Mars

Mars, the Red Planet, is the fourth planet from the sun.

Related Topics: Curiosity Mars Rover Mission, ExoMars, India Mars Orbiter Mission, Mars Rover Opportunity, Maven Mars Mission 

Latest Updates

rover on mars

Perseverance Mars rover wind sensor damaged by pebbles, but still operational

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Perseverance team says the rover can still take key weather measurements after pebbles struck a wind sensor amid strong Red Planet gusts.

A jet escaping from a black hole that forms inside a collapsing star.

Space photos: The most amazing images this week!

By Elizabeth Howell published

See the best photos on Space.com this week.

The effects of Roe v. Wade reached into space.

The top space stories of the week!

By Elizabeth Howell published

The effect of Roe v. Wade in space, rocket launches will damage ozone, and NASA's solar forecast might be wrong.

craters on mars

China's Mars orbiter has mapped the entire Red Planet, nailing key science goal (photos)

By Andrew Jones published

China's first successful interplanetary mission has completed mapping the Red Planet more than a year after its arrival.

a weird layered rock on mars

Tricky Mars rocks making things difficult for NASA's Perseverance rover

By Samantha Mathewson published

NASA's Perseverance rover is on the hunt for the "goldilocks" of rocks to sample on Mars.

mother and daughter viewing night sky with a telescope

The brightest planets in July's night sky: How to see them (and when)

By Joe Rao published

Reference Our viewing guide tells you which planets are visible in July's night sky and how you can see them.

mars bluff and sky

Mars clouds take center stage in new NASA project looking for volunteers

By Elizabeth Howell published

Fogs, plumes and other types of Martian clouds are getting the crowdsourcing treatment.

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity collected rock samples from the Yellowknife Bay formation of Gale crater.

Rock samples from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover contain key ingredient of life

By Samantha Mathewson published

Martian rock samples collected by NASA's Curiosity Mars rover show signs of key ingredients of life as we know it on Earth.

Polygons crack across the Martian surface as hidden ice expands and contracts with the seasons.

Bizarre 'polygons' are cracking through the surface of Mars

By Brandon Specktor published

A new image from NASA's HIRISE camera reveals strange 'polygons' cracking open the surface of Mars. It's just a typical sign of spring, scientists say.

A view of 5 planets aligned in the morning sky with labels.

You can watch the rare 5-planet alignment in a live webcast for free today

By Elizabeth Howell published

You can watch the five naked-eye planets align for free on a livestream that will be running Sunday (June 26).

gullies on Mars

Extreme microbes in salty Arctic water could aid search for life on Mars

By Keith Cooper published

Never-before-seen microbes living deep beneath the permafrost at one of the coldest and saltiest water springs on Earth could provide a blueprint for life on Mars.

a Martian landscape view

Stunning Mars photos by the Curiosity rover show ancient climate shift

By Elizabeth Howell published

The Curiosity rover might be spotting signs of the Martian climate drying up in ancient times.

Wright Dobbs took this image of the five naked-eye planets from St. Cloud, Florida on June 24, 2022.

See the rare alignment of 5 planets and the moon in this stunning night sky photo

By Elizabeth Howell published

The rare sight of five bright planets lining up with the moon wowed skywatchers around the world Friday and you can still see it this weekend.

a spacecraft studying Mars

Europe's veteran Mars orbiter gets upgrade to key instrument for seeking water

By Andrew Jones published

The European Space Agency is upgrading software on its venerable Mars Express orbiter to enable it to see beneath the surface of Mars and its moon Phobos in greater detail than before.

illustration of planet formation

Mars meteorite challenges leading theory of how the Red Planet formed

By Andrew Jones published

A new analysis of a Martian meteorite is challenging current thinking about how terrestrial planets acquired volatile elements early in their formation.

Mars image: Eyeball crater Aonia Terra

Mars stares back with eerie eyeball-like crater (photo)

By Andrew Jones published

This new Mars image was snapped by Europe's Mars Express orbiter, which spied an unusually creepy crater.

Graphic showing a line of planets and the moon across the predawn sky.

Rare alignment of 5 planets peaks Friday as crescent moon joins the parade

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

A rare planetary alignment will peak predawn on Friday (June 24) when the crescent moon joins the party. An alignment like this will not occur again until 2040.

a very dusty spacecraft

NASA's Mars InSight lander will risk earlier shut down to squeeze out a little more science

By Elizabeth Howell published

NASA's InSight mission is working to squeeze out all the science it can as power runs out.

China's Zhurong Mars rover captured this panorama of the Red Planet. Visible in the foreground are the rover's solar panels and communications equipment.

China plans to return Mars samples to Earth in 2031: report

By Elizabeth Howell published

China plans to haul pristine Mars samples to Earth in 2031, two years earlier than NASA and the European Space Agency plan to do so, according to media reports.

A graphic showing the moon and Mars close together in the night sky.

The moon will swing by Mars early Wednesday morning as it continues its planetary tour

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

The moon approaches Mars in the predawn sky on Wednesday (June 22). The pair will be visible in the same field of view using a pair of binoculars.