91av

Skip to content

Outward bound

16 December 2000

Innate curiosity and many other motivating forces make it inevitable that
there’ll be manned landings on Mars this century, followed by colonisation. The
possibilities are immense and so is the adventure. Malcolm Walter’s The
Search for Life on Mars is an up-to-date survey on what has been
accomplished so far and what is planned. Mars is a hostile environment, so
Walter tempers his account with sobriety, but passion ferments underneath”.
Published by Perseus, $15, ISBN 073820367X.

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with 91av events and special offers.

Sign up

or

Existing subscribers

More from 91av

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Lascaux Cave is a Palaeolithic cave situated in southwestern France, near the village of Montignac in the Dordogne region, which houses some of the most famous examples of prehistoric cave paintings. Close to 600 paintings ??? mostly of animals - dot the interior walls of the cave in impressive compositions. Horses are the most numerous, but deer, aurochs, ibex, bison, and even some felines can also be found. Besides these paintings, which represent most of the major images, there are also around 1400 engravings of a similar order. The art, dated to c. 17,000 ??? c. 15,000 BCE, falls within the Upper Palaeolithic period and was created by the clearly skilled hands of humans living in the area at that time. The region seems to be a hotspot; many beautifully decorated caves have been discovered there. The exact meaning of the paintings at Lascaux or any of the other sites is still subject to discussion, but the prevailing view attaches a ritualistic or even spiritual component to them, hinting at the sophistication of their creators. Lascaux was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 1979, along with other prehistoric sites in its proximity. Valley, France.

Life

91av recommends a smart new account of human exceptionalism

Culture

Suzanne Simard + Rowan Hooper

Environment

Suzanne Simard on the wood wide web, connectedness – and Avatar

Culture

The best new popular science books of May 2026

Comment

The best new popular science books of May 2026

Culture

Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass is still an essential read

Environment

Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass is still an essential read

Culture

1

Why autism pioneer Uta Frith wants to dismantle the spectrum

2

PCOS has been officially renamed PMOS, and it’s a momentous move

3

Asteroid to miss Earth by a quarter of the length from us to the moon

4

Where did the laws of physics come from? I think I've found the answer

5

Shocking turtle photo reveals efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade

6

A lost ancient script reveals how writing as we know it really began

7

New rules confirm public has a right to see how UK government uses AI

8

Ancient teeth hint at links between Denisovans and Homo erectus

9

Carbon credits are flawed, but they can still help save forests

10

Neanderthals treated a dental cavity by drilling into the tooth