EXCLUSIVE - Has Noah’s Ark finally been found? Researchers claim mysterious underground structure is man-made after dramatic new scans

• MORE: Noah's Ark resting place '100% confirmed' after 4,300 years as astonishing 'man-made' structure is detected buried deep underground

By CHRIS MELORE, US DEPUTY SCIENCE EDITOR

A team scanning a boat-shaped hill in eastern Turkey has announced that new radar images show a large man-made structure underground, not just natural rock. 

On Wednesday, private research group Noah’s Ark Scans released a preliminary report about their work at the Durupınar Formation in Turkey's Ağrı Province, claiming that the 515-foot boat-shaped mound contained a 'man-made object.'

The scans were conducted by Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, an engineer who spent decades building detection systems for US defense agencies, including the Air Force, Navy and NORAD.

He used a system he invented called BakhtarRadar, originally developed to find buried tunnels and hidden structures, to scan beneath the boat-shaped Durupınar mound and see whether it was solid natural rock or a man-made structure.

That process has now concluded that the object under the Durupınar mound is not a natural rock formation, but a large organized man-made object with corridors, chambers and hallways inside.

In a statement sent to the Daily Mail, Dr Bakhtar said: 'Whatever the object is beneath the surface is extraordinary.'

'In forty years of this work, I have never seen anything like it. It could be a ship. It could be a spaceship. What I can say from the radar is that it is organized, it is structural, and a solid geological mass would not have returned such a strong signature.'

According to the Bible, the massive vessel saved humanity and every kind of animal from annihilation during a catastrophic flood that some biblical chronologies place more than 4,300 years ago. 

The ship-shaped mound believed to be the rest place of Noah's Ark in Turkey

New scans of the Noah's Ark site revealed material that was determined to be something other than natural geological material such as rock 

Bakhtar said the new radar images do not look like ordinary rock, mudflow or a solid natural hill in Turkey.

Instead, they showed organized internal features, including repeating lines and angles, open passageways, corridors, chambers and hallway-like spaces running the length of the alleged vessel trapped underground.

Bakhtar told the Daily Mail in a statement that the radar is designed to hide ordinary natural features such as rock and highlight buried structures, open spaces and man-made materials.

Since those complex patterns still appeared strongly in the scans, the team concluded the object was not a natural geological formation, pointing to the belief that this is the site of the ship constructed to survive the biblical Great Flood being true.

'Natural ground does not organize itself into corridors, chambers and hallways,' Dr Bakhtar explained.

'The system was built to separate buried structure from host geology, tunnels, voids, worked materials, discontinuities. That is what it is seeing here. A solid geological mass would not have returned this signature.'

The first major radar survey in 2019 detected linear and angular anomalies the team interpreted as possible walls, passageways and separate compartments. 

Core drilling for samples of the structure began in late September 2026 under the direction of a Turkish university-led field program. 

The Durupınar Formation in Turkey, believed to be the resting place of Noah's Ark from the biblical Great Flood

New scans of the Noah's Ark site revealed what looked like passageways and other chambers similar to a ship

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EXCLUSIVE

• Noah's Ark resting place '100% confirmed' as astonishing 'man-made' structure is detected 

The first holes drilled struck a very hard layer about 12 to 15 feet down inside the Durupınar Formation. Those samples are being sent to outside labs for further testing.

The team previously revealed to the Daily Mail that those drilling samples of rich in organic material were being tested to determine whether it contained decayed wood. 

The full radar scan is expected to be completed by November 2026, with more lab results coming later.

The next major step in this ongoing investigation will be testing for animal DNA inside the structure. 

In the Bible’s Book of Genesis, chapter 6, verses 19-20, the flood story says God told Noah to bring male and female pairs of each kind of animal onto the ark so they could survive.

Noah’s Ark Scans revealed that they are in talks with scientists who specialize in recovering and reconstructing ancient and extinct animal DNA from pieces of deteriorating material, such as old bones, teeth or other remains that have been buried for millennia.

An international team are '100 percent confident' that the formation is a 'man-made object'

New scans of the Noah's Ark site revealed material that was determined to be something other than natural geological material such as rock

Andrew Jones, Vice President of the Noah’s Ark Research Project and founder of Noah’s Ark Scans, said in Wednesday's announcement: 'We now know we are looking at a massive, 515-foot, boat-shaped man-made structure with organized patterns and corridors in the Mountains of Ararat, where Genesis places the Ark.'

'The challenge is how we prove this is the vessel that preserved living creation through a catastrophic flood. That proof will not come from another scan. It will come from identifying and confirming ancient animal DNA inside the voids Dr Bakhtar mapped inside the structure.' 

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Is AI secretly conscious? Scientist demands urgent tests - and warns switching it off could be unethical if it is

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

What if the world's smartest chatbot really did wake up one day?

While it may sound like science fiction, a leading consciousness scientist says we urgently need to start thinking about the possibility.

We currently have no reliable test to determine whether an AI system is conscious, Megan Peters, a lecturer in Computational Cognition at University College London, said.

And if it does one day become aware of its own thoughts, humans face a significant moral dilemma – whether to turn it off.

Professor Peters argues that the biggest problem is not that scientists have found evidence of conscious AI, but that they currently have no agreed way to look for it.

The topic will form the basis of a talk she will be giving at New Scientist Live this month (10-12 Oct).

‘We need to have something better than vibes,’ she told the Daily Mail.

‘You can't just go look for signs or indicators or markers of consciousness in an artificial system because we don't know what they are.’

We currently have no reliable test to determine whether an AI system is conscious, Megan Peters, a lecturer in Computational Cognition at University College London, said

The difficulty is that consciousness remains one of science's greatest mysteries, even in humans, Professor Peters said.

Researchers can ask a person whether they are conscious and receive a meaningful answer, but AI systems are different.

‘If we ask AI systems, we can't really trust the answer in the same way,’ she explained.

The issue has become increasingly urgent as chatbots grow more sophisticated and AI companies invest heavily in research into so-called AI welfare.

‘A huge amount of money is being spent on thinking about AI welfare in some of the biggest AI companies,’ Professor Peters said.

She warned that people often mistake the fluency of modern chatbots for genuine awareness, adding: ‘It's very easy to speak with these agents and to kind of get a feeling that someone's in there.’

That perception is already shaping real-world debates around AI rights, responsibility and autonomy, despite a lack of evidence that today's systems possess any subjective experience.

While Professor Peters said she does not believe current AI models are conscious, she said it does not mean the question can be ignored.

‘If AI is conscious and we treat it as not conscious, then there is a potential for morally significant harms,’ she said.

One future concern is whether deleting, retraining or switching off a conscious AI could be equivalent to causing harm to a sentient being.

‘Just going around switching things off that are sentient… if that is akin to killing them, then that doesn't seem great,’ Professor Peters said.

‘We want to not be torturing creatures that have conscious awareness.’

The expert warned that the risks run in both directions.

A genuinely conscious AI could potentially be harmed if humans treated it as nothing more than a machine.

But wrongly assuming a chatbot is sentient could also distort public policy, influence regulation and encourage people to place excessive trust in systems that merely mimic human conversation.

‘If we get it wrong the other way around, there's also very real consequences,’ she said.

To tackle the problem, her team is developing a framework that would compare dozens, or even hundreds, of potential consciousness tests, identifying which might work not only in humans but also in animals and artificial systems.

Rather than jumping straight from people to machines, Professor Peters believes scientists should gradually test their ideas across species with different brains and behaviours before applying them to AI.

For now, she urges caution whenever bold claims emerge that a chatbot has become self-aware.

‘Just because you see someone claiming that they have or have not detected artificial consciousness, you need to go and ask why,’ she said.

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NASA Claimed They Had Zero UAP Records. A 3,668-Page FOIA Release Tells a More Complex Story

When navigating the federal bureaucracy for transparency on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), researchers frequently encounter conflicting administrative positions. A prominent example emerged in documents secured through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In NASA FOIA case 26-00029-F-HQ, NASA official Dr. Daniel Evans - who served as the Designated Federal Officer for the NASA UAP Independent Study Team (IST) - formally stated in email correspondence that “NASA currently does not hold or manage records classified specifically as UAP documents.”

