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Science

Space provides a unique environment for scientists and researchers to investigate processes and technology that could enhance life on Earth while allowing us to explore farther.

Science

From Antarctica to Mars

There is something in the frozen lands of Antarctica that lures her. Vinciane Debaille cherishes forgotten rocks that have landed in the midst of the white desert. More than 250 martian meteorites have fallen under the scrutiny of this geochemist who dates rocks using natural radioactivity to understand how planets formed and evolved.

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Science

A game changer for the Solar System

Half a century ago humans stepped on the Moon for the first time. The lunar rocks the Apollo astronauts bought back to Earth are still being investigated and analysed by researchers all over the world. As lab techniques improve, new revelations help us better understand our natural satellite.

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Science

The martian link

She feels at ease in the lab, surrounded by microscopes to unveil the inner secrets of rocks. As she swings back and forth between a meteorite sample, the eyepiece and the screen, she is looking for the organic compounds that will tell her more about life in the Universe.

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Science

Mars revisited

If aliens looked for life on a future Earth with its oceans and fertile lands lost to time, where would they start?

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Science

A Sherlock Holmes for Mars

The crime scene is an impact crater and the mystery is an elusive one for scientists – detecting life’s fingerprints on Mars.

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Science

Stable foams and unstable muscles – a month of European Space Station science

European experiments have been looking at how human muscles react to living in weightlessness or used the lack of gravity’s pull to investigate foams. A recap of the European science run on the International Space Station in May. The Myotones experiment is testing the biomechanical properties of astronauts’ muscles and tendons and how they change […]

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Science

European science continues after Beyond

ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano returned to Earth 5 February after setting new European spaceflight records, but European science continues in space. Many facilities run continuously in the background on the International Space Station, steadily gathering more data in weightlessness for researchers on Earth.

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