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Sarah Scoles

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An illustration of the Earth Return Orbiter bringing samples from Mars back to Earth. After capturing the samples in orbit around Mars, the orbiter would return to Earth and release its Earth Entry System, which is depicted here in the distance. (NASA/ESA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC)

To Mars and back: Will NASA’s ambitious endeavor be worth it?

Sarah Scoles
An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) is prepared for training mission at Creech Air Force Base on November 17, 2015 in Indian Springs, Nevada. (Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)

The military’s big bet on artificial intelligence

Sarah Scoles
Sunrise from South Colony Lake below Crestone Needle in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains near Westcliffe, Colorado. (Getty Images/Mike Berenson/Colorado Captures)

In Colorado, locals question a survey for critical minerals

Sarah Scoles
The Green Bank Telescope is seen in Green Bank, West Virginia on May 28, 2018. Green Bank is part of the US Radio Quiet Zone, where wireless telecommunications signals are banned to prevent transmissions interfering with a number of radio telescopes in the area. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Book review: The mirage of a town without cellphones

Sarah Scoles