Ancient Martian Lakebed

According to data gathered by Curiosity, it is roving across what was once a lakebed.  Further, the data suggests the water in that lake may have been drinkable by humans, if humans had been around.  In fact, the lake would have existed well before multicellular life developed on Earth.

The case for a habitable early Mars is fairly strong, and seems to strengthen as we go.  But was it inhabited?  Did life ever begin on Mars?  If Curiosity finds fossils in the sediment layers of Mount Sharp, a new epoch in human history will open up.

Going To Mars

A new study of the radiation risks to astronauts on an 860-day round trip mission to Mars, including 500 days on the planet's surface, suggests those risks are manageable.  This study is not the final word on the subject, of course, but it is encouraging to advocates of manned missions into deep space.

Another factor: Radiation is dangerous to humans because it can cause cancer.  If the treatment of cancer advances over the next several years to the point that at least most cancers have become manageable diseases, as some experts project, a higher risk of cancer by the time we are ready to send people to Mars might become acceptable.

China In Lunar Orbit

China's Moon probe, Chang'e 3, has successfully entered lunar orbit about 60 miles above the surface.

Chang'e 3 is scheduled to make a soft landing on the Moon and deploy a rover.

Huge Exoplanet Found

Astronomers have discovered a world 11 times more massive than Jupiter.  It's also young-- only 13 million years old and still radiating heat from its formation.

The real kicker, though, is that it's 650 times more distant from its parent star than Earth is from the Sun.  How such a huge world formed way out there is a mystery.

Exoplanet Water

Researchers using the Hubble Space Telescope have found trace amounts of water in the atmospheres of five exoplanets.

All five are so-called hot Jupiters, so none is a good candidate for being an abode of life, but demonstrating the ability to detect water in the atmosphere of an exoplanet is a step forward in the search for life.

SpaceX Success

SpaceX has successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket on a commercial mission, putting a communications satellite into orbit.

The launch was delayed a few days because a computer had detected a problem with one of the rocket engines.

Lunar Ring

The Japanese construction firm Shimizu is suggesting building a 250-mile wide ring of solar panels around the lunar equator to harness solar energy as the main power source of an advanced human civilization.

Shimizu is known for coming up with such big ideas; it's a way to publicize the firm.  Collecting solar energy in space and beaming it into the electric power grid, however, is an option to power an advanced society over the long term.