Mars

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

Latest Updates

NASA's Mars rover Perseverance collected its 12th Red Planet rock sample on Aug. 3, 2022.

Perseverance Mars rover bags 12th Red Planet rock sample

By Mike Wall published 5 August 22

NASA's car-sized Perseverance Mars rover drilled out and sealed up its 12th rock sample on Wednesday (Aug. 3), its fourth such operation in less than a month.

A NASA astronaut in space just published a science paper on Mars rocks

By Elizabeth Howell published 5 August 22

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, who is currently in orbit, is lead author on a scientific paper. The topic is the Curiosity mission that reaches its 10th anniversary on Mars Aug. 5.

The Curiosity rover has been exploring Mars for 10 years. Here's what we've learned.

By Stefanie Waldek last updated 6 August 22

Curiosity landed on Mars on Aug. 5, 2012, with one main goal: to determine whether the planet was once habitable. In 10 years, it has answered that question and many others.

A visualisation of the European ExoMars rover on the surface of the Red Planet.

Europe's troubled Mars rover still vital in the search for life on the Red Planet

By Tereza Pultarova published 4 August 22

Europe's unlucky first Martian rover ExoMars can still play a big role in answering the question whether there has ever been life on the Red Planet?

Martian panorama showing the view back down Mount Sharp at the center of the image and rounded hills in the distance.

Curiosity rover: 15 awe-inspiring photos of Mars (gallery)

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated 22 September 22

NASA's Curiosity rover continues to explore Mars, taking incredible photos as it goes. We take a look at some of its best images here.

Haughton Crater and the Haughton-Mars Project (HMP) base.

A month on 'Mars': Preparing to visit the Red Planet ... on Earth

By Rod Pyle last updated 16 September 22

On Aug. 1, a group of eight researchers and their associates headed to the high Arctic to spend a month at the Haughton-Mars Project base on Devon Island.

The Perseverance Mars rover collected its 11th sample from a sedimentary rock, pictured here.

Perseverance Mars rover snags 11th rock sample

By Elizabeth Howell published 2 August 22

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover bagged its 11th sample on Mars, targeting a sedimentary rock that may preserve "biosignatures" of ancient life on the Red Planet.

The Virtual Telescope Project will livestream views of the Mars-Uranus conjunction on Aug. 1, 2022, at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT on Aug. 2).

Watch Mars and Uranus meet up in night-sky webcast tonight

By Mike Wall published 1 August 22

Mars and Uranus are night-sky neighbors at the moment, and you can get good views of their unusual meetup online tonight (Aug. 1).

Starry Night graphic showing the location of Mars and Uranus in the night sky.

Use Mars to spot elusive Uranus on Sunday

By Daisy Dobrijevic published 30 July 22

Mars will begin to approach Uranus early Sunday morning (July 31). The pair will be close enough to share the same field of view as seen through binoculars.

A false-color image of a dune field inside Gamboa Crater on Mars.

Strange Mars dunes reveal where the wind blows on the Red Planet

By Tereza Pultarova published 28 July 22

NASA's veteran Mars orbiter captured a stunning image of a Martian dune field that reveals intricate details that might help scientists learn more about weather patterns in the planet's past.

Artist's conception of the vehicles that would participate in a Mars sample return by NASA and the European Space Agency.

Mars sample return mission adds 2 helicopters, scraps 'fetch' rover

By Elizabeth Howell published 27 July 22

The redesigned NASA-European campaign will task the Perseverance rover with delivering Red Planet samples to a rocket, with the drones as backup retrieval options.

Explosive volcanism on Mars deposited rare mineral in Curiosity rover's crater home

By Robert Lea published 27 July 22

A concentrated clump of a rare mineral was discovered in the Gale crater in 2016 by the Curiosity rover. Now, researchers may finally know how it got there.

A photo of a potato-shaped moon with one large crater marked

China's Mars orbiter snaps striking shot of Red Planet's larger moon, Phobos

By Andrew Jones published 25 July 22

China's Tianwen 1 Mars orbiter has returned a stunning image of the Martian moon Phobos to mark the second anniversary of the mission's launch.

A series of deep chasms can be seen in Mars' Grand Canyon.

Stunning new Mars photos explore the solar system's largest canyon

By Samantha Mathewson published 25 July 22

The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft captured impressive new views of Valles Marineris, the largest canyon system in the solar system.

A huge canyon can be seen on the face of Mars. Mosaic of the Valles Marineris hemisphere of Mars composed of 102 Viking Orbiter images of this huge feature on the Red Planet.

How can astronauts explore Mars' Grand Canyon, Valles Marineris

By Leonard David last updated 23 July 22

Valles Marineris, the Grand Canyon of Mars, is ripe for human exploration that can uncover the planet's history and its capacity to sustain microbial life.

An artist's depiction of a Sample Retrieval Lander.

Mars sample return details coming next week, NASA and European Space Agency promise

By Elizabeth Howell published 21 July 22

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have new details to share on how they will bring pieces of Mars to Earth, and they'll share their plans next week.

Graphic from Starry Night showing the moon and Mars close to each other in the south-eastern sky.

Catch the moon and Mars cozying up to each other on Thursday

By Daisy Dobrijevic published 20 July 22

In the early hours of Thursday (July 21) morning, the waning crescent moon will pass close to Mars. They will be close enough to share the view in binoculars.

Dim Pluto reaches its brightest as the third-quarter moon meets Mars in the night sky

By Elizabeth Howell published 19 July 22

Here's how to observe these solar system worlds overnight Wednesday (July 20) and Thursday (July 21).

The commercial Impulse Space Mars lander separates from its transit stage over Mars in an artist view.

These 2 private companies aim to beat SpaceX to Mars with 2024 flight

By Brett Tingley published 19 July 22

Two private companies, Relativity Space and Impulse Space, unveiled plans for the first commercial flight to Mars in 2024 using reusable rockets.

An artist's impression of the Rosalind Franklin rover, which is testing its life-detection capabilities using samples of microbes from Lost Hammer Spring.

Europe ending cooperation with Russia on life-hunting Mars rover

By Mike Wall published 13 July 22

It's official: Russia will no longer be a partner on Europe's life-hunting Mars rover mission, which is scheduled to launch in the late 2020s.

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