Technology

Russian experts monitoring their moon-bound unmanned spacecraft Luna-25 have switched on its scientific equipment and started processing the first data. Russia is aiming to become the first country to carry out a soft landing on the lunar south pole – a region thought to hold pockets of water ice. Space agency Roscosmos said in a

“I am here to kill the Queen,” a man wearing a handmade metal mask and holding a loaded crossbow tells an armed police officer as he is confronted near her private residence within the grounds of Windsor Castle. Weeks earlier, Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, had joined the Replika online app – creating an artificial intelligence

The annual summer Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight, offering the best chance to see one of the night sky’s most spectacular light shows. It’s been active since last month and runs to 24 August, but goes into overdrive from Saturday night into Sunday morning with up to 100 shooting stars per hour. From super bright

Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried has had his $250m (£197m) bail revoked and has been sent to jail after alleged witness tampering. US District Judge Lewis Kaplan made the decision after prosecutors said Bankman-Fried had tried to harass a key witness in his fraud case last month. The 31-year-old was charged with defrauding investors in

Russia has launched its first moon mission in almost 50 years. A rocket carrying a lunar landing craft blasted off from the Vostochny spaceport in the far eastern Amur region. Russia launches lunar spacecraft – war latest It’s expected to reach its destination on 23 August, the same day as an Indian vessel that launched

The long wait for the next Grand Theft Auto game could be brought to an end next year, its publisher has teased. Take-Two has not released a new instalment in the acclaimed crime series since 2013, with Grand Theft Auto V on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Numerous re-releases for subsequent consoles have helped it

Virgin Galactic has taken its first tourists to the edge of space. The company, founded by Sir Richard Branson, took a former Olympian and mother-daughter pair about 55 miles (88km) above Earth during the flight which lasted just more than an hour. See live updates on space launch Pilots CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer, alongside

Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism flight launches today, blasting a former Olympian and mother-daughter duo above the Earth. It follows the company’s inaugural commercial trip earlier this summer, when three Italian citizens were taken into low orbit for scientific research experiments. Thursday’s take-off is billed as a recreational endeavour, with some crewmates winning their seats

Forget what the sleek ships of Star Trek would have you believe, it turns out humanity’s most famous spacecraft is even dustier than the average home. The International Space Station (ISS) may not be a hunk of junk, but – 25 years after its initial launch – it’s become chock-full of potentially harmful chemicals. In

A new scientific study is challenging the narrative around using social media, after finding it may benefit mental health. Researchers from the University of Oxford have found there is no evidence to suggest using Facebook is detrimental to wellbeing. It follows analysis of data from nearly a million people across 72 countries over 12 years,

Mars is spinning faster and it’s gradually cutting short the length of each Martian day, scientists have found. The red planet is accelerating at about four milliarcseconds per year, bringing the days to a close a fraction of a millisecond earlier. As those measurements would suggest, the changes are subtle – but the scientists who

Foxes that live in London and other urban areas are generally bolder than foxes living in rural areas, new research has found. However, city life has not made urban foxes any cleverer than those in the countryside, according to the study. A team from the University of Hull spent two years studying wild foxes in

An extraordinary claim by scientists in South Korea has sparked wild hopes of a utopian future where no health condition goes undiagnosed, trains float above their tracks, and – most importantly – your phone’s battery life is incredible. LK-99 may sound like little more than a Star Wars extra, but has been tipped as a

Mark Zuckerberg says he is “not holding his breath” over the proposed bout between himself and Elon Musk taking place. The Facebook founder says he suggested the date of 26 August to his fellow tech entrepreneur, but Musk has not responded. Posting on his new platform Threads, Zuckerberg also claimed he was “ready today” to

UK scientists have begun developing vaccines as an insurance against a new pandemic caused by an unknown “Disease X”. The work is being carried out at the government’s high-security Porton Down laboratory complex in Wiltshire by a team of more than 200 scientists. They’ve drawn up a threat list of animal viruses that are capable

Elon Musk has said his social media platform will live stream his fight with rival Mark Zuckerberg. The 52-year-old, who owns X (formerly known as Twitter), revealed earlier in the year that he and Zuckerberg, 39, who runs the Meta group of platforms including Facebook, will take part in a cage match for charity. Posting