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A designer working with NASA and agricultural experts has created a coffee that tastes like it was grown on MarsMA student Sarah Ali created the coffee as part of her 'Brew_Lab' projectThe project reflects on how climate change might affect the availability and composition of coffeeA designer working with experts at NASA and the UK’s Royal Botanical Society has produced a coffee that tastes like it was grown on Mars a hundred years from now. The red planet-flavored Mars 2126 coffee — an ‘edible scent’ added to a regular cup of joe — is a product of Brew_Lab, a project by industrial designer Sarah Ali. The project is centered around a futuristic vending machine that brews coffee from three different dates in the future, based on climate projections.Ali, 35, produced Brew_Lab to conclude her MA in Material Futures at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, and exhibited the project at Milan Design Week in April 2026, as well as CSM's degree show which runs until June 21.“This is very much a climate futures project” said Ali to TechRadar, “and the way I got to Mars was through the fact that if we keep on doing what we do now, our future in 100 years time might be that Earth won’t be able to facilitate all the things we need it to.”“It’s a little bit speculative,” she continued, “but what I found really cool was that people at NASA were already testing what food and drink would be like on Mars. There’s a lot of investment in that space.” The Arabica successors(Image credit: Sarah Ali)As well as providing passers-by the chance to try a cup of Martian mud from 2126, the project also includes an edible scent designed to predict the taste of coffee grown in Sierra Leone in 2080. This uses the revived stenophylla species of coffee bean, which is more resilient to climate change than the industry-leading arabica bean.The third and final flavor, Brazil 2027, is used to emphasize the frailty of the Arabica bean, with crop yields expected to fall by as much as 80% by 2050 (via University of Florida).To design the scent profiles of each coffee, Ali used machine learning models fed by data from NASA’s Dr. Gioia Massa, and Kew Gardens’ Dr. Aaron Davis, a world- leading coffee expert.A post shared by Scentible (@scentible.co)A photo posted by on “Dr. Davis has studied 127 different coffee species, of which only 7 to 12 are likely to survive into our future” adds Ali. Brew_Lab uses rare, hardy racemosa beans for its Martian brew, and Ali explained that NASA’s research on agriculture allowed her to factor in the effect of gravity on our perception of taste on the final product.“I thought of Mars because it’s a very extreme scenario”, Ali said, “and the extreme scenarios allow us to really understand what’s happening. How do we think about things differently, to avoid that future or prepare for it.”Still, it might take a few years yet for the best coffee makers to add a ‘Martian’ setting.

A new episode of "Almost History," the alternate-history podcast from All About History, explores one of the biggest "what-ifs" of the ancient world: What if Carthage had defeated Rome during the Punic Wars?The episode is hosted by Emily Staniforth, a staff writer at All About History, a sister publication of Live Science. It features historian and archaeologist Eve MacDonald, a senior lecturer in ancient history at Cardiff University in the U.K. and author of "Carthage: A New History of an Ancient Empire" (W. W. Norton & Co., 2026). Together, they examine how close Carthage came to changing the course of history and what the modern world might look like if one of Rome's greatest rivals had emerged victorious."Carthage ha[d] enormous resources, because to even be in the fight for as long as they were is extraordinary," MacDonald said in an interview. However, despite Carthage's capabilities, they were always fighting an uphill battle, she noted."I always think the Romans were probably never going to go away," MacDonald said.Tactics and turning pointsThe Punic Wars, fought between the Roman Republic and Carthage from 264 to 146 B.C., transformed the ancient Mediterranean. Although Rome ultimately prevailed and went on to build one of history's largest empires, victory was far from guaranteed. During the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal famously marched elephants across the Alps and inflicted devastating defeats on Roman armies, bringing the republic to the brink of collapse before Rome eventually recovered.Related stories'Landmark' elephant bone finding in Spain may be from time of Hannibal's war against Rome2,200-year-old battering ram from epic battle between Rome and Carthage found in Mediterranean'Extraordinary' Roman helmet from war-ending battle found in the sea off SicilyIn the podcast, MacDonald discusses the political and military turning points that could have tipped the balance in Carthage's favor. The conversation also explores how a Carthaginian victory might have altered trade, culture and the distribution of power across Europe and the Mediterranean, offering listeners a glimpse of an alternate version of world history."I think that's one of the things that we would appreciate more now: As much as the Greco-Roman history of the Mediterranean is part of the Western world, so too is all of Carthage, Phoenicia and Numidia" in northern Africa, MacDonald said. "But we haven't got those tales anymore for us to understand."The episode is part of "Almost History," a series inspired by All About History magazine's long-running "What If" feature. Each installment invites historians to examine pivotal moments from the past and consider how different outcomes might have reshaped history. Recent episodes have tackled questions such as What if D-Day had failed? and What if the Bolshevik Revolution had never succeeded?You can listen to "What If Carthage Won the Punic Wars?" on Acast and other major podcast platforms. W. W. Norton & Company Carthage: a New History A landmark new history of ancient Rome’s most famous rival―home of Hannibal, jewel of North Africa, and foundational power of the western Mediterranean. Can you match these historical maps to the empires that ruled them? Test your geography skills with our ancient empires quiz!