Science news today spans both ambition and vulnerability. China underscored its accelerating space programme by launching Shenzhou 23 to the Tiangong station, sending three astronauts into orbit and assigning one to a year-long stay designed to deepen research into long-duration human spaceflight as Beijing keeps its 2030 Moon ambitions in view. On Earth, innovation was on display in China as well, where AutoFlight said a three-aircraft formation flight featuring its V5000 Matrix and two eVTOL craft marked a milestone toward airworthiness certification. But the day’s science coverage was also shaped by stark reminders of environmental risk: in India, a brutal heatwave pushing temperatures beyond 45 degrees Celsius has killed at least 16 people in Telangana, renewing concern over intensifying extreme heat, while off Far North Queensland, authorities are investigating a fatal apparent shark attack that claimed the life of a 39-year-old man.