This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what's going on in the world of technology. We wanted our last print edition of 2026 to include a slate of stories that check in on impossible ideas. Because it’s fun to dream about living on other planets or uploading our brains.
But also because scientists and engineers who won’t give up on daring endeavors remind us what technology is supposed to do: make life better, safer, healthier, even more joyful. That’s the ambition behind the stories in our new Impossible issue. We explore bold attempts to make synthetic blood, build cities on the moon, and attain cognitive immortality.
We investigate AI’s ability to say no, a bionic eye that can restore sight, and high hopes for blended meat. Plus, we check in on six technologies that have been “coming soon” for years. This issue is for the folks with the audacity to try, and refuse to let anyone—themselves included— tell them no.
We hope you enjoy the ride. Subscribe now to read the full print issue. Large language models are set to go lunar.
A computer capable of running AI software is one of the payloads aboard Astrolab’s FLIP lunar rover, which is slated to head to the moon as early as next month. The mission will test whether LLMs can enable greater autonomy and real-time intelligent decision-making in the extreme lunar environment. But the moon will present formidable challenges, from extreme temperatures to intense cosmic radiation.
Find out how the lunar rover could change the future of space exploration. In Alaska’s Denali National Park, a 2013 lightning fire burned nearly 35,000 acres, stripping away the insulating layer that preserves permafrost. It’s given scientists a rare opportunity to study how fires reshape permafrost and carbon storage over time.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