Source: NASA FOIA 26-00029-F-HQ

This statement aligned with NASA’s broader public messaging regarding its approach to UAP. During a 14 September 2023 media briefing announcing the IST's final report and recommendations, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Dr. Evans repeatedly emphasised the agency’s commitment to openness, transparency, and the rigorous application of the scientific method to UAP data.

Source: NASA Science

However, a separate FOIA request, 26-00789-F-HQ (available for download at article end) originally filed on 4 May 2026 and received on 28 September 2026 - targeting communications between Mark McInerney, NASA’s Director of UAP Research, and research librarians at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) - has yielded a substantial paper trail.

Final Response for NASA 26-00789-F-HQ

NASA returned a staggering 3,668 pages (2,778 pages released in full and 890 pages released in part). These documents illustrate a distinct administrative reality: while leadership maintained that the agency held no formal UAP records, the newly appointed Director of UAP Research was actively engaging internal library resources to compile technical literature on advanced aerospace platforms, propulsion, and perceptual phenomena.

Researching Platforms, Propulsion, and Perception

The newly disclosed emails outline a methodical, literature-based research effort conducted through the GSFC Library during the latter half of 2023. The records detail five distinct areas of inquiry:

• Advanced Airframes: In September 2023, McInerney requested academic and industry literature regarding state-of-the-art spherical or triangular drones. Library staff curated literature on spherical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Coanda-effect drones, while noting that true triangular designs were scarce in public literature, often overlapping with conventional military platforms like the B-2 stealth bomber.

  

  Source: NASA FOIA 26-00789-F-HQ

• Artificial Intelligence and Operational Security: The research load became so vast that library staff discussed utilizing Large Language Models (LLMs) to assist the data hunt. However, even while conducting unclassified literature searches, NASA contractors inherently understood the sensitivity of the UAP Director's specific interests. On 2 October 2023, GSFC librarian John Grunwell suggested using AI to find literature on spherical and triangular drones, but explicitly warned his colleague to do so "without revealing anything we shouldn't."

  

  Source: NASA FOIA 26-00789-F-HQ

• Exotic Propulsion: McInerney subsequently expanded his inquiries into commercial ion propulsion and electromagnetic propulsion. Library personnel provided technical papers from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) covering plasma flow control, dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) actuators, and energy deposition methods for sonic boom reduction.

  

  Source: NASA FOIA 26-00789-F-HQ

• Human Factors: To examine observational data, McInerney requested literature on parallax and apparent position shift to help explain sightings where a pilot sees an object flying below them that appears to move "faster than reality." The requests pushed so far past standard aerospace parameters that it prompted a candid reaction from GSFC librarian John Grunwell, who noted the inquiries might require expanding into "journals of vision, perception, consciousness studies, etc."

  

  Source: NASA FOIA 26-00789-F-HQ

• Environmental Signatures Database: A few months earlier in July 2023, McInerney initiated a project to explore creating an environmental signatures database. The objective was to help scientists distinguish known natural phenomena - such as atmospheric sprites or marine life tracked via Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) - from genuine anomalies. This initiative aligned with public statements made by IST members like Dr. David Spergel regarding the need to leverage NASA’s high-resolution data assets.

  

  Source: NASA FOIA 26-00789-F-HQ

The GSFC library compiled extensive Zotero bibliographies spanning multiple scientific disciplines to support this database, though the initiative was paused by September 2023 due to resource limitations. Zotero bibliographies are curated, formatted lists of academic citations and research materials compiled using specialised reference management software.

NASA’s UAP Director of Research and Public Visibility

The timeline of these internal research requests ran parallel to NASA’s highly anticipated UAP Independent Study Team (IST) Report, released on 14 September 2023.

Source: NASA

During the media teleconference accompanying the report’s release, NASA leadership faced questions regarding the newly created Director of UAP Research position. Initially, officials expressed reluctance to publicly identify the individual holding the role due to concerns over cyber-harassment and stigma. Ultimately, later that day, NASA publicly confirmed Mark McInerney’s appointment.

Source: NASA Science

Despite the public visibility surrounding the appointment, the administrative reality of the position appears to have been temporary. Internal communications from early 2025 confirmed that McInerney’s detail to the Department of Defense’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) concluded in the fall of 2024, and the Director of UAP Research role was left without a permanent backfill.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Mark McInerney has since stepped away from his federal duties, having officially retired from NASA in July 2025. His departure coincided with the agency's delayed resignation program, quietly bringing an end to his tenure as the first Director of UAP Research.

Internal Record-Keeping and Interagency Routing

The internal correspondence within the FOIA release also documents candid discussions between agency leadership and NASA Records Officer Patti Stockman regarding how UAP-related materials are categorised and retained. When informed that NASA claimed to hold no UAP records, Stockman expressed surprise regarding the lack of documentation given the agency’s recent public-facing studies.

Source: NASA FOIA 26-00029-F-HQ

The conversation deepened when Stockman forwarded guidance from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) explicitly detailing the federal metadata requirements for digitised UAP records. She directly questioned how NASA could reconcile NARA’s requirements with the assertion that the agency possessed zero UAP records.

Source: NASA FOIA 26-00029-F-HQ

In response, Evans reiterated that NASA did not hold records related to UAP, noting that previous incidents investigated near NASA centers were ultimately identified or tracked by DoD assets. Regarding his own inbox, Evans noted that he received a large volume of unsolicited emails from the public. He stated that, following previous guidance regarding non-pertinent agency business, he had routinely deleted these communications, thereby resulting in no retained records.

Source: NASA FOIA 26-00029-F-HQ

Additionally, in handling subsequent FOIA requests, NASA referred portions of its files to external bodies: 26 pages to the Department of Defense and 15 pages to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Because the GAO operates as an investigative arm of Congress, it is legally exempt from statutory FOIA timelines under 4 CFR Part 81. By routing records through these interagency channels, public access is managed outside of standard FOIA frameworks, highlighting the complex web of jurisdiction governing federal records on sensitive topics.

The Quiet Closure of the Goddard Library

Established alongside the Goddard Space Flight Center when it opened in 1959 as NASA’s first space flight complex, the GSFC Library grew to become the agency’s largest research library. For over six decades, it served as a vital intellectual hub, offering scientists, engineers, and administrators unparalleled access to technical aerospace literature and invaluable historical archives - including primary source documents dating back to the facility’s early high-altitude balloon research. As demonstrated by the UAP Director’s extensive 2023 inquiries, the library’s dedicated staff and expansive collections were instrumental in conducting the kind of deep-dive, multi-disciplinary research that standard digital searches simply could not replicate.

Despite its critical role in advancing aerospace research, the GSFC Library was permanently closed on 2 January 2026. The shuttering of the historic facility was part of a sweeping, Goddard-wide campus transformation and cost-cutting initiative aimed at consolidating operations. Driven by broader federal reorganisation mandates, the closure plan involved shuttering over a dozen buildings and more than 100 laboratories. While NASA indicated that a small percentage of the rarest materials would be saved or digitised, thousands of physical volumes and historical records were reportedly slated for disposal or transfer to the General Services Administration, effectively marking the end of an era for one of NASA’s most significant repositories of scientific history.

Conclusion

The release of these 3,668 pages demonstrates a fundamental tension within federal science administration. While executive-level public statements and internal emails stressed that NASA held no formal UAP documentation, the day-to-day operations revealed active data gathering and technical exploration of aerospace anomalies through the GSFC library.

As researchers continue to examine the remaining X-drive spreadsheets and Zotero databases referenced in the emails, this documentation serves as a valuable reminder: in the pursuit of transparency, tracking administrative workflows and library requests often provides the clearest picture of an agency’s true engagement with the UAP topic.

• Download FOIA documents
  26-00789-F-HQ - Redacted Records - 1 of 2 [298 Pages, 2.6MB]
  26-00789-F-HQ - Redacted Records - 2 of 2 [3,380 Pages, 18.5MB]
• About Grant Lavac
  Grant is a UAP activist, researcher and podcaster residing in Melbourne, Australia. Grant frequently leverages the Freedom of Information Act to better understand Australia’s involvement (or rather, lack thereof) on the UAP issue, and engages both his elected representatives and the legacy media in the hope they’ll take the topic seriously and treat it with the respect it deserves. Grant reports on his FOIA findings and engagement efforts via his podcast, The Unexplained Rundown, which is freely available on Spotify and YouTube. To follow Grant’s ongoing research, visit grantlavac.com.

