Las Vegas-based MP Materials announced Thursday that it broke ground on a 200,000-square-foot rare earth magnetics manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas — part of the firm’s larger plan to invest $700 million over the next two years into creating a full rare earth supply chain.

"If you can't grow it, you have to mine it" goes the miner's credo. The extraction of minerals, metals and fuels from the ground is one of humankind's oldest industries. And our appetite for it is growing.

Water ice is water ice, you might say. Okay, you have rockets, pear ice creams and so on. But if you freeze nothing but pure water—that is, molecules made up of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms—you simply get ice—right?

Water ice is water ice, you might say. Okay, you have rockets, pear ice creams and so on. But if you freeze nothing but pure water—that is, molecules made up of one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms—you simply get ice—right?

Researchers have discovered a new form of ice, which could have implications for our understanding of distant, water-rich planets. The findings of the study were published in the journal ‘Physical Review B’. Solid water, or ice, is like many other materials in that it can form different solid materials based on variable temperatures and pressure conditions, like carbon forming diamond or graphite. However, water is exceptional in this aspect as there are at least 20 solid forms of ice known to us. A team of scientists working in UNLV’s Nevada Extreme Conditions Lab pioneered a new method for measuring the properties of water under high pressure. The water sample was first squeezed between the tips of two opposite-facing diamonds — freezing into several jumbled ice crystals. The ice was then subjected to a laser-heating technique that temporarily melted it before it quickly reformed into a powder-like collection of tiny crystals.

Researchers have discovered a new form of ice, which could have implications for our understanding of distant, water-rich planets. The findings of the study were published in the journal ‘Physical Review B’. Solid water, or ice, is like many other materials in that it can form different solid materials based on variable temperatures and pressure conditions, like carbon forming diamond or graphite. However, water is exceptional in this aspect as there are at least 20 solid forms of ice known to us. A team of scientists working in UNLV’s Nevada Extreme Conditions Lab pioneered a new method for measuring the properties of water under high pressure. The water sample was first squeezed between the tips of two opposite-facing diamonds — freezing into several jumbled ice crystals. The ice was then subjected to a laser-heating technique that temporarily melted it before it quickly reformed into a powder-like collection of tiny crystals.

Student says new form of ice could potentially be from outer space.

Student says new form of ice could potentially be from outer space.

On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Astronauts, get your warm drinks ready. Scientists say they've discovered a new form of ice that could exist on a distant planet.

On this episode of Cheddar Innovates: Astronauts, get your warm drinks ready. Scientists say they've discovered a new form of ice that could exist on a distant planet.

Wait, wasn't this the plot to that one Kurt Vonnegut novel?

Wait, wasn't this the plot to that one Kurt Vonnegut novel?