A new theory may explain how gold, platinum, and other precious metals found their way to shallow pockets within Earth’s mantle.

Liftoff to the distant asteroid is scheduled for Oct. 5, 2023 – the beginning of a six-year journey to one of the most unusual objects in the solar system.

Scientists were not previously certain how the precious stones arrived at the Earth’s surface.

Starting at the surface, you would have to dig nearly 2,000 miles before reaching the Earth’s core. No one could survive that trip – and the 10,000-degree F heat once there would vaporize you anyway.

Special rocks called kimberlites from the deep mantle show how the rapid development of fauna 540 million years ago permanently changed Earth.

New results "suggest that Earth, like the other rocky planets Mercury and Mars, is cooling and becoming inactive much faster than expected."

Mars' core is larger and less dense than we thought.

Researchers used decades-old radar data and found that some low-lying areas of Venus' crust are moving and jostling. This evidence is some of the strongest yet of tectonic activity on Venus.

"What we were interested in is, when is carbon not diamond?" Finding the answer involves something called a diamond anvil cell.

Earth's magnetic field locks information into lava as it cools into rock. Millions of years later, scientists can decipher this magnetic data to build geologic timelines and maps.