Cosmic ray fluxes open a window to the most energetic processes happening in our galaxy. A careful study of the energy spectra and the relative abundances of the different species forming this radiation may give important hints about the acceleration sites and about the journey cosmic rays made to reach us. The rare cosmic rays components, mostly antimatter, can instead tell us about processes of new Physics happening in our galaxy. I will review the status of the AMS-02 measurements from this perspective, and I will discuss how precise measurements of nuclear physics have the potential to enhance the sensitivity to signatures of new physics in the cosmic rays.