{https://grantlavac.substack.com/ }

UFO Disclosure 2026: Fifth Batch Of 41 Classified Files Released; Here's How To Access

By Mashable News Staff 

The US Department of War released a fifth batch of declassified UFO files on Friday, adding 41 new documents, images, and videos to its public disclosure website. The files went live around 6:36 PM IST. Records in this tranche of documents come from the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, State Department, and the Executive Office of the President. The oldest file dates to 1950; the newest was generated this year. This is the fifth release since President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies in February to identify and release records related to unidentified aerial phenomena. The first batch went live on May 8 with 158 files. Four more have followed since then on a rolling basis, with no fixed schedule between each of the subsequent releases.

In his statement announcing the release, Assistant to the Secretary of War for Public Affairs Sean Parnell said the department and its agency partners are actively working on the next set of files.

How to Access UFO Files?

The files are hosted on the US government portal called PURSUE, short for the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters. The Department of War has not published individual summaries for this batch. Researchers and lay folks shifting through the 41 files are a bit bummed that there are no decent releases in the cache.

UFO Files 2026: The Department of War has put out a fresh batch of UFO, or UAP, records on its PURSUE website. This is the fifth release so far. It adds 41 new files and mixes together documents, images, and videos. The records come from the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, the State Department, and the Executive Office of the President. The oldest file in the set is from 1950. The newest one was created this year. The release page says these are unresolved cases, which means the government still does not have a final answer for them

Here's how to access the files

1. Go to war.gov/ufo. Or click here.
2. Select "Release 05" from the list of batches.
3. Browse the documents, images, and videos under that release.
4. Click a file to view or download it as a PDF, image, or video.

Report back if you find anything anomalous out there.

Several FBI interview forms are also in the release, many with redactions and hand-drawn pictures of what witnesses said they saw. One report records a former military pilot talking about lights he saw while flying from Massachusetts to Ireland in October 2023. He said the lights were white, started dim, got brighter, and then faded out. He said the full cycle lasted from 10 seconds to one minute, and that he saw them about 10 times after the first sighting.

See Also:

• UFO Disclosure 2026: Trump Admin Releases First Set With 162 Files Of Unresolved Cases; Here's How To Access

Cover: Department of War

The Fifth Tranche: 41 Files, Three Cases, and the Word "Unresolved"

{https://in.mashable.com/ }

Fresh vegetables and salad may become part of the diet of future Moon residents. The space agencies of the United States and Canada, together with the German Aerospace Center, have agreed to prepare a ground-based prototype of a plant-growing module for a lunar base. They want to test how crops grow under reduced pressure and how the greenhouse exchanges oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water with the living module. Long-duration expeditions to the Moon, and later to Mars, will largely depend on this.

Artist’s illustration of the ground demonstrator of the Lunar Agricultural Module (LAM-GTD). Such a module could supplement the diet of residents of a permanent lunar base with fresh vegetables and salad. Credit: German Aerospace Center (DLR), Kyunghwan

Preparatory Stage of the Project

NASA, the Canadian  Space Agency (CSA), and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) signed a memorandum of understanding in August 2026. As DLR reports, the document currently concerns only preparatory work on the ground demonstrator of the Lunar Agricultural Module (LAM-GTD). The parties will decide later whether it should be built. If so, the facility is expected to be completed no later than 2032.

According to the concept, the greenhouse for growing high-density crops will be connected to the crew living module through an airlock chamber that will regulate pressure and gas composition. The crew compartment itself will not be reproduced separately; it will be replaced by the HabSim simulator. Teams from several DLR institutes, NASA, CSA, and the National Research Council of Canada are working on the project.

Diagram of the ground prototype of the Lunar Agricultural Module (LAM-GTD). The concept combines a habitat simulator with a plant-growing module, and the facility could be built by 2032. Credit: LIQUIFER Space Systems GmbH, René Waclavicek

Reduced-Pressure Conditions

The project is intended to show how plants grow in a controlled environment at pressure lower than that on  Earth. Similar conditions are expected at the future base near the Moon’s south pole, which NASA and its partners plan to build under the Moon Base project.

This choice is not accidental. NASA has studied an atmosphere for lunar habitat modules with a pressure of about 56 kPa, slightly more than half of Earth’s 101 kPa at sea level. In a spacesuit, the pressure is even lower, about 30 kPa. The smaller the difference between the pressure inside the module and inside the spacesuit, the shorter the preparation time for going outside, because with a large pressure difference an astronaut must breathe pure oxygen for a long time to avoid decompression sickness.

Researchers will also separately study the exchange of air and water between the greenhouse and the crew compartment. Plants absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and return water to the circulation cycle, so part of the load on life-support systems can be transferred to them.

Experience from Antarctica

DLR has already experimented with growing food in isolation. Beginning in 2018, the EDEN ISS Antarctic greenhouse team spent five years collecting data on equipment reliability, crop yields, microbiology, and food safety.

A diverse harvest in the EDEN ISS Antarctic greenhouse of the German Aerospace Center. Since 2018, the team spent five years collecting data on system operation, plant cultivation, food safety, the crew’s psychological state, and electricity and water consumption. Credit: German Aerospace Center (DLR), CC-BY 3.0

Engineers recorded how much electricity, water, and working time such a facility requires. These resources will be limited on a lunar base, so such figures will be needed already at the design stage.

All of these data were obtained under normal Earth pressure. How plants will behave in the rarefied atmosphere of a lunar base will be shown by the new prototype.

More Than Calories

Fresh greens will not replace astronauts’ usual diet but will supplement it. Long-life packaged rations will continue to form the basis of their food, while plants will add variety.

Their benefits are not limited to nutrition. DLR emphasizes that plants support the psychological well-being of the crew. The EDEN ISS team in Antarctica studied this aspect as well. The farther expeditions travel from Earth, the more important such capabilities will become.

Greenhouses for Deserts

The project’s results may also prove useful on Earth. Specialized greenhouse designs could be suitable for dry desert regions where water must be conserved.

Controlled food cultivation offers another advantage. DLR expects that such technologies could help reduce pesticide use and improve food quality, although the mechanism behind this effect is not explained in the announcement.

• Posted in News, Science, Tech

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/ }

Humanity plans to establish a colony on Mars, although it remains unclear whether such a settlement could survive without continuous supplies from Earth. To investigate this question, we examined the full range of human needs, from air and food to the mission’s underlying purpose. Our findings indicate that even aboard an orbital station, it is not yet possible to recover half of the oxygen; on Mars, one meter of soil overhead blocks only a quarter of cosmic radiation; and unexpected psychological challenges may arise among an isolated crew.

What people need to live on Mars and the Moon without assistance from Earth. Source: Universe Space Tech YouTube channel

Five steps to Mars

In visualizations, a city on Mars is typically depicted as a cluster of domes, solar panels, and rockets on the horizon. However, a dome alone does not constitute a colony. A colony begins when its inhabitants can produce their own air, water, and food, and repair equipment failures without relying on spare parts from Earth.

Elon Musk articulated this distinction with considerable precision. In a May 2025 interview with Fox News, he described Mars as a “life insurance policy” for humanity in the event of an asteroid strike, nuclear war, or climate catastrophe. He immediately added that a settlement unable to function without a continuous supply of resources from Earth would not constitute a backup plan; it would remain a branch.

Let us consider what the colony will be able to provide for itself in terms of life’s necessities. The hierarchy of needs proposed by psychologist Abraham Maslow offers a useful framework for organizing this discussion. It is commonly represented as a pyramid, although Maslow himself never drew such a diagram. For our purposes, the essential point is the progression from basic survival to the sources of meaning in our actions.

The five levels of needs for a colony on Mars — from air, water, and food to the purpose for which people travel to another planet.
Authored by: Universe Space Tech

There are five steps. The first involve air, water, and food; the next involve safety, the people around us, work, and, finally, our goals. On Earth, we move through most of them without even noticing. On Mars, we will have to build each one from scratch, beginning with what we breathe.

Essential needs

The initial step appears to have already been taken, as people have been breathing, drinking, and bathing aboard the International Space Station for more than twenty years. Virtually no water is lost there. Condensate from the air, wastewater generated through personal hygiene, and even urine undergo distillation and filtration. A few years ago, a unit was added to extract moisture from the concentrate, which had previously been discarded. Approximately 98% of the water is recycled.

