A study confirmed that the cracks (裂缝) found on the surface of Mars last year by the Curiosity Rover are evidence of ancient lakes that likely dried up about 3.5 billion years ago. The new study provides further evidence of what the climate on the Red Planet may have been like in its ancient past.

The study, published online in Geology, proved that cracks on Mars’s surface previously photographed by Curiosity are dry mud cracks which could have only been formed when wet ground was exposed to the air. This conclusion was based on an analysis of a single area of rock known as “Old Soaker.”

Researchers used the Curiosity Rover and information from its many tools including the Mars Hand Lens Imager, ChemCam Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectrometer (LIBS) and the Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) to study both the physical appearance and the chemistry of the rock, which is described as no bigger than a coffee table.

The analysis showed that cracks on the rock were formed by exposure to air, rather than heat or the flow of water. In addition, the shape of the cracks suggests it experienced a single drying event on the planet, rather than getting wet and drying over repeatedly. The position of the cracks, closer to the center of the ancient lake rather than alongside it, also suggests that the lake levels changed often, rising and falling over time.

“The mud cracks are exciting because they help us to understand this ancient lake system,” lead study author Nathaniel Stein, a geologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, said, referring to the ancient lake system on the planet.

Scientists have known of the existence of ancient water on Mars for years. A 2015 NASA study that measured water in Mars’s atmosphere suggested that ancient oceans may once have had more water than our own Arctic Ocean. However, because the planet has less gravity and a thinner atmosphere than Earth, this water evaporated into space over the course of several billion years.

China on Thursday successfully launched space lab Tiangong-2 into space, meaning another historic step towards building a manned space station around 2020.

Measuring 10.4 meters in length, the tube-like Tiangong-2 is designed to enable two astronauts to live in space for up to 30 days and to receive spaceships.

Once inside Tiangong-2, two astronauts arriving from the Shenzhou-11 spaceship will carry out key experiments related to in-orbit equipment repairs, aerospace medicine, space physics and biology, such as space clocks and solar storm research. The number of experiments carried out by Tiangong-2 will be the highest of any manned space mission (航天任务) so far.

The successful launch of the Tiangong-2, along with the first flight of China’s new generation carrier rocket Long March-7 in June, bodes well for the final stage of China’s three-step manned space plan.

The first step, to send an astronaut into space and return safely, was fulfilled by Yangliwei in the Shenzhou-5 mission in 2003. The second step is developing advanced space flight technologies, including the launch of two space labs. Finally, the third step will be to operate a manned space station.

Once the space lab mission comes to an end, China will start building our own space station, which is planned for completion by around 2020. The Chinese space station will be much smaller than the current International Space Station (ISS), but it can be expanded for scientific research and international cooperation. With the ISS set to retire in 2024, the Chinese station will offer a promising choice, and China will be the only country with a permanent (永久) space station.

For those of us who grew up watching Star Trek, exploring space has been about discovering strange new worlds. And there are plenty of worlds to explore in time, but we still need major technological advancements to reach planets that are light years away.

What we are doing in space today is providing unbelievable benefits right now, right here on Earth. From space, we can monitor, manage and care for our planet. Satellite-based sensors show us the short- and long-term effects of human activity on our environment. Many companies are using their interest in space to help solve problems here, from using hyperspectral imaging(高光谱成像), which enable us to map vegetation(植被) and rain forests, to microsatellites that provide global connectivity for the network of things.

My company, OneWeb, is focusing on what I believe is one of the world’s most important issues: the need for equal access to the Internet. The Internet has become our economic lifeblood. And yet, nearly half of the world’s population doesn’t have Internet access. Space is playing a key role in bridging this digital divide. OneWeb is launching 1,980 satellites to help bring Internet access to people everywhere, and our first production satellites are already flying in space and have shown very high download speeds.

Fiber and cable Internet access technologies already cover most financially viable(可行的) major cities. Similarly, these regions will also be the first to be served with 5G. Poor communities are the last to get connected, and without connectivity, those communities have no chance to lift themselves from poverty. OneWeb’s satellites will reach every community in the world and enable equal access to the Internet for the world’s less developed places.

Fifty years from the day when man first walked on the moon, we are still only approaching the possible. There will be tens of thousands of new satellites, space stations and factories in the coming years to bring advancements in communications, scientific research, monitoring the earth, exploring space and more. This is exciting, but we must take action carefully.