Saturday, July 25, 2026

SpaceX successfully launched Starship Flight 13 on July 24, completing a test flight that concluded with a controlled splashdown of the upper spacecraft in the Indian Ocean and the Super Heavy booster in the Gulf of Mexico. This was the second test of the V3 configuration and the first mission to deploy Starlink V3 satellites.^[1]

Four mathematicians were awarded the 2026 Fields Medal at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Philadelphia: Yu Deng (University of Chicago), John Pardon (Stony Brook University), Jacob Tsimerman (University of Toronto), and Hong Wang (NYU/IHES). Hong Wang became only the third woman in the prize's 90-year history to win the award.^[2]

ESA's Plato exoplanet-hunting spacecraft completed critical electromagnetic compatibility testing at the Maxwell Test Chamber in the Netherlands, demonstrating that all 26 cameras and electronic systems can operate simultaneously without interference. The mission is now on schedule for a March 2027 launch.^[3]

Researchers at the University of Kentucky discovered that temporarily removing overactive microglia—the brain's immune cells—restored more than two hours of daily sleep in mice with Alzheimer's disease, even though amyloid plaques remained unchanged. The finding points to inflammation as a key factor in sleep loss.^[4]

Sodium-ion batteries are entering mass production in 2026, with China's CATL launching products that cost approximately 30% less than lithium iron phosphate batteries and retain 90% capacity at minus 40 degrees Celsius. The first mass-produced sodium-ion passenger vehicle, the Changan Nevo A06, is expected by mid-2026.^[5]

Spain won its second FIFA World Cup title on July 19, defeating Argentina 1-0 in extra time at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Ferran Torres scored the decisive goal in the 106th minute, as goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez set a World Cup final record with 11 saves.^[6]

NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev are returning to Earth on Sunday, July 26, after a 241-day mission aboard the International Space Station. The Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft will land in Kazakhstan, completing over 3,856 orbits and 102 million miles traveled.^[7]

South Korea welcomed 10.7 million international visitors from January through June 2026, a 21.3% increase from the same period last year and 26.9% above prepandemic levels in 2019, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.^[8]

Scientists confirmed that the Rosalind Franklin rover's MOMA instrument can detect subtle molecular differences that could preserve evidence of past life on Mars for billions of years. The research also revealed that organic molecules in the Murchison meteorite were contaminated by fossil fuel pollution during atmospheric entry.^[9]

French President Emmanuel Macron ordered military mobilization as wildfires approached Bordeaux in southwest France, while Spain ordered evacuations for tens of thousands in the Madrid region as major fires threatened suburban areas. Several blazes across Southern Europe have been linked to exceptional summer heat.^[10]