Amazing discoveries and experiences await you in every issue of National Geographic magazine. The latest news in science, exploration, and culture will open your eyes to the world’s many wonders.
The Costs of Wrongful Convictions
UKRAINE’S ‘TRAIN LADIES’ • Along the country’s railroad system, tiny houses shelter signal attendants who help keep travel safe.
THE BACKSTORY • FROM TINY TRACKSIDE HOUSES, UKRAINIAN SIGNAL OFFICERS KEEP TRAINS RUNNING SMOOTHLY AND MOTORISTS SAFE.
When ‘Natural’ Disasters Aren’t • PERHAPS FIRES, STORMS, AND VIRUSES FED BY CLIMATE CHANGE SHOULD BE CALLED WHAT THEY ARE: MAN-MADE NATURAL DISASTERS.
ANCIENT BUG ZAPPER • ANALYS IS REVEALS FOSSIL IS THE OLDEST KNOWN EXAMPLE OF A SLINGSHOT-TONGUED AMPHIBIAN.
Evolving to Evade Harvest
LIFE AFTER FIRE • Black-backed woodpeckers are known as ecosystem engineers—and they prefer their forests burned. Each year these birds drill nesting cavities in fire-damaged forests, where they blend in well. They also dine on wood-boring beetles that thrive amid the ashes. Marvels of anatomy, they can peck into some of the hardest trees thousands of times a day without sustaining concussions or other physical harm.
ROCK STEADY • Moab, Utah, draws ‘moon walkers,’ stargazers, and adventurers.
FROM LETHAL TRAP TO ARTFUL TREASURE
SETTING RIVERS FREE
Hidden Narratives • AT LIVING HISTORY SITES, PEOPLE OF COLOR PORTRAY FIGURES FROM THE PAST, REVISITING PAINFUL ISSUES AND SHARING THEIR SIDES OF THE AMERICAN STORY.
Our Obsession With MARS • THE DUSTY RED PLANET HAS FASCINATED US FOR CENTURIES. EVEN AS WE LEARN MORE, ITS MYSTERIES KEEP US IN SUSPENSE.
SCIENCE PERSEVERES • The COVID-19 pandemic hit as NASA scientists and engineers were readying their newest Mars rover for liftoff. The aptly named Perseverance conquered its first challenge by launching last July, on target for landing in February 2021. The rover’s mission was planned for at least one Martian year—or 687 days, as humans calculate time on Earth.
SIGNATURE OF FLOW • Ancient river deltas on Mars formed much as they do on Earth. Fast-flowing water meets standing water, depositing bits of sand, minerals, and silt eroded from the surrounding valley. Scientists hope sediments collected from Jezero crater might hold traces of life that washed into the basin.
IMPRINTS OF A WATERY PAST • Early visions of alien-made canals turned out to be fantasy, but Mars does boast geologic features such as river channels and deltas that hint at a wet history. Now, after more than 40 years of exploration, scientists have a deeper understanding of the planet’s surface—and how parts of the landscape were transformed by flowing water some three and a half billion years ago.
COSMIC BUDGETING • People are fascinated by two big questions about Mars: Did life ever exist on the red planet, and could humans survive there now? Satisfying our curiosity takes time and resources. But mission by mission, with ever larger investments of capital, NASA and its partners are using past successes and failures as scaffolding for the next big leaps.
WE JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF MARS
182 of those sent to death row actually were INNOCENT • Since 1973, more than 8,700 people in the U.S. have been sentenced to death. More than 1,500 have been executed.
2,133 YEARS LOST FOR THE WRONGLY CONVICTED
2,555 PEOPLE ARE ON DEATH ROW IN THE UNITED STATES
A LINE IN THE MOUNTAINS • A U.S. AGENCY’S TINY CHANGE TO A MAP PUSHED INDIA AND PAKISTAN TO FIGHT ON THE WORLD’S HIGHEST BATTLEFIELD. WHO MADE THE CHANGE HAS REMAINED A MYSTERY—UNTIL NOW.
THEY’RE OFF AND GONE • Greyhound racing in the U.S. is on its last leg after Florida ended betting at dog tracks amid concerns about how the animals are...