National Geographic Magazine - UK September 2025

“OUR FASCINATION and appreciation for the moon are built on wonder,” writes Charles Fishman in this month’s cover story, about the race to return to the moon and what we’ll build when we get there. It’s only natural that the moon is a target of human yearning. After all, it’s the most visible thing out there in the night sky, rising and setting and waxing and waning, provoking that sense of wonder in all of us, often from childhood. Between now and 2030, no fewer than 84 moon missions—prominently including NASA’s Artemis missions—are planned, some by nations and some by private companies. National Geographic is partnering with the agency on Artemis II, which aims to put astronauts into lunar orbit next year before humans finally set foot back on the…

SPORT “During the three days I spent there, she never let go of her SKATEBOARD. Before landing this, she had fallen several times, but she never gave up. It was incredibly INSPIRING to watch her skate.”CHANTAL PINZI, photographer SPECTACLE “It’s known as maut ka kuan, which translates to ‘well of death.’ I had the notion that I can handle fear well, until I watched this UP CLOSE. The amount of risk involved made me shiver.”SAYANDEEP ROY, photographer CELEBRATION “My sister’s nikkah ceremony was my first time seeing an all-hijabi band. LOUD trumpets and drums, a rich Sudanese melody, bright uniforms. I absolutely LOVED it.”MEHAIRA ABDELHAMID, photographer LAND “Bristlecones endure for millennia. I walked the trail and fell into a TRANCE, stupefied by the array of strange-looking trees thriving on dolomite…

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORERS These contributors have received funding from the National Geographic Society, which is committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world. Learn more about the Society’s support of Explorers at natgeo.com/impact. Victor Adewale, p.40 For this issue, the photographer documented the daredevil motorcyclists who convey passengers in his home city of Lagos, Nigeria. An Explorer since 2024, Adewale often trains his camera on those working in the informal economy. This is his first piece for the magazine. Robbie Shone, p.108 An experienced cave photographer, Shone traveled to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula for this month’s feature on Tren Maya, a much debated new rail system that threatens natural subterranean reservoirs. An Explorer since 2018, he lives in Innsbruck, Austria. Hannah Nordhaus, p.14 The Colorado-based writer, an Explorer since 2019,…

IN October 1820, the Nantucket whaling ship Essex laid anchor at a blue-green harbor on the Galápagos island of Floreana, more than 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. The sailors rowed their whaleboats ashore and followed paths trampled by ancient reptiles, through broken basalt and tangled thickets of saltbush and cactus—“keeping a sharp look out,” wrote cabin boy Thomas Nickerson, “for the object of their search.” They were hunting for Galápagos giant tortoises. The animals varied from island to island—some had round, domed carapaces while others had shells that curved up at the front like Spanish riding saddles—but all could provide food for multiple sailors. When the whalers found a small “turpin,” they’d flip it over, tie canvas straps to each of the creature’s legs, then hoist the tortoise onto…

Period of exploitation (1800-1950) Whaling Mariners fed on tortoises and took them as ship provisions. Colonization Overconsumption and introduction of dogs and rats shrank populations. Period of conservation (after 1970) Tortoise species with saddleback shells occupy islands more accessible to sailors and were easily captured. Their numbers haven’t bounced back as much as populations of dome-shelled tortoises. Tortoises and whalers In the 18th and 19th centuries, when whaleships visited the Galápagos, crews captured the enormous animals, which they used aboard their vessels for oil and for food. The common practice led to the extinction of the Floreana species in the 1850s.…

Natural selection Saddlebacks’ shells curve upward to allow tortoises to reach higher plants in arid habitats, while dome-shelled species graze on ground vegetation in humid environments. Scientists refer to varieties with a combination of those physical traits as intermediates. Ecosystem engineers The reintroduction of captive-bred tortoises to Española Island has helped the recovery of native cacti, grasses, birds, and reptiles. Floreana hybrids Floreana Island’s native species went extinct around 1850. Decades of conservation work will culminate when hatchlings produced by Floreana descendants are released during the upcoming rainy season.…