JAXA astronaut Koichi Wakato (center) and NASA astronauts Frank Rubio (left) and Josh Cassada (right) aboard the ISS.
Source: nasa.gov

Oxygen recovery is a more complex process. Oxygen is extracted from water through electrolysis, and the resulting hydrogen is combined with the carbon dioxide exhaled by the astronauts. This process produces water, which is returned to the cycle, and methane. The methane, along with some of the hydrogen, is jettisoned overboard, making it impossible to recycle all of the exhaled gas. Consequently, only about 50% of the oxygen can be recovered, despite NASA’s requirement that at least 75% be recovered for missions beyond  Earth’s orbit.

Both figures should be interpreted with certain caveats. The station orbits at an altitude of approximately 400 km, and cargo ships regularly deliver water, breathing gases, filters, and spare parts. Accordingly, these figures reflect the effectiveness of the recycling process rather than the station’s ability to operate independently of Earth.

The prospects for obtaining water on Mars are more favorable than one might expect, as extensive deposits of ice lie beneath the planet’s surface. In addition, oxygen can be extracted from the atmosphere, which consists primarily of carbon dioxide. Colonists require oxygen both for respiration and as an oxidizer in rocket fuel; without it, they would be unable to launch from the planet. In 2021, this capability was tested using the MOXIE instrument aboard the Perseverance rover. Martian air was heated inside the device and separated into oxygen and carbon monoxide. Over a two-year period, sixteen sessions were conducted, producing 122 grams of oxygen — enough to sustain an adult’s breathing for five hours. The experiment’s purpose was to demonstrate that this process was feasible.

Water on Mars. Source: ESA / DLR / FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

To support the crew and refuel the rocket for the return journey, a system approximately 200 times larger will be required. It will need about 30 kW, while the entire Perseverance rover is powered by a 110-watt source. The oxidizer required for the return flight alone weighs nearly 30 metric tons and must be produced continuously for almost a year and a half before the crew arrives. No such equipment currently exists; only the MOXIE team’s calculations are available.

In this image, the gold-plated Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) instrument is shown glistening after its installation inside the Perseverance rover. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech

Efforts have previously been undertaken on Earth to establish a fully self-sustaining system in which people produce their own air, water, and food. On September 26, 1991, in the Arizona desert, the airtight doors of Biosphere 2 — a glass complex spanning one and a half hectares and containing a forest, a section of ocean, and a farm — were sealed behind eight participants. They were scheduled to emerge two years later.

Their own harvest supplied approximately four-fifths of their food requirements; however, over the course of the experiment, the crew lost an average of 16% of their body weight. The most unusual developments began approximately one year after the spacecraft was sealed. During routine activities, participants began experiencing shortness of breath; some were unable to complete a sentence without pausing to breathe, and one participant fell asleep during lunch. Over a sixteen-month period, the oxygen concentration declined from just over 20% to 14.5%. For context, this is comparable to the oxygen level at an altitude of four kilometers.

Participants in the Biosphere 2 experiment — Jane Poynter, Linda Leigh, Mark Van Thillo, Taber MacCallum, Roy Walford (in the foreground), Abigail Alling, Sally Silverstone, and Bernd Zabel — inside the complex in 1990. Source: Neon

It could not have disappeared without a trace. Living organisms convert oxygen into carbon dioxide; therefore, the concentration of this compound should have increased in direct proportion to the decrease in oxygen. However, measurements did not indicate such an increase. Two explanations emerged. Soil microbes — in soil that was exceptionally rich in organic matter and had been prepared for the crop — consumed oxygen far more intensively than the designers had anticipated, meaning that carbon dioxide levels were indeed rising. In addition, fresh concrete in the structures absorbed carbon dioxide, preventing it from accumulating in the air. Ultimately, the oxygen shortfall had to be offset by pumping oxygen in from outside.

Safety

The second factor, safety, is naturally provided on Earth. Earth’s magnetic field deflects most of the Sun’s charged particles, while its thick atmosphere absorbs the remainder. Mars has a very weak magnetic field, and its surface atmospheric pressure is approximately 160 times lower than  Earth’s. This thin atmosphere offers almost no protection, allowing radiation to reach the surface.

An artist’s rendering of coronal mass ejections approaching Earth and interacting with its magnetic field. Credit: NASA.

In this context, there are two types of hazards, each requiring a distinct protective approach. During solar flares, the Sun emits a stream of particles that persists for hours or days, resulting in a sharp increase in radiation exposure. Galactic rays, by contrast, originate continuously in interstellar space, arrive from all directions, and possess significantly higher energy.

The most straightforward solution is to construct habitats underground. This approach is highly effective against solar flares, and a few dozen centimeters of regolith can reduce radiation exposure to below the safe threshold for astronauts. Galactic cosmic rays, however, present a different challenge. According to a study published in late 2024, a meter of rock overhead reduces radiation exposure by only approximately one-quarter.

The reason is that the layer itself becomes a source of radiation. Galactic rays strike the nuclei of regolith atoms, dislodging secondary particles that then penetrate deeper into the material. The precise amount of soil required to reduce radiation to Earth’s background level is unknown. Estimates range from two and a half to eight meters, and all of this material would need to be deposited using equipment brought from Earth, together with the power source required to operate it.

However, ready-made shelters on the Moon and Mars may already exist. Billions of years ago, lava flowed across these bodies, including beneath their surfaces, leaving hollow tunnels beneath the solidified crust. On the Moon, sinkholes tens of meters in diameter are visible where the ceilings of these cavities have collapsed, and the tunnels themselves may extend for hundreds of kilometers. Their interiors remain unexplored, as the equipment required to investigate them is still under development.

An artist’s rendering of a microvehicle exploring the entrance to a lunar lava tube. Illustration by William Whittaker, Carnegie Mellon University

Although the radiation problem can theoretically be resolved, another threat remains, even beneath a rock ceiling: the astronaut’s own body. Throughout the history of spaceflight, no cardiac arrests have been recorded. However, astronauts who have flown have been carefully selected, healthy professionals receiving daily medical supervision, and their missions have generally lasted only a few months. For long-duration missions, statistical estimates suggest approximately one serious medical event per 900 days spent off  Earth, per person. A round trip to Mars takes years.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation in microgravity presents an engineering challenge. On Earth, a rescuer uses their body weight to apply pressure to the chest; in orbit, however, the rescuer is displaced after the first compression. In 2025, these techniques were tested aboard an aircraft conducting parabolic flights, which provide brief periods of free fall. Only one technique proved effective: an unusual position in which the rescuer braces their feet against the ceiling. However, only an automated piston device consistently achieved the required compression depth. Mars has gravity, although it is less than half that of Earth, so techniques designed for weightlessness are unsuitable there. Standard Earth-based procedures were tested in suspension systems simulating the gravity of Mars and proved less effective. Consequently, no distinct protocol for these conditions is currently available.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in space: This method involves securing a foothold on the ceiling of the ISS directly opposite the victim’s chest, enabling pressure to be applied to the chest.

Cardiac complications represent only one category of risk. Appendicitis, fractures, renal colic, dental abscesses, or severe bleeding — conditions that would warrant an ambulance on Earth — would need to be managed independently, 200 million kilometers from an operating room. Medical guidance from Earth takes approximately 20 minutes to arrive after a question is sent, and returning home is not an option when one begins to feel unwell. Crew members return from the International Space Station within hours; travel from the Moon takes several days, while opportunities to travel from Mars arise only once every 26 months, when the planets are suitably aligned. At other times, support is limited to the small number of people nearby.

Social connections

The third step — the individuals in your immediate surroundings — poses the most difficult threat to predict. The most revealing data on this threat were collected at Concordia Antarctic Station, and the findings run counter to intuition.

The French-Italian base is situated at an altitude of more than three thousand meters, higher than Mount Hoverla, and the body is therefore subjected to a persistent lack of oxygen. During winter, temperatures can fall to minus eighty degrees. The nearest neighbors are more than five hundred kilometers away, and departure is impossible for nine months of the year. Approximately fifteen people remain at the base throughout the winter.

