A chimpanzee ‘civil war,’ and NASA plans for nuclear propulsion

This episode of the Science Magazine Podcast explores two groundbreaking developments in science and animal behavior. First, freelance journalist Hannah Richter discusses NASA's ambitious 2028 mission to send a nuclear fission-powered spacecraft to Mars—known as SR-1 Freedom—marking a potential breakthrough after over 60 years without a fission reactor in space. The mission, while a technology demonstration for future deep-space travel, faces immense bureaucratic hurdles despite existing components from other programs. The second segment features anthropologist Aaron Sandell, who details a rare and violent chimpanzee civil war in Uganda’s Ngogo National Park, where a 200-strong chimp community split into two hostile groups after decades of cohesion. What makes this conflict extraordinary is that the warring parties were once close social partners, challenging assumptions that human-like cultural divides drive warfare. Instead, Sandell suggests that interpersonal tensions, shifting hierarchies, and weakened social bonds—rather than ideology or religion—can ignite lethal conflict, offering profound insights into the roots of human violence and the fragility of social cohesion. The episode underscores the power of long-term field research and the unexpected lessons from nature. From the technical challenges of nuclear propulsion to the emotional toll of witnessing primate warfare, the stories reveal how science often unfolds in surprising, human ways. The takeaway is clear: whether in space or in the wild, the most transformative discoveries often come not from grand theories, but from observing how relationships break down—and how they might be rebuilt.