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Despite controversy‚ human remains are on their way to the Moon today‚ after Space burial firm Celestis‚ which promises to launch the remains of loved ones into space‚ purchased space on board private firm Astrobotic's Peregrine lunar lander.The mission has been criticized by the Navajo Nation (amongst others) for ignoring the sacred position the Moon has in many indigenous cultures‚ with the President of the Navajo Nation describing it as a “desecration of this sacred space.”Surprisingly‚ though this is not the first commercial mission to place remains on the lunar surface; there are already human remains "buried" on the Moon. They belong to Eugene Shoemaker‚ whose ashes were launched to his final resting place by Celestis on January 6‚ 1998. Twenty-eight grams (1 ounce) of Shoemaker's ashes were sent on board NASA's Lunar Prospector‚ inside a small vacuum-sealed polycarbonate capsule.Around the capsule was a passage from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet‚ reading:And‚ when he shall die‚Take him and cut him out in little stars‚And he will make the face of heaven so fineThat all the world will be in love with night‚And pay no worship to the garish sun.So why are his remains there? Shoemaker‚ very much resisting nominative determinism‚ was a planetary legendary geologist. His career included selecting and training Apollo astronauts in lunar geology and impact cratering‚ leading NASA's search for water at the lunar poles‚ and co-discovering Comet Shoemaker-Levy‚ the first directly observed object to slam into Jupiter in 1994.              After training Apollo astronauts‚ Shoemaker went on to work on the Voyager mission‚ as well as NASA's Clementine mission to find water on the Moon. He became the first director of the United States Geological Survey's Astrogeology Research Program.As impressive as his contributions to these projects were‚ Shoemaker had always had other ambitions‚ including being an astronaut‚ which he could not pursue due to being diagnosed with Addison's disease."It was legend in the planetary science community that Gene had always wanted to go to the Moon as an Apollo astronaut and study its geology firsthand‚" Carolyn C. Porco‚ a student and colleague of Shoemaker told NASA following his death in a car accident in 1994. Porco decided to ask NASA if her former boss could be sent to the Moon after his cremation‚ after getting the family's approval‚ of course."He said only last year‚ 'Not going to the Moon and banging on it with my own hammer has been the biggest disappointment in life.' I felt that this was Gene's last chance to get to the Moon‚ and that it would be a fitting and beautiful tribute to a man who was a towering figure and a pioneer in the exploration of the Solar System‚" she said.Remarkably‚ and as a testament to NASA's respect for Shoemaker‚ the space agency said yes to the mission‚ crashing his ashes and burying them on the lunar surface."I don't think Gene ever dreamed his ashes would go to the Moon‚" his wife Carolyn told NASA shortly before the launch. "He would be thrilled.""This is so important to us‚" she added. "It brings a little closure‚ in a way‚ to our feelings. We will always know when we look at the Moon‚ that Gene is there."Celestis's second Luna Memorial Flight‚ named Tranquility‚ is currently traveling on the Peregrine mission carrying a capsule with the remains and DNA of 66 mission "participants". It is due to land in the northeastern part of the Moon on February 23 and will remain there permanently. 

