Mars once had an atmosphere that was thicker than Earth's today
While Mars today only has a wispy remnant of an atmosphere, it may once have had one hundreds of times thicker with a pressure three times that on Earth
Author
Alex Wilkins
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What to read this week: Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean by Dagomar Degroot
From ice ages to asteroid strikes, an epic book shows how important it has been for humans to look outwards. Alex Wilkins surveys a climate historian's cosmic sweep
Signs of alien life on exoplanet K2-18b may just be statistical noise
Last week astronomers reported hints of biological activity on a distant planet, but a re-analysis of their data suggests the claimed molecules may not be there at all
Mathematicians have worked out the optimal strategy for Guess Who?
The quickest way to win the board game Guess Who? involves asking sneaky questions that involve a logical fallacy, according to mathematicians
Controversial satellites launching in 2026 will reflect light to Earth
Reflect Orbital plans to launch thousands of reflective mirrors to produce "sunlight on demand", but researchers are sceptical about whether the reflected light will be enough to generate electricity
Japan's Resilience moon lander has crashed into the lunar surface
An attempt to become the third successful private landing on the moon has ended in failure, as ispace's Resilience probe crashed due to a malfunctioning laser sensor
Mathematicians create a tetrahedron that always lands on the same side
With the help of powerful computers, researchers discovered a four-sided shape that naturally rests on one side, and built a real-life version from carbon fibre and tungsten
Ancient computer's gears may not have been able to turn
The 2000-year-old Antikythera mechanism may have been a kind of astronomical calculator, but researchers are unsure whether it would have worked without jamming
Fig trees may benefit climate by turning carbon dioxide into stone
Some carbon dioxide absorbed by fig trees gets turned into calcium carbonate within the wood and the surrounding soil, ensuring that the carbon is kept out of the air for longer
Private ispace Resilience probe will attempt lunar landing this week
If successful, Resilience will be only the third private spacecraft to complete a landing on the moon, and the first operated by a non-US company