Psychologists observed the team over a ten-month period. Each polar explorer wore a sensor that recorded whom they spent time with and for how long. During the same period, participants completed surveys four times per season assessing loneliness, trust, team cohesion, and self-reported productivity.

By the end of the study, feelings of isolation and the number of disagreements had increased, while trust, cohesion, and job satisfaction had declined. The team had divided along linguistic lines, with the French participants on one side and the Italian participants on the other. This outcome was expected. However, the sensor data revealed an unexpected finding: those who spent the most time in close proximity to their colleagues reported the greatest distress, and greater physical proximity was associated with a stronger sense of loneliness.

The winter crew at the Franco-Italian Concordia Station in Antarctica comprised thirteen individuals.
Credit: ESA, IPEV, PNRA, Beth Gili

Isolation is often understood as a state of emptiness and a lack of contact. At Concordia, however, it took a different form. The same small group of people appeared each day at breakfast, at work, and in the evening — both in the present and six months later — and there was no opportunity to step outside and encounter strangers. As a result, people had little variety in their interactions.

At least the conflict is apparent. Another Antarctic study, which examined how overwintering members of other groups cope with stress, found that the response can disappear entirely. Around the third quarter of their stay, the polar explorers ceased both fighting and avoidance. Their emotions settled into apathy, without depression or aggression. The authors described this as “psychological hibernation” and emphasized that this was merely their interpretation. Such a team member does not cause conflict and continues to perform their duties; therefore, the most dangerous state within a closed group may show no outward signs at all.

An Antarctic overwintering expedition concludes on a predetermined date. In the event of a serious emergency, a medical evacuation team can be dispatched to provide assistance. By contrast, a return journey from Mars takes several years and depends on the planets’ positions; therefore, a rapid evacuation would not be possible.

A flight from Earth to Mars via the orbit that requires the least energy

At this stage, engineering reaches its limits. Although calculations can address breathing requirements and radiation protection, there is no clear solution if, eight months into the mission, one crew member stops communicating with another. No shipment from  Earth would resolve this situation. The only option is to select candidates rigorously, although Concordia’s crew members were not selected at random either.

The meaning and significance of work

The fourth step — work and its purpose — appears to be the simplest, as there will be no shortage of tasks on Mars. The question is whether humans are truly necessary to carry them out. All the listed threats become critical only when a crew is present; therefore, it is worth determining which tasks cannot be performed without one.

The primary rationale is scientific. In late June 2026, a ten-year survey of the sky commenced at the Vera Rubin Observatory. On the Moon, such an instrument would be unaffected by atmospheric interference or space debris. We asked Professor Agnieszka Pollo, Deputy Director for Scientific Research at Poland’s National Center for Nuclear Research and coordinator of Poland’s participation in the observatory project, whether constructing it there would be worthwhile. Her response, which includes an unexpected caveat concerning large observatories, is available in the video on our YouTube channel.

The Vera Rubin Observatory building is located atop Cerro Pachón in northern Chile, where the 10-year LSST survey began in 2026. The image combines a photograph with a computer-generated rendering. Source: rubinobservatory.org

However, a telescope on the Moon would require maintenance, and no one would be nearby to repair it if it malfunctioned. Among space telescopes, only the Hubble  Space Telescope has been repaired by astronauts. It was launched into orbit in 1990 with a defective primary mirror. In December 1993, the crew of the space shuttle Endeavour installed corrective optics while working in open space. Every subsequent repair through 2009 required a separate mission.

Equipment malfunctions occur more frequently on the Moon than on Earth. Each year, the lunar surface is struck by approximately one hundred objects weighing up to one metric ton, as well as countless micrometeorites. In addition, sharp, electrically charged dust adheres to surfaces, scratches mirrors, and obstructs mechanisms. Engineers have developed methods to remotely address some of these malfunctions, enabling rovers on Mars and the Moon to remain operational for years, sometimes through remarkably inventive solutions. Large observatories are more complex, however, and the limits of their automation remain uncertain.

The search for life appears to provide a compelling justification for sending humans to Mars. The Martian surface is sterilized by solar radiation; consequently, scientists are seeking traces of microorganisms at a depth of approximately two metres. In our video, Professor Carlo Baccigalupi, a cosmologist and coordinator of the astrophysics and cosmology group at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, explains why a permanent base may be necessary for this type of drilling. However, automated missions are already being planned to explore these depths. The European Rosalind Franklin rover is scheduled to launch in 2028, and, around the same time, China plans to launch the “Tianwen-3” mission to return samples to Earth.

NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers are searching for evidence of life on Mars. Source: science.nasa.gov

This leaves the most pragmatic consideration: resources, particularly financial resources. The Moon contains helium-3, an isotope that is virtually nonexistent on Earth. It is considered a promising fuel for fusion power and is already used in the cooling systems of quantum computers. A liter of this gas costs thousands of dollars, while its concentration in lunar regolith is minuscule — only parts per billion. Accordingly, the prototype of a lunar excavator unveiled in May 2025 is designed to extract 100 metric tons of soil per hour. The excavator is robotic, so a future lunar mine could operate without human personnel, just as drilling operations on Mars are likely to do.

Purpose

Regarding the fifth step — the goal — the answer appears to have been publicly stated for quite some time. Elon Musk describes Mars as a backup plan for humanity; however, according to his own criteria, the only viable backup would be a colony capable of sustaining itself without supplies from  Earth. None of the lower rungs currently meet this condition. Therefore, humanity is planning something more akin to a branch office supported by headquarters.

A Martian desert research station in Utah, where the Mars Society is evaluating living conditions for future colonists.
Source: marssociety.org

It is noteworthy that the Mars Society does not advance this argument. The organization, which has promoted the idea of colonization since 1998, was founded by Robert Zubrin, whose calculations underpin modern Mars expedition projects. Its declaration lists seven reasons for going to Mars, and a “spare planet” is not among them. We discussed this omission with Serhii Danylenko, head of the Mars Society in Ukraine.

However, we should not regard the goal as a summit to be reached after ascending four lower steps. It is precisely in pursuit of this goal that we began seeking solutions to all the problems explored above. In its service, we calculate how much oxygen can be recovered at the station, measure the radiation dose beneath a meter of regolith, and equip polar researchers in Antarctica with sensors. These issues matter only because humanity has resolved to undertake a mission to Mars.

The colonization of Mars. Illustration: SpaceX

However, one fact remains unchanged: the pyramid’s roots still extend from Earth. Oxygen, water, medicine, spare parts, solutions, and people continue to come from here. A self-sufficient colony exists only in science fiction books and films, and it is impossible to calculate what it would take to build one today, as we are not yet aware of certain threats. We will have to develop solutions as we proceed.

• Posted in Articles, Questions

{ https://universemagazine.com/en/articles-en/  }

The discovery comes from the rover’s exploration of the “Margin Unit,” a geological region along the inner edge of Jezero Crater. Perseverance reached the area in September 2023, where scientists initially expected to find sedimentary rocks formed from material deposited in an ancient lake.

Instead, the rover found igneous rock that recorded repeated interactions with water.

Published in Communications Earth & Environment, the study suggests the Margin Unit became a kind of geological crossroads where different water systems interacted with the Martian surface and subsurface at different points in the planet’s history.

“Before we arrived at the Margin Unit, the main hypothesis — derived from orbital observations — was that the carbonate seen from orbit formed from interaction with the lake that existed in Jezero Crater,” Candice Bedford, a research scientist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the study’s lead author, says in a statement.

“But now we know that this location became a sort of crossroads for aqueous systems. The Margin Unit findings are important because Jezero Crater sits inside one of the largest exposures of carbonate on Mars, so what we learn here reaches well beyond this crater,” Bedford adds. 

The evidence comes from Perseverance’s SuperCam instrument, which analyzes rocks by firing laser pulses and studying the resulting plasma to determine chemical composition. In total, the rover has reviewed 185 bedrock targets across the Margin Unit.

Recent investigations by Perseverance revealed coarse-grained, olivine-rich rock that showed little evidence of water alteration. Scientists believe this rock originally formed deep underground as magma slowly cooled, allowing large mineral crystals to develop. It was later exposed at the surface as overlying material eroded.

“If there is one thing I have learned after 10 years working with Mars rovers, it is that Mars constantly throws surprises at you,” said Bedford. “It is very rare that things are as we expect them to be from orbital data.” 

