NASA’s search for life on Mars: a rocky road for its rovers, a long slog for scientists – and back on Earth, a battle of the budget

By Amy J. Williams, Assistant Professor of Geology, University of Florida

Is or was there life on Mars? That profound question is so complex that it will not be fully answered by the two NASA rovers now exploring it.

But because of the literal groundwork the rovers are performing, scientists are finally investigating, in-depth and in unprecedented detail, the planet’s evidence for life, known as its “biosignatures.” This search is remarkably complicated, and in the case of Mars, it is spanning decades.

Read complete article

~	Lebanon: Ministerial Decision Advances Justice

~	A new dash for copper is underway – how will it play out? Expert Q&A

~	Global: UN Special Rapporteur is right to raise human rights concerns about carbon markets

~	On X, Elon Musk pushes a campaign against a Brazilian Supreme Court Justice

~	US Universities Should Respect Right to Protest

~	Burkina Faso: UN rights office deeply alarmed at reported killing of 220 villagers

~	A new dash for copper is underway - how will it play out? Expert Q&A

~	Why does it feel so cold in the UK right now – and when will it warm up?

~	Artificial sweetener could harm your gut and the microbes that live there – new study

~	Gaza war: ‘no evidence’ of Hamas infiltration of UN aid agency, says report – but US and UK dither on funding while famine takes hold