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Fewer than 200 Lithops werneri plants remain in the wild in Namibia’s Erongo Mountains. This tiny succulent, which looks like a pebble, got listed as critically endangered in February 2026. Sonja Loots said, "Lithops werneri has always had a naturally restricted range." Many collectors and climate changes caused this sharp fall.
A four-tonne piece of SpaceX rocket debris slammed into the Moon at 8,700 kmph after drifting for over a year. The impact, involving a Falcon 9 stage from January 2025, likely created a large crater. Nasa plans to study the site to see how such objects change the lunar surface.
A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage likely crashed into the moon’s Einstein Crater early Wednesday. The 4-tonne object travelled at 8,690 kph after a January 2025 mission. Julianna Scheiman said, "What has happened is essentially a mixture of solar activity and gravity forces have put it on a path."
The McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica cover 4,800 square kilometers and remain the largest ice-free region on the continent. NASA says the landscape resembles Mars, making it a perfect testing ground for space exploration. Powerful winds keep the area dry, preserving ancient soils that have changed little for millions of years.
Researchers found marine microbial DNA inside a red brine pool hidden beneath Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys. A study in Nature Geoscience said this evidence shows ancient seawater got trapped under glaciers tens of thousands of years ago. The salty water stayed liquid, keeping these tiny organisms alive under the ice.
Scientists discovered a new eyeless cavefish genus inside Bobcat Cave in northern Alabama after 30 years of surveys. Researchers found the fish, named Demogorgonichthys arcanus, hiding in plain sight. It looked just like a known species, so experts missed it for decades. This rare find happened within the Redstone Arsenal grounds.
A viral video posted on July 20 shows a mother dolphin named Fraggle carrying her dead calf near Perth, Australia. Scientists say this behaviour suggests animals experience grief. "It's absolutely clear that this is a mother grieving for her child," said neuroscientist Lori Marino, noting the pod stayed close by.
Skywatchers will see a total solar eclipse and the Perseid meteor shower on Wednesday, August 12. The Moon will block the Sun during the day, while comet debris will light up the night sky. Since it is a New Moon, the dark skies will help people see many shooting stars.
A discarded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage slammed into the Moon at 8,690 km/h after drifting for over a year. NASA said this is a good opportunity to make planetary exploration and debris monitoring a little smarter. The impact created an 18-metre wide crater but poses no risk to Earth.
Researchers at Madurai Kamaraj University decoded 75,000 genetic markers from ancient Tamil sites like Keeladi and Konthagai. These findings showed clear links between Sangam-era people and modern South Asian populations. Prof G Kumaresan said, "The results have consistently aligned with ancestry patterns in the 1000 Genomes Project," marking a major breakthrough.
A used SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage will crash into the Moon near the Einstein crater on Thursday. Nasa said the event "offers scientists a rare opportunity to observe a human-made object colliding with the lunar surface." Researchers hope the impact data will help improve future space exploration and lunar models.
Indian-origin Nasa astronaut Anil Menon will conduct his first seven-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station on August 6, 2026. Starting at 6:05 pm IST, Menon and Jessica Meir will install hardware to upgrade the station's power system. This mission helps prepare the laboratory for future solar array installations.