Artemis II Records, Neanderthal Not-Hybrids, And Introducing “Moon Joy” | Break It Down

Artemis II Records, Neanderthal Not-Hybrids, And Introducing “Moon Joy” | Break It Down

From IFLScience - Break It Down by iflsciencebreakitdown

May 1, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 84

About this episode

This episode covers Artemis II's mission, Neanderthal research, and various intriguing scientific topics.

This month, on Break It Down: Artemis II heads to the Moon and back, taking astronauts farther from Earth than any human before, some seriously impressive muon research wins the Breakthrough Prize, and a skull thought to belong to a human-neanderthal hybrid turns out to be something else. Intrigued? There's so much more… Bruce the kea is the undisputed jousting champion despite missing half a beak. Fancy imaging software allows all the nerves in the clitoris to be mapped for the first time. Prepare to fall in love with the Pablo gorilla group in David Attenborough’s latest documentary. Is it possible to learn to roll your Rs if it doesn’t come naturally? We go behind the scenes of Project Hail Mary to meet Rocky the Eridian and those who made him come alive. Plus, everything you can find in this month’s issue of CURIOUS, including whether other animals can have pets. So, sit back, relax, and let’s Break It Down… VIDEO EMBED Also available on all your favorite podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean, Amazon Music, and more. Links: Everything Artemis II Mapping the nerves in the clitoris Human hybrid skull Bruce the kea Muon experiment Moving the experiment A Gorilla Story…

Topics covered

  • Artemis II
  • Neanderthal research
  • Muon research
  • Clitoris mapping
  • Animal behavior
  • Documentary insights
  • Language learning

Keywords

  • Artemis II
  • Neanderthal
  • Muon research
  • clitoris mapping
  • Bruce the kea
  • David Attenborough
  • Project Hail Mary
  • animal behavior
  • language learning

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CURIOUS, Project Hail Mary

Products: fancy imaging software

Places: Moon

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