Today in Science: Artemis II crew "safe" and "secure" in Earth's orbit

Your day one of NASA's mission to the moon ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏  ͏ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ ­

April 2, 2026—NASA's Artemis II mission launched successfully last night, and now the crew is perfecting some maneuvers in orbit to help them get to the moon. Plus, tips for building self-control, and new explanations for why black women have worse IVF outcomes. —Andrea Gawrylewski Chief Newsletter Editor MOON MISSION NASA NASA's Artemis II mission is officially underway. The launch occurred at 6:35 P.M. EDT last night. | 2 min read  The astronauts were "safe" and "secure" following the launch as their spacecraft Orion entered an orbit around Earth, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said in a press conference. | 2 min read So far on day one of the 10-day mission, the crew has had to troubleshoot an error light on the toilet and other software blips. They are also rehearsing some important maneuvers to help get them to the moon. | 2 min read TODAY'S NEWS doble.d/Getty Images Self-control is not all about willpower. It's more like a muscle you can build, and here's how, according to psychologists. | 5 min read  A new archeological finding shows that Native Americans were gambling far earlier than their Old World counterparts. | 4 min read Black women have worse IVF outcomes. New science helps explain why. | 4 min read Anthropic accidentally leaked code from Claude showing that the chatbot tracks its users' use of swear words for signs of frustration. WTF? | 2 min read The FDA approved a second weight-loss drug in pill form, called  Foundayo. | 4 min read The human eye only focuses on one wavelength of color at a time. | 3 min read More News Explore the universe with a subscription to Scientific American. Today in Science readers get special discounts. TOP STORIES Rhesus macaque monkey. filipe_lopes/Getty Images

Monkey Faces As anyone who's been scolded to "fix your face" knows, facial expressions are voluntary in most humans. But the running assumption for other expressive primates, like monkeys, was that their facial expressions aren't so—until now. In a recent study, scientists recorded neural activity as rhesus macaque monkeys interacted with one another in a lab. They found that both the medial cortex, which controls spontaneous emotional expressions, and the lateral cortex, which controls voluntary actions, were active as the monkeys made faces at each other.     Why this is interesting: These two parts of the brain's frontal lobe were long thought to operate independently. But the study showed that they can work together, further entangling brain regions' function in the production of facial expressions. This was true for both friendly facial expressions and threatening faces in the primates. The regions, however, did run at different speeds—activity in the lateral cortex changed quickly and the medial cortex was at a more leisurely pace—perhaps responding to slower-moving social cues.     What the experts say: While lab-based experiments don't capture the full experience of emoting in the wild, the exploration of this question "tells us in infinitely more detail how we can investigate the neurology of facial displays," says Alan Fridlund, a social and evolutionary psychologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who was not involved in this study. —Emma Gometz, newsletter editor  WEIRD METHODS: FART UNDERWEAR Scientists use creative—and sometimes downright bizarre—tactics to conduct their research. We highlight some here.   How many times a day should a healthy person fart? To answer this question using quantitative data, scientists invented a device that could be snapped onto underwear to count every toot. The device uses chemical sensors that are sensitive to hydrogen gas, one of the two most abundant chemicals contained in farts. (The other is carbon dioxide.) It noted rapid changes in hydrogen gas concentrations, labeling each one as a discrete fart.  When the team tested the machine on 19 healthy adults, they found they farted about 32 times a day, although the range was very wide—between 4 and 59. The device's count was way higher than what people have self-reported in previous studies, which was about 10-20 farts per day. Maybe the "smart underwear," as it was dubbed, can help us be a little more honest about how often we need to let one rip. —EG SCIENTISTS AT WORK Diego Mejias In Guanacaste, Costa Rica, hundreds of golden-mantled howler monkeys (Alouatta palliata palliata) die each year after being electrocuted by power lines. "In this image, I'm teaching my colleague how best to install a camera trap to monitor howler monkeys," says primate researcher Inés Azofeifa Roja. "We can then determine where to add a canopy bridge." The rope bridges seem to be working, says Roja. "Over the past three years, our measurements have shown that monkey electrocutions have decreased by 30 percent." Nature ​| 3 min read Content Courtesy of Nature Briefing​. ​ The Artemis II mission is well under way and Scientific American will be bringing you vital updates and insights every step of the 10-day voyage. You can follow along with our coverage here. Did you watch the launch last night? I'd love to hear your reactions, thoughts, and questions about NASA's mission around the moon. Send them to newsletters@sciam.com. Thanks for reading.  —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor

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