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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 

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Bill Nye quenches his thirst and explores our future on Mars in a new ad for SodaStream.

Bill Nye, bubbles and water on Mars to land at Super Bowl 2020

By Chelsea Gohd

Bill Nye to enjoy some bubbles and contemplate humanity's future on Mars this Super Bowl LIV.

The Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) consists of interlocking geometric tents that house crew quarters and a research area. The temporary second facility, called the Mars Academy USA habitat, was set up close to the MDRS.

Historic dual-habitat mock Mars mission begins in the Utah desert

By Samantha Mathewson

A new crew has arrived at the Mars Desert Research Station for a two-week dual-habitat simulation.

The EuroMoonMars III crew stands outside of the HI-SEAS habitat, eager to enter and begin their mission on Jan. 18, 2020.

European scientists are taking a mock moon mission in Hawaii right now

By Chelsea Gohd

A crew of researchers prepared to leave "Mars" this past Saturday (Jan. 18) as another crew arrived, ready to explore the "moon."

JPL technicians perform final checkout of NASA Mars 2020 rover. Note the on-the-floor onlooker wearing sunglasses.

NASA's Mars 2020 rover photobombed by mysterious 'High Bay Bob' in sunglasses

By Leonard David

This image by one of the Curiosity Mars rover’s hazard cameras shows the robot’s arm extended out to perform an analysis of the bedrock. Curiosity has to know the exact angle of every joint to move safely. 

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity had an attitude problem. (But it's fine now.)

By Mike Wall

An attitude problem sidelined NASA's Mars rover Curiosity recently, but the robot's handlers whipped it back into shape in short order.

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

NASA's next Mars rover will get one of these 9 names

By Mike Wall

NASA has chosen nine finalists in the student naming contest for its next Mars rover, which currently goes by the bland Mars 2020.

The Sensoria crew jumps for joy before entering the mock Martian habitat on Jan. 4, 2020. The crew will stay in the habitat until Jan. 18, 2020.

An all-woman Mars analog crew just 'returned to Earth' in Hawaii

By Chelsea Gohd

An all-female crew of analog astronauts have "returned to Earth," completing a two-week mission in a mock Mars habitat on the big island of Hawaii.

See the crescent moon form a triangle with Mars and Antares in the predawn sky on Jan. 20, 2020.

See the moon, Mars and Antares form a triangle in Monday's predawn sky

By Hanneke Weitering

The waning crescent moon will form a triangle with the Red Planet and the bright star Antares in the morning sky on Monday (Jan. 20), and you can catch the trio in the morning sky before dawn.

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

What will NASA's Mars 2020 rover be called? There's 155 names on the shortlist.

By Mike Wall

The competition to name NASA's next Mars rover has entered a new phase, with the space agency culling the field from 28,000 down to 155.

Bricks produced using fungal mycelium, yard waste and wood chips as a part of a NASA-funded myco-architecture project. Similar materials could be used to build habitats on the moon or Mars.

Moon 'shrooms? Fungi eyed to help build lunar bases and Mars outposts

By Mike Wall

Artist's illustration of NASA's planned Mars Ascent Vehicle launching samples off the surface of the Red Planet.

A Mars sample-return mission is coming. Scientists want the public to know what to expect.

By Mike Wall

The first pristine pieces of Mars won't be coming down to Earth for at least another decade, but the time to start preparing society for the epic arrival is now, scientists say.

The first astronaut class to graduate under the Artemis project, graduated today (Jan. 10).

One of NASA's new 'Turtle' astronauts may walk on the moon ... or even Mars

By Chelsea Gohd

One of the members of NASA's newest astronaut class graduating today (Jan. 10) might be the next to walk on the moon and perhaps might even be the first to set foot on Mars.

Artist's impression of a primitive ocean on Mars, which some researchers suggested harbored more water than the Arctic Ocean on Earth. (Most of that water was later lost to space.)

Mars Loses Its Water Even Faster Than Anyone Thought

By Charles Q. Choi

Why is Mars dry? Water might escape the atmosphere more effectively than previously thought, potentially helping to explain how the Red Planet lost its vast oceans.

The Sensoria crew jumps for joy before entering the mock Martian habitat on Jan. 4, 2020. The crew will stay in the habitat until Jan. 18, 2020.

All-Female Crew Sets Off for Novel 'Mars' Mission

By Chelsea Gohd

This past Saturday (Jan. 4) in Hawaii, on the remote slopes of Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world, six scientists embarked on a historic "mission to Mars."

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

The Decade of Mars: How the 2020s May Be a New Era of Red Planet Exploration

By Mike Wall

The 2010s saw big advances in Mars exploration, but the new decade may bring even more exciting Red Planet news.

Illustrations of NASA's Curiosity (also known as the Mars Science Laboratory, or MSL) and Mars 2020 rovers. While the newest rover borrows from Curiosity's design, each has its own role in the ongoing exploration of Mars and the search for ancient life.

NASA's New Mars 2020 Car May Look Like the Curiosity Rover, But It's No Twin

By Elizabeth Howell

The two rovers have quite different missions.

Artist’s illustrations of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner (left) and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsules in orbit.

The Space Missions to Watch in 2020

By Elizabeth Howell

From commercial crew to a flood of Mars missions, 2020 promises to be an exciting year for spaceflight.

NASA's Mars 2020 rover takes its first test drive in the clean room of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on Dec. 17, 2019.

Watch NASA's Mars 2020 Rover Ace Its 1st Test Drive (Video)

By Samantha Mathewson

NASA's Mars 2020 rover has taken its first test drive, representing a significant milestone in preparing to launch to the Red Planet next summer.

Artist's illustration of a black hole.

The Decade in Astronomy: These Space Discoveries Shaped the 2010s

By Sarah Wells

As the 2010s come to a close, it's time to revisit how some of the biggest space science stories shaped the decade.

A Russian Soyuz rocket carried two NASA astronauts, Nick Hague and Christina Koch, and cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin, toward the International Space Station on March 14, 2019.

The Greatest Spaceflight Moments of 2019

By Elizabeth Howell

Three lunar missions, commercial spaceflight milestones, the first all-woman spacewalk — 2019 was a busy year in space for public and private entities alike.