While leaving product reviews is a pastime for some‚ one reviewer left a comment on a body lotion product that read more like a public service announcement. A warning to those not keen on spider-kind: the review suggested that the smell of the body lotion was attracting wolf spiders from far and wide. Let's take a closer look.The review‚ posted first on the Sephora website‚ and since deleted and then posted on Reddit‚ claims that the Delícia Drenchâ„¢ Body Butter for Intense Moisture and Skin Barrier Repair by the brand Sol de Janeiro was making the user irresistible to wolf spiders. What a surprising side effect – but does it have a scientific basis?Image credit: Screenshot via RedditWolf spiders belong to the family Lycosidae. They have excellent eyesight and normally live alone‚ where they hunt crickets and other spiders. Some species also go for small reptiles and amphibians. There are over 2‚400 wolf spiders that live all across the world. While they can bite people if threatened‚ they are not venomous and are considered mostly harmless‚ according to LiveScience. But are they attracted to body lotion? The review claimed‚ “When I put it on instantly one will come out. Normally‚ I'll see one every like 3 years‚ used this and it was every day. I stopped using it and haven't seen one since." This led to something of an internet spiral when another Reddit user found a 2009 study that said three chemicals – diisobutyl phthalate‚ farnesyl acetate‚ and hexadecyl acetate – would attract male spiders‚ the latter two in a blend as they are produced as part of a sex pheromone in the females of the Pholcus beijingensis spider species. However‚ none of these chemicals are present in the body butter. Sol de Janeiro denied that the chemicals were in the body butter in an Instagram story‚ according to HuffPost. "All of our products‚ including our Delícia Drench Body Butter and upcoming Cheirosa 59 Perfume Mist are free from farnesyl acetate‚ diisobutyl phthalate‚ and hexadecyl acetate‚" the statement said. "So while they may attract a lot of attention from people‚ they won't from arachnids (even though we love all creatures at Sol de Janeiro)."  IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Floyd W. Shockley‚ who serves as the chair of the Entomology Collections Committee at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History‚ told the New York Times‚ "Wolf spiders prefer to hunt and live outdoors‚ but when it gets cold they come indoors to overwinter‚ thus increasing the likelihood of a spider-human interaction." It's not the body butter drawing spiders indoors; it's the natural change in the season‚ when the product happened to be released.More product reviews have since reported no increase in spider sightings‚ much to one reviewer's disappointment. No spiders after all!Image credit: Screenshot via SephoraSo no worries folks: that particular product is not attracting wolf spiders. You might want to check the ingredients on other lotions before you apply though. And just in case you come across a camel spider running towards you‚ rest assured it’s your shade that they are after‚ not your perfectly moisturized skin.

For the first time‚ NASA is about to publicly unveil the X-59‚ an experimental aircraft that’s designed to pull off a remarkable engineering feat: supersonic flight without a sonic boom. The game-changing plane will be rolling out of its Californian hangar on Friday‚ January 12. NASA is calling this moment a “historic milestone in aviation history” and you’ll be able to watch the whole rollout ceremony from the comfort of your own home via a live stream.Sonic booms – the loud‚ explosive noise caused by the shock wave of an object traveling faster than the speed of sound‚ around 1‚225 kilometers (761 miles) per hour at sea level  – can be a real annoyance for cities‚ causing significant disturbance to humans and even potentially causing minor damage some structures.An artist's impression of the X-59 in flight produced in 2022.Image credit: Lockheed Martin/NASAIn a bid to overcome this problem‚ NASA launched the Quesst Mission‚ a project that sought to master supersonic flight without generating loud sonic booms. Together with Lockheed Martin Skunk Works‚ they developed the X-59‚ which has been designed to relegate the noisy sonic boom to a quieter sonic “thump”.After nearly eight years of work‚ NASA is finally ready to show off X-59 to the public. The “watch party” – which you can view in the video player below – will be broadcast live from 4 pm EST on January 12‚ 2024.“When the X-59 emerges from the paint barn with fresh paint and livery‚ I expect the moment to take my breath away because I’ll see our vision coming to life‚” Cathy Bahm‚ the low boom flight demonstrator project manager‚ said in a statement late last year. “The year ahead will be a big one for the X-59‚ and it will be thrilling for the outside of the aircraft to finally match the spectacular mission ahead‚” added Bahm.            However‚ don’t expect a test flight just yet. The X-59 was initially pitted to take to the skies in 2023‚ but “several technical challenges” have meant the first test flight won’t take place until later this year. Human engineering first broke the sound barrier on October 14‚ 1947 with the Bell X-1 rocket engine-powered aircraft. Supersonic flight later became available to the public in the form of Concorde‚ which first took flight on March 2‚ 1969. However‚ Concorde landed for the last time back in 2003‚ marking an end to supersonic commercial flights.While there are a bunch of reasons that Concorde met its untimely end‚ perhaps the X-59 could be the force needed to make commercial supersonic flights a reality once again. When assembly and testing is completed‚ NASA’s Quesst team will select several communities in the US to fly the X-59 aircraft over. The data collected during these experiments will be handed over to international aviation authorities with the hope of potentially repealing the current ban on supersonic flight over land.“We’ve kind of been stuck with our airliners at about Mach .8 for the past almost 50 years‚ so being able to get there – wherever there is – much faster is still kind of an unfulfilled dream‚” Peter Coen‚ NASA’s mission integration manager for Quesst‚ said in 2022. “With the X-59 flying on the Quesst mission‚ I think we’re ready to break the sound barrier once again.”