a non-defining relative clause (with commas) adds extra information about something already clearly identified. Both use relative pronouns such as who, which, and whose.
who · which · whose · where · that
  1. Gene Cernan, left the last footprints on the Moon in 1972, was part of the Apollo 17 mission.
  2. The tide-gauge sites researchers examined were spread across 130 locations worldwide.
  3. Luca Parmitano, has previously logged time aboard the International Space Station, will serve as pilot.
  4. Wellington is a city a so-called 100-year flood now strikes approximately twice a year.
  5. The New Glenn rocket, explosion occurred on 28 May, was designed to carry Blue Origin's Moon lander.
  6. The financial assets markets have mispriced are estimated to be worth US$83 trillion.
  7. India, debt interest costs could rise by US$49 billion a year, faces severe risks from biodiversity loss.
3COLLOCATIONS
Match the verb on the left with the noun phrase it best collocates with it best collocates with on the right.
  1. rehearse
  2. rattle off
  3. log
  4. foot
  5. clear
  6. swallow
4CRITICAL THINKING
The Artemis programme relies on competing private landers from Blue Origin and SpaceX, while the biodiversity research warns that ignoring hidden risks leads to catastrophic mispricing. Do you think competition between companies is a reliable way to manage missions where failure carries consequences far beyond financial loss — and who should ultimately be held accountable when things go wrong?
5CREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the top story in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
6WRITING
A Blue Origin executive described the launchpad explosion as 'a significant anomaly' rather than an explosion or failure. Write a short paragraph analysing how the language that companies and governments choose when things go wrong can shape public perception — and whether the public deserves more direct communication.
7DEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong using words from the articles or related vocabulary.
  • unusual→→
  • problem→→
  • went up→→
  • possible→→
  • important→→
  • misled→→
  • competing→→
8SPEAKING
  1. What should happen on the Moon once humans actually land there?
  2. How might ordinary citizens feel the economic cost of rising seas?
  3. Which matters more: speed of return to the Moon or safety?
  4. Should nature protection be treated as national financial self-interest?
  5. Would you personally want to live near a coast in 2050?