Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Earth planning date: Friday, Sept. 18, 2026 Curiosity surprised us at the beginning of the week with a change in rock texture — instead of the finely layered bedrock blocks we’ve been seeing in our recent sulfate unit workspaces, suddenly we were looking
Of all the events in the United Nations General Assembly taking place this week, the most anticipated by far is the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Chinese president Xi Jinping. Though the majority of the diplomatic activities are happening in New York, this face-to-face between the two leaders will take place at the White
Aluminum has left an indelible mark on the world: more than 3 billion tons of red sludge, a waste product of the refining process, are currently stored in open-air ponds or mounds. But for Sumedh Gostu, co-founder and CEO of Fast Metals, there is a treasure in caustic waste. “It’s a very rich resource,” he
When China tightened export licenses for seven rare earth elements in April 2025, Western governments responded in the same way they have to every other critical minerals crisis of the past five years. The European Union accelerated the issuance of extraction permits under the Critical Raw Materials Act. The United States expanded subsidies for domestic
