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A picture of the ITER tokamak pit has made the cover of the November issue of National Geographic. Inside the 30-page feature story titled "Inside the long-shot megaproject that aims to solve our energy worries forever," author Michael Finkel explains how ITER will attempt to tame "a soupy jumble of atomic parts known as plasma" and create a "mechanical star" on Earth.

He vividly describes the challenges of mastering fusion energy, relates something of ITER's bumpy road to existence, and—dressed in a white lab coat, a hairnet, a hard hat, protective eyewear, and white gloves—marvels at the attempt to build a machine that he describes as almost absurdly difficult. He also lifts the veil on what it's like to be at the head of such a complex endeavour by trailing ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi, including during a 6:00 a.m. meeting that is at the start of every workday.

You can access an online version of the article on the National Geographic website. (Photography by Paolo Verzone.) A German version is available here.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) publishes the annual World Fusion Outlook as a reference for authoritative information and updates on fusion energy research. The 2025 edition presents a selection of recent achievements in fusion energy, outlines some of the dozens of fusion plant concepts currently at various stages of development worldwide, highlights global efforts in fusion energy development and discusses for the first time the global outlook for fusion energy deployment. As a special focus topic, this edition of the publication explores high-temperature superconductors and their potential role in the commercialization of fusion energy.

Read or download the full report at this address.

The publication is also available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish.