LAist relies on reader donations to power our non-profit newsroom. Support LAist by giving now. It's time to go back to Mars. Once every two years, the orbits of Earth and Mars are aligned just right, ...

Picture a jeweler at work. Magnifier in hand, he examines a stone, studying the way light dances off it. He’s trying to determine whether it’s a diamond or merely cut glass, of engagement-ring quality ...