Why the Next Lunar Astronauts May Have to Worry About Electric Shocks
Imagine you’re an astronaut, gazing out over the Moon’s icy gray surface. You’re on a field assignment, checking some instruments, and as you trudge toward a lunar dust detector, you notice how twinkly the stars seem, and you just can’t believe you’re on the MOON, and you’re doing SCIENCE and— ZAP! A spark flashes on…
2019: The Year in Babies
It’s been a long year, we’re going to have some silly fun, dammit. While the io9 staff was discussing all the media we consumed in 2019, we realized there was an interesting recurring theme: babies! While Baby Yoda stole most of the headlines (and our hearts) near the end of the year, there were a…
Meet the Scientists Trying to Save Indonesia’s Critically Endangered Orangutans
If you were asked to list the skillset needed to work in orangutan conservation, you might not think to jot down accomplished marksman. But that’s high on the list of job requirements for a unique band of conservationists working in the forests of Borneo. “If you’re trying to tranquilize an animal that is some 30…