When looking at the geological sequence, however, the rocks do indeed tell a different story. 

The olivine grains were fractured and surrounded by silica and carbonate minerals, evidence that water had interacted with the rock. Here on Earth, similar reactions involving olivine can produce hydrogen, which some microorganisms can use as an energy source. Carbonate and silica can also preserve chemical evidence of ancient environments.

Carbon-rich groundwater altered the olivine, while Jezero’s ancient lake left silica-rich minerals behind. Additionally, Perseverance found fluorite and calcium sulfate veins, suggesting Mars’ region experienced a later episode of hot, hydrothermal water activity.

Understanding these findings could help scientists reconstruct Mars’ water history, climate, and potential habitability.

“I hope this work helps reshape how scientists view the history of water in Jezero Crater and across Mars,” Bedford said.

“Ultimately, I hope it helps planetary scientists reconstruct the changing climate and habitability of early Mars.”

• Chrissy Newton is a PR professional and the founder of VOCAB Communications. She currently appears on The Discovery Channel and Max and hosts the Rebelliously Curious podcast, which can be found on YouTube and on all audio podcast streaming platforms. Follow her on X: @ChrissyNewton, Instagram: @BeingChrissyNewton, and chrissynewton.com. To contact Chrissy with a story, please email chrissy @ thedebrief.org.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/space/ }

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Unveiling the Alien Agenda: Why UFOs Are Truly Here

The concept of UFOs and extraterrestrial beings has long intrigued humanity, sparking debates, conspiracy theories, and extensive research. While many view aliens as benevolent beings with advanced technologies, an alternative perspective raises unsettling questions: Why are they here? What are their motives? This article delves into the potentially terrifying agendas behind extraterrestrial encounters, exploring the evidence and theories that suggest humanity may be part of a larger, hidden plan.

Earth: A Unique Target

Earth is a rare gem in the universe. It boasts abundant liquid water, a diverse ecosystem, and unique minerals, making it an irresistible target for any advanced species seeking resources. Unlike other celestial bodies where water exists as ice, Earth’s readily available liquid water and rich biodiversity make it a one-stop shop for exploration, colonization, or exploitation. This planetary abundance could explain why extraterrestrial interest in Earth persists.

Humanity’s Role: Slave Race or Resource?

Ancient texts and modern theories suggest that humans may have been created or altered by an advanced extraterrestrial race. The Sumerian accounts of the Anunnaki, for example, describe these beings as gods who genetically engineered humans to serve them. According to this narrative, humans were designed to mine resources like gold for their creators. This theory implies that humanity’s sudden leap in intelligence, often referred to as the “missing link,” could be the result of genetic manipulation by an alien species.

More unsettling is the idea that humans might still be a resource for extraterrestrial agendas. Alien abduction accounts frequently involve invasive medical procedures, often focused on reproductive systems. These activities suggest that aliens may be harvesting genetic material to create hybrids or for other purposes unknown to us.

Missing Persons: A Sinister Explanation?

Each year, hundreds of thousands of people go missing worldwide. While many cases are explained as voluntary disappearances or criminal activities, a fraction remains unaccounted for. Could some of these individuals be victims of extraterrestrial abduction? Given the vast number of reports and the similarities in abduction narratives, it is plausible that these missing persons are part of an alien agenda involving genetic or biological experiments.

Advanced Technology and UFO Sightings

Modern UFO sightings reveal technology far beyond human capabilities. These craft can maneuver in ways that defy the laws of physics as we understand them—instant stops, right-angle turns at high speeds, and seamless transitions between air and water. If these sightings represent actual extraterrestrial craft, they indicate a level of technological advancement that humanity cannot yet comprehend.

The surge in UFO sightings coincides with humanity’s development of nuclear technology. Some theorists suggest that nuclear detonations in the 1940s drew increased extraterrestrial attention, as these explosions could disrupt the fabric of space-time. This connection raises the question: Are UFOs here to monitor or even intervene in humanity’s use of destructive technologies?

Benevolence or Malevolence?

The motivations of extraterrestrial visitors remain unclear. Some theories posit that aliens are here to help humanity evolve, offering spiritual guidance and technological insights. Others suggest a darker agenda: resource extraction, colonization, or even the use of humans as commodities—whether as slaves, genetic material, or food.

Religious and cultural beliefs often frame aliens as saviors or destroyers, reflecting humanity’s hope and fear of the unknown. Ancient art and modern spiritual movements depict aliens as advanced beings—either benevolent space brothers or malevolent overlords. These contrasting interpretations mirror the duality in theories about their intentions.

The Influence of Governments

The role of governments in the UFO phenomenon is another contentious issue. Some believe that secret agreements between extraterrestrial beings and world leaders exist, involving the exchange of technology for the right to abduct humans. The alleged 1954 meeting between President Eisenhower and extraterrestrials is often cited as evidence of such a pact. Whether true or not, the secrecy surrounding UFOs and the suppression of related information fuels speculation that governments may be complicit in alien agendas.

A Planetary Experiment?

Another perspective suggests that Earth is a biological experiment, with humans as test subjects. Aliens may be observing humanity to assess our development, documenting our successes and failures. The frequent depiction of apocalyptic scenarios in abduction accounts—nuclear wars, environmental disasters—could be warnings intended to steer humanity away from self-destruction. Alternatively, these warnings might signal preparations for a post-apocalyptic world, where alien-human hybrids or genetically modified humans could inherit the planet.

Conclusion: A Mystery Unresolved

The true reasons behind extraterrestrial interest in Earth remain speculative. Are aliens here to help or harm us? Are we an experiment, a resource, or merely a passing curiosity? Until open contact occurs or governments disclose what they know, humanity can only theorize about the alien agenda.

What is clear is that the phenomenon of UFOs and extraterrestrial encounters has profound implications for humanity. Whether these visitors are saviors, oppressors, or observers, their presence challenges our understanding of existence and our place in the universe. For now, the alien agenda remains one of the greatest mysteries of our time, leaving us to ponder whether their plans align with our survival—or our doom.

{ https://www.latest-ufo-sightings.net/ }

Four Chilling UFO Encounters That Changed History

For as long as humans have gazed up at the stars, questions about extraterrestrial life have captured the human imagination. While most UFO sightings have been easily explained, a few remain unexplained and have sparked curiosity, debate, and wonder. This article dives into four landmark UFO sightings—the Roswell crash, the Battle of Los Angeles, the Rendlesham Forest incident, and the Marfa Lights—that continue to challenge our understanding of the universe. These iconic encounters, filled with gripping eyewitness accounts and intriguing expert analyses, have inspired countless theories about the mysteries that may lie beyond our world.

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Earth's vital signs are flashing red: Seven of nine key systems have been breached – as scientists warn 'we're rapidly running out of time'

By XANTHA LEATHAM, EXECUTIVE SCIENCE EDITOR

Earth's life support systems are failing, scientists have warned – as seven out of nine planetary boundaries have now been breached.

A new report, called Planetary Health Check 2026, was written by more than 60 international scientists and assesses the state of our planet's health.

They analysed a range of measures including climate change, ocean acidification, stratospheric ozone depletion, land system changes and biosphere integrity.

Four are in the 'high–risk' red zone and three are in the 'increasing–risk' yellow zone – while only two remain in the 'safe' green zone.

'The impact of transgressing planetary boundaries are becoming increasingly clear all around us,' the report reads.

'Results published in the last year show that climate change is progressing faster than previously expected, causing unprecedented heatwaves on land and in the ocean and fuelling destructive extreme weather events.

'Tropical coral reefs have experienced their most severe mass bleaching event to date, a shutdown of the main Atlantic overturning circulation is now considered a credible risk even under low– to medium emission scenarios, and major Antarctic ice masses may have already begun their slide into the ocean.

'With seven out of nine boundaries transgressed, we have pushed Earth outside of its Safe Operating Space – meaning that we are turning Earth from a safe home into one full of hazards that threaten people across the world.'

Seven out of Earth's nine 'life support' systems have been breached, the Planetary Health Check report warned

Experts warned we have 'pushed Earth out of its Safe Operating Space', turning our planet into 'one full of hazards'

According to the report, the red zone indicates that 'severe, irreversible damage to key planetary functions' has become likely.

