NASA drone will explore Titan's atmosphere and hydrocarbon lakes

NASA will send a dual-quadcopter drone to hop across the surface of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Named Dragonfly, the mission will launch in 2026 and arrive at Titan in 2034. Dragonfly will study the atmosphere as it flies around, and touch down for extended stays on the moon's surface. The drone will explore areas where methane- and ethane-rich lakes recently dried up — and in the process, might have left behind residue rich with organic compounds like those that may have existed on early Earth before life arose.

Insect-sized robot powered by light

At half the weight of a paper clip, 'RoboBee X-wing' has achieved untethered flight using ultra-lightweight solar cells, powering piezoelectric actuators, via a stripped down circuit board. This technology is in its infancy, but could pave the way for a new generation of miniature drones.

Mars rover detects ‘excitingly huge’ methane spike

NASA’s Curiosity rover has measured the highest level of methane gas ever found in the atmosphere at Mars’s surface. The reading taken last week at Gale Crater — 21 parts per billion — is three times greater than the previous record, which Curiosity detected back in 2013. Various spacecraft and telescopes have spotted methane on Mars over the past 16 years, but the gas doesn’t appear in any predictable pattern — deepening the mystery of its origin.

The human body is a complex mosaic made up of clusters of cells with different genomes

Tissue mosaics arise as cells accumulate mutations — from DNA errors that creep in during cell division, or because of exposure to environmental factors. When a skin cell with a given mutation divides, it can create a patch of skin that is genetically different from its neighbours.

Quantum jumps caught and reversed mid-flight

Researchers built an artificial atom out of a superconducting circuit to explore the quantum behaviour and were able to predict when the leap was about to take place. They could even interfere to reverse the jumps and stop them happening, which might come in handy for correcting errors in quantum computing.