Various: Both NPR and the Christian Science Monitor report on today’s launch of Phoenix, a Mars probe that will look for evidence of cliamte change and organic compounds at the Martian polar caps. It will be the first soft landing on Mars by NASA in more than 30 years. All being well, the probe will arrive at Mars in May next year.
The finding that the Saturnian moon may host layers of icy slush instead of a global ocean could change how planetary scientists think about other icy moons as well.
Modeling the shapes of tree branches, neurons, and blood vessels is a thorny problem, but researchers have just discovered that much of the math has already been done.
January 29, 2026 12:52 PM
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