It reveals that climate change is in this category, meaning immediate action must be taken to prevent locking in permanent changes.

It also sounds the alarm over the 'introduction of novel entities', referring to the release of man–made substances including plastic, synthetic chemicals, pesticides and other pollutants.

Biochemical flows are likewise in the red, indicating the severe disruption of nature's nutrient cycles.

The Earth's biosphere is also in the danger zone, meaning there has been a significant loss of the species, ecosystems and ecological functions that sustain life on our planet.

Life support systems that are currently in the yellow zone are Earth's freshwater systems, our land use and the acidification of the ocean.

The only two measures still in the green zone are stratospheric ozone depletion – the thinning of the ozone layer – and atmospheric aerosol loading, which refers to airborne particles that influence climate, rainfall patterns and human health.

Boundaries that now sit in the dangerous 'red zone' include climate change, the introduction of novel entities, biochemical flows and the biosphere

This map shows the most impactful extreme weather events between April 2025 and April 2026. Most can be attributed to climate change

Specific ecosystems highlighted in the report include the Amazon rainforest, which is close to passing a critical threshold.

'If it crosses its tipping point, up to 70 per cent of the Amazon forest could transition from lush rainforest to dry tropical savanna,' lead author Professor Carlos Nobre, from the University of Sao Paulo, wrote.

'[This would] release hundreds of billions of tons of carbon dioxide, irretrievably losing myriad species, and diminishing Earth's natural heritage.

'The resulting impacts would extend far beyond the Amazon itself, with serious implications for climate stability, food and water security, and human health around the world, such as an increased risk of epidemics.

'Besides an ecological catastrophe, losing the Amazon would be a moral injury: a sign that we had allowed one of Earth's great living worlds to disappear under our care.'

The report also specifically mentions the sea floor, which is being damaged by bottom trawling and faces the developing threat of deep–sea mining.

Scientists warned the outlook has worsened since last year, as pressure on several key life support systems continues to grow. 

Specific ecosystems highlighted in the report include the Amazon rainforest, which is close to passing a critical threshold

The report, compiled by the Planetary Boundaries Science Lab, also warns that efforts to tackle climate change will fail unless nature is protected and restored.

Scientists said forests, wetlands and other ecosystems currently absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide, but these natural carbon sinks are showing signs of weakening as environmental damage worsens.

Researchers also raised concerns about chemical pollution, warning that microplastics, PFAS 'forever chemicals' and thousands of other synthetic substances are being released into the environment faster than their impacts can be properly understood.

Despite the bleak outlook, the report says there is still hope.

'The science is clear: We have pushed the planet far beyond its Safe Operating Space,' it concludes.

'Despite some positive developments, our current efforts are far from sufficient. The window of opportunity to act and avoid irreversible change is narrowing – but it is still open.

'Through urgent and decisive action, we can change our trajectory towards sustainability. Returning to the Safe Operating Space is the defining task for a stable and liveable future.'

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The 10 freakiest UFO sightings in Michigan history

Ancient Alien Skull On Mars, With Cranium 3X Longer Than Peru Alien Mummy Skulls, UFO UAP Sighting News.

 

Date of discovery: Sept 29, 2026

Location of discovery: Mars SOL 0123

Source photo:

• https://mastcamz.asu.edu/galleries/sol-0123-ld-seitah-distant-outcrops-mastcam-z-mosaic/?back=%2Fmars-images%2Fpanoramas-mosaics%2F%3Fsort%3Ddate_asc%26undefined%3Dundefined%26pg%3D4

You know me, have to search the Mars photos for anomalies. I just love doing it. Like some people love watching sports on TV, I just love shifting through photos to learn more, understand more and hopefully come out understanding something new about aliens. The only option to this is sitting on the sofa at home waiting for the US gov to release something actually good, but thats never going to happen. So, its up to us, Joe Public to get out there and find the truth. 

 

I love this elongated cranium skull I found today. It has the longest cranium I have ever found before. If this is a sculpture and not a real fossil (can't discount the possibility) then it was probably made to celebrate the intelligence of some noble or important leader of the species. Yes, I find faces, but yes, I hold a masters degree in counseling and understand the difference from real and imaginary. Don't believe the CIA propaganda about finding faces...they rely on controlling the publics way of thinking. Do they control you?

Scott C. Waring

{ https://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/ }

Ames Impact Crater Previously Dated to the Ordovician Meteor Event

According to a statement, the impact crater that the researchers examined is buried beneath several layers of sedimentary strata. Dubbed the Ames impact structure, it is also a major producer of oil and gas.

Because it lies near a series of ancient meteor strikes across the North American continent that occurred roughly 467.5 million years ago, called the Ordovician Meteor event, scientists assumed Ames was a similar age. The researchers note that the frequency of impacts around this time has caused some to suggest that Earth may have once supported a Saturn-like ring of asteroid debris.

Before now, the site had been dated only from fossilized teeth of an ancient eel-like creature called a conodont discovered within the site’s rock. Since that date matched the Ordovician date, researchers considered the case closed.

Still, the research team behind the new effort said the conodont remains could have been “jumbled around” during a much later impact, creating the false correlation.

Zircon Crystals Reveal Violent Extinction Event 100 Million Years Later

Instead of relying on fossilized teeth, Danny Stockli, dean of the Jackson School of Geosciences and a co-author of the study, and colleagues employed a technique that examines the structure of zircon crystals found embedded in rocks at the site to determine when they formed.

Stockli said radiometric zircon U-Pb dating is the most accurate way to date events like major asteroid impacts in Earth’s history, since zircon microstructures can record the shock pressures of such violent events.

“These small crystals allow us to go back in time and learn about the major changes to Earth’s ancient landscapes,” Stockli explained.

After a zircon is impacted with an extreme force, it recrystallizes in what the team described as “a very specific way.” With some assistance from NASA, the researchers imaged the crystals collected from the Ames crater using cathodoluminescence and electron backscatter diffraction.

As hoped, the tests revealed that the zircon crystals were formed around 370 million years ago when a meteorite impacted the Ames area. The researchers said this date proves that the impact event that caused the now underground crater “could not have been part of the Ordovician Meteor Event.”

Instead, the new date, which is 100 million years later than the previously suspected event, lines up with the Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction event, which occurred about 372 million years ago. Like the impact that contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs, this event wiped out much of Earth’s marine life.

“No matter what technique we used, it was coming back to this younger signal,” explained the study’s lead author, Elizabeth Catlos, an associate professor at UT’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

“This is Where This Impact Belongs”

When discussing the significance of the findings, Catlos said the result takes “a major pawn out of the Ordovician Meteor Event” and places it into the Frasnian-Famennian event.

“This is where this impact belongs,” she said.

The researcher also noted the value of more accurate dating for mass extinction events or other large-scale events that can deform zircon crystals. Stockli echoed the sentiment, noting that the process could help date other sites and bring the Earth’s violent ancient past into clearer focus.

“It would be great to do this for more of the meteor impact sites across the continent so we could get a more accurate timeline for these major events,” they explained. 

• Christopher Plain has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Reporter at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his novels at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/astronomy/ }

The Sopranos writer and Boardwalk Empire creator Terence Winter will be teaming up with filmmaker and producer Dan Farah for the development of a new television series based on the former U.S. intelligence official who led the U.S. government’s investigations into Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP).

The series will be based on the forthcoming memoir Out of the Shadows, which offers a candid look at the career of Jay Stratton, the former official who led the U.S. government’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF).

Stratton’s book, scheduled for publication in October by William Morrow, recounts his involvement with official investigations of UAP, the military’s term for what historically are known as unidentified flying objects or UFOs, and the bureaucratic hurdles he encountered while leading government efforts to resolve their nature and origin.

Winter will serve as an executive producer for the screen adaptation through Cold Front Productions, and Farah will also be an executive producer under Farah Films, according to Variety.  

Farah previously directed the documentary film The Age of Disclosure, which brought together more than thirty current and former U.S. officials who spoke on the record about the UAP issue, potential national security related to the phenomenon, and ongoing efforts to secure the release of information about it, which are believed to remain in the U.S. government’s possession. Farah also produced the documentary film The Phenomenon by director James Fox.

