Trending

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

A Mars Express image of Arsia Mons on Mars and its strange long cloud, taken on July 19, 2020.

A weird long cloud on Mars has returned. It's right on schedule, scientists say.

By Meghan Bartels

A weird long cloud has formed so many times over the same Martian volcano that scientists have given up and named it.

Today (July 30, 2020), NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover launched to Mars.

A space race to Mars? Not quite — here’s why.

By Chelsea Gohd

Three missions are making their way to Mars. But it's not exactly a space race.

An artist's illustration of NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover in cruise mode after launching into space. The rover launched toward Mars July 30, 2020 and will arrive on Feb. 18, 2021.

NASA: Mars rover Perseverance in 'safe mode' after launch, but should recover

By Meghan Bartels

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover entered "safe mode" after a successful launch Thursday (July 30), but should recover, NASA says.

Zippo's limited edition Mars 2020 collectible lighter commemorates the launch of NASA's Perseverance rover to Mars.

NASA's Perseverance launch sparks new Zippo 'Mars 2020' lighter

By Robert Z. Pearlman

The liftoff of NASA's Perseverance rover sparked the launch of a new collectible in celebration of the Mars 2020 mission.

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance launches toward the Red Planet atop an Atlas V rocket, lifting off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 30, 2020.

NASA launches Mars rover Perseverance to seek signs of ancient life

By Mike Wall

The life-hunting, sample-caching Mars rover Perseverance launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this morning (July 30), kicking off a seven-month cruise to the Red Planet.

NASA's Mars 2020 rover Perseverance and its Atlas V rocket stand on the launch pad ahead of their planned July 30, 2020, liftoff.

NASA's next Mars rover, Perseverance, will launch today. Here's how to watch.

By Amy Thompson

The car-sized Perseverance rover is set to launch toward Mars Thursday (July 30) during a two-hour window that opens at 7:50 a.m. EDT. Watch it live here.

A diagram of NASA's Perseverance rover shows the locations of its two microphones.

The sounds of Mars: NASA's Perseverance rover packs microphones to hear the Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell

For the first time ever, NASA's Perseverance rover will collect the sounds of Mars — starting as the spacecraft plummets through the atmosphere to its landing site at Jezero Crater.

NASA illustration of a prototype astronaut suit along with the suit samples included on the calibration target supporting the SHERLOC instrument aboard the Perseverance rover.

NASA's Perseverance rover to test future spacesuit materials on Mars

By Robert Z. Pearlman

NASA's Perseverance rover is headed to Mars "well suited" to help advance the day when humans walk on the Red Planet.

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover displaying where its MMRTG would be inserted, between the panels on the right marked by gold tube, before the power system was inserted.

Why NASA's Mars rover Perseverance will use nuclear power to keep itself warm

By Meghan Bartels

A spacecraft is only as strong as its power source, which is why when NASA was designing its Perseverance Mars rover, the agency turned to radioactive plutonium.

Mars as seen from orbit by NASA’s Viking mission.

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has a key role in the search for ancient life

By Chelsea Gohd

As NASA's latest Mars-bound rover readies for launch, we reflect on what we know about life on Mars.

Join Space.com as we talk the summer of Mars with NASA's Jim Watzin and the Planetary Society's Jim Bell.

Replay: Space.com talks 'Summer of Mars' with NASA, Planetary Society

By Tariq Malik

Join Space.com for our free "Summer of Mars" webinar on today, July 29, at 12 p.m. EDT (1600 GMT).

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover rolls out to its Space Launch Complex 41 launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on July 28, 2020.

NASA's next Mars rover rolls out to launch pad atop Atlas V rocket

By Amy Thompson

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket rolled to the pad today (July 28) in preparation for launching NASA's Perseverance rover to Mars.

An artist's depiction of the European-Russian Trace Gas Orbiter circling Mars.

Strange gas signature on Mars may help explain methane mystery

By Meghan Bartels

A Mars orbiter run by the European Space Agency (ESA) has sniffed out two never-before-seen chemical signatures in the Red Planet's atmosphere.

A Martian meteorite (inset) is part of the calibration target for the SHERLOC science instrument that is mounted to the front of NASA's Perseverance rover. The mission will search for evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars.

Mars sample return: NASA's Perseverance rover to return Martian meteorites to Mars

By Robert Z. Pearlman

NASA is sending its Perseverance rover to the red planet with two pieces of Martian meteorite that were discovered on Earth.

How NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will get to the Red Planet

By Elizabeth Howell

Here are all the major milestones of the Mars 2020 mission to the Red Planet, from launch to landing.

Artist's illustration of NASA's Mars 2020 rover Perseverance on the Red Planet's surface.

NASA's Mars 2020 rover Perseverance is 'go' for launch

By Mike Wall

The $2.7 billion Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission passed its launch readiness review, the last big hurdle to clear before its planned liftoff on Thursday (July 30).

The USGS Astrogeology Science Center generated a digital terrain model mosaic and orthomosaic of Mars’ Jezero Crater using imagery captured by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The mosaic, a sample of which is shown here, is the basemap onto which surface hazards were mapped. The hazard map is onboard NASA’s Mars rover Perseverance and will be used by the mission’s Terrain-Relative Navigation system to help identify the final, hazard-free landing location within Jezero. 

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover will use some of the best Martian maps ever made

By Mike Wall

NASA's next Mars rover Perseverance will explore the Red Planet with the aid of some of the most precise Martian maps ever created.

NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover waits to be lifted onto its Atlas V launch vehicle at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on July 7, 2020.

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance launches this week

By Mike Wall

NASA's $2.7 billion Mars 2020 rover Perseverance, is scheduled to launch Thursday (July 30) during a two-hour window that opens at 7:50 a.m. EDT (1150 GMT).

In the new contest "Mars Shot," Kevin Hart is collaborating with the UAE to inspire dreamers around the world. This global view of Mars consists of about 100 Viking Orbiter images.

Kevin Hart and the UAE join forces for 'Mars Shot' contest

By Chelsea Gohd

Comedian and actor Kevin Hart has partnered with the United Arab Emirates for the "Mars Shot" contest to "make your wildest dreams come true," Hart explains in a video on the contest website.

A still image showing China's Tianwen-1 Mars spacecraft as seen by the Hawaii-based asteroid survey ATLAS.

NASA asteroid camera spots China's Tianwen-1 Mars spacecraft speeding away from Earth

By Meghan Bartels

An observatory affiliated with NASA's quest to identify potentially dangerous asteroids spotted something equally speedy but not quite as natural: a spacecraft bound for Mars.