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Mars’ longtime polar mystery may have finally been solved

Frozen carbon dioxide covers the south pole of Mars. NASA/JPL-Caltech

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6 years ago

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From the surface, Mars may seem like a dry, desert-like world lacking water, but a closer look at the planet’s poles will some striking structures: massive polar ice caps.

At the north pole, the ruddy terrain peeks through the ice, like zebra stripes. In the south pole lurks a mystery, a massive deposit of frozen carbon dioxide and water ice. Scientists have spent decades trying to understand how it formed and how it’s linked to the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the Martian atmosphere.

A pair of scientists in the 1960s came up with a plausible theory, and now, decades later, a new study published in Nature Astronomy may have confirmed their findings.

A look at the layering of water ice (white arrows) and CO2 ice (black arrows) at Mars’ south pole. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The massive deposit — measuring 3,280 feet (1 kilometer) thick — contains sheets of water ice and carbon dioxide arranged in alternating layers, like a cake. It’s topped off with a thin frosting of carbon dioxide ice, and scientists noticed something interesting: the massive ice deposit contains as much carbon dioxide as the entire Martian atmosphere.

Peter Buhler, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory led the new study. The team used computer simulations to map out the ice, and they were surprised at how closely their models matched with what Robert B. Leighton and Bruce Murray predicted decades ago.

“Usually, when you run a model, you don’t expect the results to match so closely to what you observe,” he said in a statement. “But the thickness of the layers, as determined by the model, matches beautifully with radar measurements from orbiting satellites.”

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Mars has a decent supply of water, it’s just locked up in ice deposits like the one seen here at the Korolev crater. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

The ice cap puzzled researchers because according to science, it shouldn’t exist. That’s because water ice is more thermally stable and darker than carbon dioxide ice, which means that it should destabilize when layered between water ice.

However, the new model explains this behavior. Buhler and his team say there are three reasons why the frozen carbon dioxide exists. First, Mars wobbles as it orbits the sun, and when it does, the slight changing of the tilt alters the amount of sunlight that hits the ice. Second, each type of ice reflects the sun a bit differently. And lastly, because of the exposure to sunlight, the carbon dioxide sublimates–meaning it goes directly from a solid to a gas–which alters the atmospheric pressure.

As Mars wobbles, the amount of sunlight reaching the ice varies, causing the ice to form and then later sublimate. When the carbon dioxide ice was forming, water ice would’ve been trapped with it. But when that ice sublimated, the more stable water ice would have remained behind, forming the layers we now see at the south pole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gj8dr6AsYg

Mars’ climate, just like Earth’s, has changed over millions of years. To that end, not all of the carbon dioxide ice was lost; some were left behind to build up the varying layers we see—a process that has altered the red planet’s atmospheric pressure. 

This is what Leighton and Murray hypothesized back decades ago, and this is what Buhler’s new model shows.

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“Our determination of the history of Mars’s large pressure swings is fundamental to understanding the evolution of Mars’s climate, including the history of liquid water stability and habitability near Mars’s surface,” Buhler said in a statement.

By understanding what processes formed the south polar ice cap, scientists can better understand more of what happened in Mars’ history.

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I write about space, science, and future tech.

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Tesla Robotaxi vs. New York Taxi: Why the Yellow Cab has a lot to lose

Tesla Robotaxi could spell the beginning of the end of the New York City yellow cab.

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1 hour ago

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August 13, 2025

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Tesla appears to be on its way into the Big Apple, and a traditional Yellow Cab in New York City might be a thing of the past in the near future.

As Tesla continues to put an immense focus on the rollout of its Robotaxi platform, it is evident that driverless ride-hailing modes of transportation could truly be the way that many choose to get around. This is especially prevalent in cities like New York, where many people do not own cars. Instead, they choose to walk to hail a cab.

Tesla Robotaxi is headed to New York City, but one thing is in its way

But the limited number of medallions available for taxi drivers in New York City, as well as several other points of emphasis, seem to show the future is here and yellow cabs might soon be a thing of the past.

Instead of working tirelessly to pay off the debt from medallions, entrepreneurs could soon just buy a Tesla and have it work autonomously in New York City. Tesla executives have mentioned figures as high as $50,000 per year in terms of passive income from Robotaxi operation.

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That is just the tip of the iceberg, and Robotaxi presents not only one but at least five distinct advantages over the traditional cab platform. With Tesla starting to seek employees to operate Robotaxi rides in New York, according to recent job postings, New York City cabs should prepare for the disruption Tesla could potentially cause.

Lower Operational Costs and Cheaper Fares

Uber and Lyft have already undercut the costs of New York City taxis, but Robotaxi is starting to undercut even those ride-sharing programs in Austin, Texas.

In terms of how much cheaper Robotaxi will be than cabs, it is an exponential measurement over time. Robotaxi will not require salaries, benefits, or tips, and the cost of Robotaxi could end up being just a fraction of what the same ride would cost in a cab.

This feeds right back into medallion expenses and union wages: even buying a Tesla in the next few years that has the capability to operate as a Robotaxi will be a fraction of what medallions cost, which is sometimes $200,000.

Availability and Scalability

Cabs are available at all hours of the day, but at certain times, they are less available.

