By fitting its sunshield and solar panels, engineers have completed the construction of Plato, the European Space Agency’s mission to discover Earth-like exoplanets. Plato is on track for the final key tests to confirm that it is fit for launch.
Today, it's a scientific consensus that Mars was once a very different place, with a warmer, denser atmosphere and liquid water on its surface. This is evidenced by flow channels, delta fans, lakebeds, and many other features that form in the presence of flowing water here on Earth. Based on the way many of these channels feed into the Northern Lowlands on Mars, scientists speculate that this region was once home to an ocean that covered the northern hemisphere. According to new research from the University of Arkansas, there is a strong case for the existence of this ancient ocean.
