The PopSci Invention Issue is an annual tradition and is the real core of what the magazine is all about - the amazing new things built and developed, not by giant companies with millions in VC, but by small groups or individuals. We think we've tracked down an amazing selection this year - from a personal electric plane that's super-easy to fly, all the way to a crazy powered skateboard and a fold-flat helmet to wear while riding it.

Elsewhere we look at two major issues which will be a big part of our society in years to come: asteroid mining and whether or not we should upload our brains to the internet and achieve immortality. Both are still some time away - decades maybe even - but they're coming, make no mistake. And who knows, perhaps the first true space travellers won't even take their bodies with them...

And beacause this is PopSci, there's still tonnes to read - we investigate the lifecycle of ideas, we build cheaper robots for everyone, bury our speakers in the garden for more bangin' outdoor tunes, build a solar-powered slip'n'slide and even learn a little about the history of Bluetooth.

The May edition, available now. Get into it.

Oh... and PS if you're wondering about that cover. That's TV's Nick Offerman who has a bit of a reputation for building stuff with his hands - such as a surprisingly beautiful canoe we feature in the mag. 

This cover is actually a recreation of a famous issue from October 1920, which was painted by iconic US artist Norman Rockwell.

Of course because this is Australian Popular Science, we already recreated that cover... for the first instalment of Lab Rats, our back page "column". It was done by artist Jaunay Rothe-Mount. You can check out more of her work here.