Scientists drill nearly 2 miles down to pull 1.2 million-year-old ice core from Antarctic
An international team of scientists announced Thursday they’ve successfully drilled one of the oldest ice cores yet, penetrating nearly 2 miles (2.8 kilometers) to Antarctic bedrock to reach ice they say is at least 1.2 million years old. Analysis of the ancient ice is expected to show how Earth’s atmosphere and climate have evolved. That should provide insight into how Ice Age cycles have changed, and may help in understanding how atmospheric carbon changed climate, they said.
The dangerous combination fueling the L.A. fires: Exceptional dryness and strong winds
Prolonged drought, an exceptionally dry winter and powerful Santa Ana winds set up a dangerous triple whammy of extreme conditions that have fueled several out-of-control wildfires in the Los Angeles area. Fast-moving fires have engulfed the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, along with parts of the Hollywood Hills, Pasadena, Altadena, Sylmar, and other areas, with 16 deaths reported and more than 12,000 structures destroyed as of Saturday.
NASA overhauls plan to bring samples from Mars back to Earth
NASA on Tuesday announced an overhaul to its plan to collect samples from Mars and return them to Earth. Agency officials said they have decided to scrap parts of their original plan to cut down on the mission’s technical difficulty and cost and to shorten the timeline for when the samples could be brought back.
Four fires grow, forcing more than 80,000 evacuations around L.A.
Four fast-moving fires have forced more than 80,000 residents to evacuate from the Pacific Palisades, Pasadena and Sylmar areas of Los Angeles amid "life-threatening and destructive" winds. The Woodley Fire, the most recent, ignited around 6:15 a.m. PT and stretched 75 acres in the area of North Woodley Avenue and the Sepulveda Basin in the San Fernando Valley. It’s being driven south by strong winds, and poses a threat of crossing Burbank Boulevard, according to Cal Fire.
Trump says Newsom is to 'blame' for 'apocalyptic' wildfires
President-elect Trump pinned blame for the "apocalyptic" wildfires tearing through Los Angeles County on California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. "Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snow melt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way," Trump posted on Truth Social late Wednesday morning.
Lead pollution in ancient Rome may have dropped average IQ by up to 3 points, study finds
In ancient Rome, toxic lead was so pervasive in the air that it most likely dropped the average person’s IQ by 2.5 to 3 points, new research suggests. The study, published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, amplifies long-standing questions about what role, if any, lead pollution played in the empire’s downfall.
NASA collected potential evidence of life on Mars. Now it’s pitching new plans to retrieve the cache
Two new potential strategies for returning crucial samples from Mars to Earth by the 2030s are now on the table, according to NASA. The proposals present alternatives to the original Mars Sample Return program. Designed by NASA and the European Space Agency, the initial plan was deemed unwieldy after an independent review board projected it could cost up to $11 billion. The board’s assessment also pushed the expected return date of the samples from 2031 to 2040 — a delay that was “simply unacceptable,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson reiterated Tuesday. The agency will decide between the newly proposed strategies, intended to reduce complexity, cost and mission duration, by the second half of 2026, Nelson announced during a news conference on Tuesday.
NASA's Martian helicopter promises unprecedented views of the red planet
When NASA's Ingenuity helicopter took flight on Mars in April 2021, it marked a historic moment in space exploration. This small, solar-powered rotorcraft became the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet. Now, after Ingenuity's remarkable success, NASA is setting its sights on an even more ambitious aerial explorer for the red planet.
'Dinosaur highway' tracks dating back 166 million years are discovered in England
A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday. The extraordinary find made after a team of more than 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry, in Oxfordshire, in June expands upon previous paleontology work in the area and offers greater insights into the Middle Jurassic period, researchers at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham said.
To the moon, an asteroid and beyond: The biggest space missions ahead in 2025
From robotic expeditions to the moon to a new observatory in space to a rendezvous with an asteroid, 2025 promises to be packed with ambitious space exploration. NASA and commercial space companies in the United States aren't the only ones that will be busy — this year’s slate of planned launches includes potential milestones for China, Japan and India.