Reuters Science News Summary

SpaceX reported a nearly doubled quarterly revenue of $7.8 billion, with narrowed operating losses, driven by strong growth in its Starlink satellite-internet and AI businesses.

Following is a summary of current science news briefs.

SpaceX quarterly revenue surges in debut results but sales per subscriber ​fall

SpaceX said on Tuesday that quarterly revenue nearly doubled and operating losses narrowed ​sharply in its first earnings report since going public, buoyed by ‌strong ​growth in its Starlink satellite-internet and AI businesses. It reported April-June revenue of $7.8 billion, compared with $4.1 billion a year earlier. Operating losses narrowed to $143 million from $970 million as operating income at Starlink swelled 79%.

Mountain flower from China joins the world's carnivorous plant club

For most ‌insects, a flowering alpine plant might seem an unlikely predator. But researchers have discovered that a delicate wildflower that grows in rocky mountain crevices in southwestern China lures prey onto sticky hairs, digests their bodies and absorbs the nutrients left behind. It is the first confirmed carnivorous plant in its botanical grouping. Its scientific name is Saxifraga candelabrum, and it is a member of a ‌diverse botanical order — a taxonomic category — called Saxifragales that spans more than 2,000 species.

Piece of SpaceX rocket will crash into the moon Wednesday

A SpaceX rocket piece floating in ‌space since last year is on track to smash into the moon at high speed early Wednesday morning. The school-bus-size object is the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that had launched a lunar lander from Firefly Aerospace toward the moon in January 2025.

Webb telescope finds signs of ancient disaster for Neptune's moons

New observations of some of Neptune's moons and rings are providing evidence of a catastrophe that occurred billions of years ago ⁠around the ​solar system's outermost planet in which a Pluto-sized ⁠interloper caused a celestial demolition derby. Researchers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to examine the composition of three of Neptune's small inner moons — Proteus, Larissa and Galatea — and its inner dusty rings, and detected clay minerals that ⁠one might expect to find deep inside certain worlds in the outer reaches of the solar system. These magnesium-rich minerals are known to exist on the dwarf planet Ceres, which orbits in the ​main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, and in some meteorites.

SpaceX's satellite ambitions squeeze out rivals reliant on its rockets

SpaceX is increasingly reserving space on its rockets ⁠to launch its own Starlink satellites, crowding out rival space companies that have long depended on Elon Musk's company to get their payloads into orbit. Starlink's share of SpaceX missions has grown year after year, rising from 54% of the Falcon ⁠9 ​rocket's manifest in 2020 to about 79% so far in 2026, according to a Reuters analysis of launch data compiled by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.

Options market braces for $225 billion swing in SpaceX's value as earnings loom

Traders in the options market are braced for a swing of roughly $225 billion in the value of SpaceX shares following its first-ever earnings report on ⁠Tuesday, underscoring market anxiety over how the financials will look for Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company. Options are pricing a roughly 15% move in SpaceX shares in either direction, ⁠but with a bearish tilt, according to data from ⁠options analytics service ORATS.

Bezos Earth Fund, Re:wild launch $200 million drive to save species from extinction

The Bezos Earth Fund, established by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Re:wild, co-founded by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, on Tuesday pledged an initial $200 million to support the recovery of critically endangered species. ‌The Phoenix Species Project aims ‌to help preserve 100 species across 30 countries through long-term funding and locally led conservation ​efforts involving Indigenous Peoples, local communities, scientists and governments.