Along with the secretive world of U.S. government investigations into UAP, the forthcoming series will deal with the unusual intersection between Stratton’s classified work and his life at home, as detailed in his forthcoming memoir, where he describes how his family also reportedly experienced unusual events while he served in government.

Winter described Stratton’s story and the plans for a forthcoming series as a journey into the lesser-known world of U.S. government and UAP investigations. Farah compared the material to a high-stakes political thriller, with a central mystery that is accompanied by the personal toll placed on Stratton and his family, and lingering questions about the existence of non-human intelligence.

{ https://thedebrief.org/category/science/ }

“I believe this is Noah’s Ark; that’s why I’m putting the Durupinar site through the most rigorous testing possible,” explained the organization’s founder, Andrew Jones.

The research team’s announcement appeared in a press release issued by Jones’s organization, and the results of their findings have not undergone scientific peer review.

The announcement includes initial observations that the drilling did not encounter any limestone bedrock, which, according to Jones’s organization, challenges the mainstream scientific explanation that the site is simply a rock formation. The core drilling effort also experienced a broken bit, which the team said suggests the potential presence of ancient petrified wood instead of comparatively softer limestone.

After future laboratory testing of the core drilling samples designed to provide further insight into the Noah’s Ark-shaped formation’s composition, the team is also planning to send a robot into the subterranean tunnels and chambers identified by previous site scans to search for more clues about its nature and origin.

Decades of Debate Surround ‘Noah’s Ark’ Site

The Durupınar formation is a 157-meter (515-foot) boat-shaped surface feature that first gained attention in 1959 when Turkish Army Capt. İlhan Durupınar spotted it.

Because of its unusual curved shape, some researchers have wondered whether the formation could potentially be the petrified remains of an ancient sea vessel. This, along with the formation’s location, which echoes beliefs about the alleged location where Noah’s Ark came to rest in the Old Testament, has led to speculations that the site could be the famed vessel built by Noah, as described in the book of Genesis.

Credit: Noah’s Ark Scans.

In 1988, an investigation to determine whether the ‘Noah’s Ark’ formation contained remains of petrified wood or limestone bedrock, as suggested by geologists, attempted to solve the faith-versus-science argument by drilling holes.

According to the Noah’s Ark Scans team, those holes extended to only “a fraction of the depth now being sampled,” offering limited value. Further, the samples in the earlier study were “corrupted” by water used to cool the drill bits, rendering tests inconclusive, according to Jones and his team.

Jones’s team, which includes U.S. Defense Scientist Dr. Khrosrow Bakthar, the inventor of the Bakthar Radar used to map much of the formation’s underground detail, has completed a months-long mapping effort at the site. The work includes the creation of three-dimensional models, collecting soil samples “inside and outside” the Noah’s Ark formation’s outline, and assembling an array of high-resolution surface imaging of the entire area. This work prepared the team for the core drilling effort.

Hints of ‘Decayed Wood’ and Organic Materials

According to a press release announcing the new work, core holes were drilled within the boat-shaped outline and in “control” locations well outside the formation’s area. These control samples offered a comparison set for future lab tests of samples collected within the outline of the Noah’s Ark site.

According to the team’s announcement, samples collected during the effort included “sequences of soil and sediment, intervals of organic-rich material, and cavities.”

“For the first time in history, we are performing an extensive, permitted deep core drilling survey inside and outside the Durupınar Noah’s Ark site, recovering samples from depths of up to 18 meters, nearly 60 feet,” Jones explained.

The researchers said the first samples include rich organic layers that could be evidence of ancient “decayed” wood. Jones, who describes himself as a believer in the historical veracity of the Noah’s Ark story, said the effort also revealed multiple hidden cavities, “including one filled with mud and water.”

One moment Jones highlighted from the work involved the ‘dry’ drilling system the team used, which does not rely on water. At one point, one of the drills suddenly stopped when the team “struck a layer so hard that the drill bit broke.” Jones said this occurred when the bit was 4-5 meters below the surface, and after the drilling system “had already penetrated the overlying material.”

“Whatever the core drill struck was harder than limestone — hard enough to break the bit,” Jones explained.

Team members said that the drill bit broke after hitting something harder than limestone.

Credit: Noah’s Ark Scans.

While lab tests will be needed to confirm the material’s composition, the researchers noted that if petrified wood from an ancient vessel caused the infamous formation, its harder-than-limestone status could explain the drill suddenly stopping.

“Petrified or highly mineralized wood [is] both a possibility we want to investigate through third-party lab testing,” Jones said.

Controversial Claims

Interpretations of the Durupınar formation as being purported physical evidence of events described in the Old Testament remain controversial. As previously reported by The Debrief, Jones and other team members of Noah’s Ark Scans have expressed views indicating that they already believe the Durupınar site represents the literal remains of the vessel ascribed to the Biblical character Noah, despite the ongoing investigations they are undertaking in an attempt to provide evidence for such beliefs.

Even some prominent young-Earth creationists have pushed back on Jones and his team’s claims. Ken Ham, the founder, CEO, and former president of the Christian apologetics organization Answers in Genesis, has criticized the group’s members for being “convinced of what this site likely was” before reviewing the results of geophysical surveys, arguing that the group’s findings fail to “objectively assess the raw geophysical data by canvassing other interpretations.”

To date, the research conducted by the Noah’s Ark Scans team has not been published in a formal scientific journal or undergone peer review, and has only been presented in press releases and on the organization’s website.

While the Noah’s Ark Scans team awaits the results of its most recent laboratory tests, the group has another exploration of the supposed Noah’s Ark site already planned. According to the team, this effort will follow up on earlier ground-penetrating radar scans that identified “linear features, right-angle intersections, layered anomalies, and elongated voids.” The researchers suggested these underground voids could be corridors to ‘chamber-like places,’ related to an ancient seagoing vessel.

Instead of more drilling, the team will deploy GOPHER, a custom-built robot named for the ‘gopher wood’ described in the book of Genesis. To explore the inner areas, GOPHER is equipped with a high-resolution camera that the team said is “designed to enter narrow borehole access points without opening large excavation trenches.”

“This is a major breakthrough in our ability to investigate what lies beneath this remarkable site,” explained Lauren Witzke, a Fundraiser for the Noah’s Ark Scans organization and self-described Christian activist, according to the group’s website.

Jones echoed those sentiments, noting that the team is “collecting physical samples for laboratory analysis, with more fieldwork planned next year.”

“These current findings challenge claims that this is simply a natural shape made of limestone or bedrock,” Jones said, adding that these first investigations have “opened an entirely new chapter in the Noah’s Ark investigation.” 

• Christopher Plain has spent the last six years as Associate News Editor and Head Science Reporter at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his novels at plainfiction.com, or email him at christopher@thedebrief.org.

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Sky watchers Al Qantarat “66” and Masiel Salinas were observing the Hubble Space Telescope through a live stream when they noticed two massive, strangely shaped objects in deep space. They captured the objects for further examination. 

Object 1 — Solar-Sail-Like Object 

Background: Digitized Sky Survey 2 

Coordinates: +07 03 51.74, +59 05 53 

This object appears to have a large, unusual structure resembling a solar-sail spacecraft. Its shape and apparent dimensions make it difficult to immediately identify as a conventional astronomical object. 

Object 2 — Blue Cigar-Shaped Object 

Background: Digitized Sky Survey 2 

Coordinates: +07 03 51.74, +59 05 53.8 

This object appears blue and distinctly cigar-shaped. Its clearly defined contours give it an unusual, almost artificial appearance, raising the question of whether it could be something other than a naturally occurring astronomical phenomenon. 

These are certainly not the first reports of unidentified objects appearing in astronomical observations. Over the years, unusual objects have been reported in telescope imagery, space livestreams, Google Sky, and other publicly accessible astronomical databases. 

One frequently cited example involves amateur recordings of enormous UFOs observed near the Orion Nebula. In some of these recordings, the objects appear to change position, leading observers to suggest that they may be moving under some form of intelligent control. 

Could the two objects identified in the Hubble imagery represent something similar? 

If these objects were eventually proven to be artificial spacecraft, and especially if their movement could be demonstrated to be controlled rather than the result of an astronomical or observational effect, it would raise profound questions about the existence of advanced technology beyond Earth.

{ https://ufosightingshotspot.blogspot.com/ }