International
The five most shocking discoveries on Mars
October 15 |
On July 31, 2008, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States (U.S.) announced that laboratory tests carried out by the Phoenix mission on Mars proved the existence of water on the so-called red planet.
The U.S. agency dedicated to explore space reported that the robotic arm of the Phoenix deposited a sample taken in an instrument in which water vapors are identified.
“We have water” on Mars, said William Boynton, scientist of the thermal analyzer of the University of Arizona, on that memorable date.
We invite you to know in this article which have been the most shocking discoveries made on Mars.
Lake of liquid water
In 2018 the Marsis radar, installed aboard the Mars Express Orbiter exploration mission coordinated by the European Space Agency (ESA), discovered a lake of liquid salt water which is presumed to be at least one meter deep, reported then the group of Italian scientists who were at the forefront of the discovery.
This important finding is the first sign of liquid water on the fourth planet of the solar system. In the past, Mars had water, however, the cooling of the planet and its weak atmosphere caused it to disappear or turn into ice.
The spiders of Mars
The automatic interplanetary multi-platform station Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered last May 13, 2018 some “giant spiders” on the surface of the red planet.
The “arachnids” correspond to a carbon dioxide ice cap which, once the sunlight hits it, reproduces the false image of the aforementioned animal.
The blue sunsets of the red planet
NASA’s robot explorer Curiosity photographed for the first time the blue sunsets of the red planet. The left camera of the mechanic sent from Earth actually recorded a video of which we know its most beautiful frames.
The image, more than for its beauty, was used by scientists to study the composition and fall of the night dust on Mars, something fundamental to understand the origin of the planet.
Not only sunsets, also blue dunes
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) discovered large blue dunes with green hues on January 24, 2018.
The coloration is due to methane gas accumulations along with organic molecules in rocks more than 3 billion years old. Most strikingly, the latter could suggest the presence of ancient life forms.
Life on Mars?
The long-awaited life on Mars, whether it is extinct or actually exists, has not been fully proven. So those who want to dream of a destroyed civilization that migrated to Earth must wait a little longer.
However, the Viking probes sent by NASA more than 40 years ago, especially the robotic Labeled Release, or LR, team, provided evidence that could hint at the possibility of ancient life forms, something that is still being investigated by scientists.
So why is Mars red?
Although the fourth planet in the solar system has blue sunsets and blue dunes, from Earth we observe it as red because of the high concentrations of iron oxide on its surface.
So, every time we have the possibility to see the fourth planet of the solar system from our homes, we will still see it red, and we will never be able to enjoy the blue sunsets and dunes. Unless we are ever able to visit Mars.
International
Three Killed, Four Injured in Shooting Near Seattle’s Space Needle
Three people were killed and at least four others, including a young child, were injured in a shooting near Seattle’s iconic Space Needle on Sunday, authorities said.
The shooting occurred during the annual Bite of Seattle food festival, held in one of the city’s busiest tourist areas. Police have arrested one suspect and are searching for a second individual believed to be involved.
Assistant Police Chief Tyrone Davis said officers responded to reports of gunfire at about 6:00 p.m. local time (0100 GMT Monday).
“Two individuals were shooting at each other,” Davis said, adding that investigators recovered two firearms at the scene.
Authorities confirmed that three people died as a result of the shooting. The identities of the victims have not yet been released.
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson said members of the State Patrol’s SWAT team had been deployed to assist Seattle police with the investigation.
Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson described the incident as a “horrific act of violence.”
“Our focus is on those who lost their lives, those fighting to recover, and the families standing beside them,” Wilson said in a statement.
Susan Gregg, a spokesperson for Harborview Medical Center, said the hospital admitted four victims: a young child, a 23-year-old man, a 39-year-old woman and another woman whose age was not immediately known and who required emergency surgery.
According to police, the hospitalized victims are in stable condition.
Witnesses told local television station KIRO that they heard multiple gunshots before crowds fled the festival area.
“At first I thought it was fireworks, and then everyone started running,” witness Nick Bate told the station.
Another witness told AFP that panic spread immediately after the shooting.
“We just started running. I didn’t even look to see where the shooter was. I just kept hearing the gunfire,” the witness said.
International
China Accuses U.S. AI Firms of Using Chinese Models to Train Artificial Intelligence
China on Monday accused U.S. artificial intelligence companies of using Chinese AI models to train their own systems, escalating tensions in the technological rivalry between the world’s two largest economies.
In a statement, China’s Ministry of Commerce said it has evidence that “many U.S. artificial intelligence companies have distilled Chinese models during their research, development and training processes.”
Model distillation is a machine learning technique that transfers knowledge from a larger, more advanced model to a smaller and faster one, allowing it to perform efficiently while requiring fewer computing resources. The approach is widely used across the AI industry.
U.S. officials have previously argued that Chinese firms employ distillation on a large scale to unlawfully replicate proprietary American AI systems. Beijing dismissed those allegations, calling them unfounded.
According to the Chinese ministry, Washington’s accusations “lack both factual and legal basis, apply double standards in practice, and represent a typical act of AI hegemony.”
“China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” the ministry added.
The statement comes days after a senior White House official accused Chinese startup Moonshot AI of secretly copying Anthropic’s most advanced AI model to develop its Kimi K3 system.
Moonshot’s latest model drew significant attention across the U.S. technology sector following its release, reigniting debate over China’s growing competitiveness in artificial intelligence.
Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that Washington could impose sanctions on China as the administration considers restricting or banning foreign-developed open-source AI models, many of which are built using model distillation techniques.
International
Costa Rica Seeks to Expand Extradition Law to Target Organized Crime
Costa Rican President Laura Fernández announced that her administration will submit a constitutional reform bill to Congress on August 3 aimed at expanding the legal grounds for extraditing Costa Rican nationals accused of serious crimes.
Under current legislation, Costa Rican citizens can only be extradited to face prosecution abroad for international drug trafficking and terrorism. The proposed reform would broaden that list to include a wider range of organized crime offenses.
Speaking before the Legislative Assembly while presenting a broader package of public security initiatives, Fernández said the proposal seeks to strengthen the country’s fight against transnational criminal organizations.
“We are going to expand the grounds for extradition to include serious crimes,” the president said.
The initiative would allow the extradition of Costa Rican nationals accused of financing drug trafficking or terrorism, money laundering, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, arms and organ trafficking, contract killings, organized crime-related homicides, cybercrime and cyberterrorism.
“We will not stop in our national crusade against organized crime or in our relentless war against drug trafficking,” Fernández said.
A political ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, Fernández took office in May after campaigning on a promise to adopt a tougher stance against organized crime, which she has linked to the recent rise in violence in Costa Rica, a country long regarded as one of the safest in Latin America.
Costa Rica currently permits the extradition of its own citizens only for international drug trafficking and terrorism, following a 2025 constitutional amendment promoted by former President Rodrigo Chaves, who now serves as the country’s Minister of the Presidency and Finance.
Three Killed, Four Injured in Shooting Near Seattle’s Space Needle
China Accuses U.S. AI Firms of Using Chinese Models to Train Artificial Intelligence
Costa Rica Seeks to Expand Extradition Law to Target Organized Crime
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