He says a large portion of current earth-bound cities will one day choose to live in LEO skyscrapers replete with incredible view condos.

FORBES: Space Architecture And View Condos In Low Earth Orbit

One of the four, dubbed KOI 172.02, is a mere 1.5 times the size of the Earth and around a star like our own Sun - perhaps as near as the current data allow to finding an "Earth 2.0".

BBC: Kepler telescope: Earth-sized planets 'number 17bn'

Because of the time needed for a radio signal from Earth to reach the rover -- about 14 minutes at Mars' current position -- "We don't command the rover with a joystick or a steering wheel in real time, " Tompkins said.

CNN: Mars rover captures nearby rocket 'footprint'

Living conditions in these are basic at best - a one-room family-house with a tiny shed-like kitchen-conversion and often no private toilet - but it is this unusual mix of ancient aristocratic architecture and current-day, salt-of-the-earth locals that gives the hutong alleys their unique character.

BBC: Old Beijing at its timeless best

Friends of the Earth said the government should be focusing on making England's current housing stock more energy-efficient.

BBC: Call for redesign of 'eco-towns'

Further loss of Arctic ice will see radiation absorbed by darker seawater and snow-free land, potentially warming the Earth's climate at an even faster rate than current observational data indicates.

BBC: Canadian Arctic sheds ice chunk