44 Year Old Surfer Catches 78-foot Wave, Sets Record

Discovery News - He didn't want to get out of bed that November day in Portugal, let alone surf, Garrett McNamara told the Associated Press. The 44-year-old Hawaiian pro surfer had already been hammered by the area's massive waves, and he was hurting.           More

Daredevil to Plunge From Outer Space – The world’s highest freefall finally gets closer to happening

Daredevil adventurer Felix Baumgartner, sponsored by Red Bull, plans to plunge 23 miles from the edge of space back to Earth - Red Bull

THE GIST

• Daredevil adventurer Felix Baumgartner’s plans to plunge 23 miles from the edge of space back to Earth.

• The stunt is sponsored by Red Bull and will require a supersonic spacesuit.

Welcome to the extreme sport of space-diving.

After some minor speed bumps, Daredevil adventurer Felix Baumgartner’s plans to plunge 23 miles from the edge of space back to Earth — a Red Bull-sponsored stunt that would be the world’s highest freefall — is finally coming to fruition, the team announced Monday, Feb. 6.

After successful rounds of vacuum chamber tests in Texas, the team is now moving to Roswell, N.M., for the mission’s final phase of preparations, said Art Thompson, a team technical director who helped develop the B-2 Stealth bomber.

“This test was enormously important for our self-confidence. The success has given us an additional boost to rise to the challenges that still lie ahead,” Baumgartner said.

And while breaking records is important, this is also a stunt with great benefit for science. Team medical director Dr. Jonathan Clark hopes their findings can eventually have an impact on space travel and tourism.             More

The Most Amazing Science and Tech Pictures of the Week

Wingsuit Flyer American Jeb Corliss, wearing a 

wingsuit, jumped out of a helicopter at 6,000 feet and 

glided through the massive Tianmen Cave in Hunan 

Province, China. He landed safely, thanks to a parachute. 

Getty Images

After realizing that the PopSci editors’ chat room is awash in amazing pictures that don’t necessarily see the light of day on our site (due to oldness, redundancy, or a host of other dealbreakers) we thought: why are we keeping these to ourselves? Here are the pictures this week that made us gawk, laugh, and email the .jpg links to our friends, from a perfectly geometrical haircut to a dude gliding through a giant Chinese cave in a wingsuit.

Click here to see this week’s most amazing science and tech images.