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Articles on Earth's core

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Mining an asteroid probably won’t look exactly like mining does on Earth, but some principles will stay the same. posteriori/iStock via Getty Images

NASA’s robotic prospectors are helping scientists understand what asteroids are made of – setting the stage for miners to follow someday

Upcoming NASA missions will help scientists understand the composition of asteroids – which could inform companies one day hoping to commercially mine asteroids.
‘Earthrise,’ a photo of the Earth taken by Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, Dec. 4, 1968. NASA/Bill Anders via Wikipedia

Will the Earth last forever?

The Earth isn’t permanent, but it was here for four billion years before humans arrived and should be here for several billion more.
An artist’s impression of the Earth around 2.7 billion years ago in the Archean Eon. With green iron-rich seas, an orange methane-rich atmosphere and a surface dominated by oceans, the Archean Earth would have been a very different place. (Illustration by Andrey Atuchin)

Where did the Earth’s oxygen come from? New study hints at an unexpected source

Could tectonic processes in the early Earth have contributed to the rise of oxygen?
The view of our planet from aboard the International Space Station. Expedition 43/NASA

Curious Kids: What is the Earth made of?

Of all the planets in the solar system, there’s a reason we call Earth home. It’s made of just the right stuff. It’s not too small, or too big, or too hot or too cold. It’s just right.
Material from the Earth’s core has been leaking into the mantle through activity that led to volcanic eruptions such as that helped form the Hawaiian islands. EPA/Bruce Omori/Paradise Helicopters

Earth’s core has been leaking for billions of years

New findings suggest the core has been leaking for the past 2.5 billion years, and that could help scientists understand how the core was formed.

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