October 17, 2026 — Episode 55 of lava fountaining in the mist at Kīlauea summit - USGS (.gov)

After nearly two months since episode 54 of lava fountaining (Aug. 25, 2026), episode 55 of Kīlauea summit lava fountaining began at 3:19 a.m. HST on October 17, 2026. This is the 55th lava fountaining episode in the Kīlauea summit caldera eruption in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park that began on December 23, 2024. It occurs following weeks of intermittent spatter, low-dome fountains, and lava flows from the eruptive vent complex. USGS photo by K. Mulliken. Episode 55 of lava fountaining in Halemaʻumaʻu began at the summit of Kīlauea began at 3:19 a.m. HST on October 17, 2026.

Regular lava fountains at Hawaii's iconic site have happened just three times since 1823 On April 23, 2026, Kilauea began its 45th lava fountain episode since the current eruption began in December 2024. By September 2026, the volcano had spewed 54 lava fountains, some hundreds of meters high.

Picture of China's space station rice experiment. Photo: China Central TelevisionChina's space station has welcomed a new "autumn harvest," with astronauts collecting, sowing and storing a new batch of rice experiment samples last week, marking further progress in research on rice cultivation in space, CCTV News reported on Sunday. The research project, which focuses on the molecular mechanisms regulating multigenerational genetic stability and environmental adaptability of rice in space, is progressing smoothly, according to the media report. The latest experiment is expected to grow two generations of rice in orbit for the first time, helping researchers understand the mechanisms through which prolonged exposure to microgravity affects the genetic stability of rice. In addition to the rice experiment, the astronauts conducted touch-interaction tests with Xiaohang, their robotic companion aboard the space station. The tests collected data on the robot's movements in response to  different types of physical contact, providing data to improve its motion planning for future operations in orbit.

AcknowledgementsWe thank Julia Nelson, Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory, South Dakota for the help with 16S sequencing, and Metabolon, Inc. for the untargeted metabolomics. Metagenome data analysis for this project was performed using the OU Supercomputing Center for Education & Research (OSCER) at the University of Oklahoma (OU). We thank Suryang Kwak and Joohee Choi for their help in providing further details on their dataset:54. FundingThis project has received funding from the United States National Institutes of Health (contract no: G- 202306-70697), Walter R. Sitlington Endowment (grant no: 5- 153200), European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant no. 866028) and from the UK Medical Research Council (project no. MC_UU_00025/11).

Bodine Bezemer1, Gijs J. Overheul1, Milou Stevens1, Cornelia G. Spruijt2, Michiel Vermeulen2,3, Pascal Miesen1 & … Ronald P. van Rij We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply.