Physical Sciences and Mathematics

NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft has a new orbit around the Red Planet. The change, part of a two-year extension for the mission, will give an ASU-operated instrument greater sensitivity for mapping Martian minerals. --by Robert Burnham

Miles below the surface of the planet, Earth is astir with life--microbial life. A team of ASU researchers is working to understand how these organisms get energy. Their work may have applications ranging from finding petroleum resources to cleaning up the environment. --by Nikki Staab

Nobody likes having the rug pulled out from under them. But it can be a good experience for a scientist. Setbacks lead to new questions, which ultimately produce new answers. --by Nicholas Gerbis

A kilometer-deep sample of rock from Australia tells scientists about the atmosphere billions of years ago. But how do they know how old the rock really is? --by Diane Boudreau

Glass is much more than the stuff of windows and mirrors. The scientific term "glass" refers to substances that cool and become rigid without taking on a crystalline structure. The nature of glass is still a mystery to chemists. Glassy water is the biggest enigma of all. --by Nicholas Gerbis

An international research team has discovered traces of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere about 50 million years before expected. The results came as a surprise to the scientific community. --by Diane Boudreau