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Robotaxis can technically operate without breaks, other than charging. Tesla has an immense focus on scaling its Robotaxi platform anyway, and once it is available for the public to use in their personal cars, Model Ys and Cybercabs could be roaming the streets of the five boroughs with more reliability and lower wait times than traditional cabs could ever offer.

This is an issue that is even more relevant in smaller cities or less congested portions of New York.

Safer and More Efficient Rides

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving technology has reported recent safety figures that are ten times less likely to be involved in an accident than a human. Tesla releases a Safety Report for each quarter that proves its safety against human drivers.

As Full Self-Driving continues to advance, it will get better. Riders who want a stable and safe ride could seek Robotaxi instead of going with a human driver. This is something that we’ll likely see more of in the future as sentiment on autonomous driving grows.

Trust in autonomous vehicles has increased substantially over the past ten years. In 2015, surveys showed that trust in autonomous vehicles was low, with only 23 percent of Americans showing that they’d ride in a driverless car.

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In 2021, another study performed that asked the same question showed 57 percent of adults would try an autonomous car for their travel.

Seamless App Integration and User Experience

Taxis are not always the most entertaining to ride in, and sometimes they are even more difficult to get a ride in. Robotaxi has already shown to be an incredibly user-friendly experience, with riders being able to choose what temperature the cabin is and what music they want to listen to in the cabin.

The addition of a rear screen also allows riders to choose from a selection of games or YouTube videos in the car.

Hailing a vehicle was basically resolved with the use of Uber and Lyft. Robotaxi is just as good, if not better, from an app standpoint, especially as the in-car climate is able to be adjusted from the Robotaxi app.

Music from one Robotaxi will continue to play in your next one, too. It’s a small luxury, but it’s a feature that is an improvement over a traditional taxi.

The Push for Sustainability by New York City

New York is pushing for a city-owned fleet of all-electric vehicles by 2027.

Its green initiatives, including the Green Rides Initiative, have pushed the city’s rideshare trips to be conducted by either zero-emission or wheelchair accessible vehicles by 2030.

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Tesla Model 3 taxis drive NY’s resolution for more all-electric yellow cabs

The focus by consumers to use green or zero-emission vehicles could also steer right into the direction of Tesla Robotaxi, as none of the vehicles in the Robotaxi fleet will be anything but all-electric Teslas.

Carbon neutrality is a goal of the City and its residents. Moving forward, we could see these programs start to put immense pressure on the yellow cab, which could eventually be a thing of the past.

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Tesla plans to use Unreal Engine for driver visualization with crazy upgrade

This could change the way Driver Visualization looks for Tesla owners.

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3 hours ago

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August 13, 2025

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Credit: Tesla Newswire | X

Tesla looks to be planning a major upgrade to its driver visualization for Autopilot with a crazy upgrade from its current version.

Tesla’s driver visualization appears on the center screen and shows the vehicle, its surroundings, and, when it is operating on Autopilot or Full Self-Driving, shows the route of travel.

It has improved over the years, and even includes things like pedestrians, pets, and the shapes of other vehicles. It also helps with manual driving because it can be a good representation of your surroundings when trying to change lanes or merge in traffic.

However, it appears Tesla is planning a pretty substantial upgrade with the

Coding found in the 2025.20 firmware by Tesla hacker greentheonly showed the company is planning to utilize Unreal Engine for Autopilot visualization. He said the one Tesla currently uses is “godot-based.”

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Unreal Engine is a 3D computer graphics game engine that was developed by Epic Games, the developer of the popular third-party shooter game Fortnite. It was first released back in 1998, and the most recent version is Unreal Engine 5. The sixth version is in development, and it could be out in 2027 or 2028.

However, Tesla could use it for a more realistic representation of vehicle surroundings. It would undoubtedly improve driver visualization, creating a smoother and freer-flowing depiction of what is outside of the car.

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SpaceX is rolling out a new feature to Starlink that could be a lifesaver

Starlink now has a new Standby Mode that will enable low-speed internet access in the event of an outage.

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5 hours ago

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August 13, 2025

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(Credit: Starlink | X)

SpaceX is rolling out a new feature to Starlink that could be a lifesaver in some instances, but more of a luxury for others.

Starlink is the satellite internet service that Elon Musk’s company SpaceX launched several years ago. It has been adopted by many people at their homes, many airlines on their planes, and many maritime companies on their ships.

SpaceX produces its 10 millionth Starlink kit

It has been a great way for customers to relieve themselves of the contracts and hidden fees of traditional internet service providers.

Now, Starlink is rolling out a new service feature on its units called “Standby Mode,” which is part of Pause Mode. The company notified customers of the change in an email:

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“We’re reaching out to you to let you know the Pause feature on your plan has been updated. Pause now includes Standby Mode, which comes with unlimited low-speed data for $5.00 per month, perfect for backup connectivity and emergency use. These updates will take effect in 30 days. All of your other plan features remain the same. You are able to cancel your service at any time for no charge.”

SpaceX did not define how fast these “low speeds” will be. However, there are people who have tested the Standby Mode, and they reported speeds of about 500 kilobytes per second.

The mode is ideal for people who might deal with internet or power outages, but still need to have some sort of internet access.

It could also be used as a backup for people who want to stay with their ISP, but would like to have some sort of alternative in case of an outage for any reason.

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