NASA’s Search for Life on Mars
It’s a rocky road for its rovers, a long slog for scientists—and back on Earth, a battle of the budget.
How Mars Lost Its Magnetic Field—and Then Its Oceans
Chemical changes inside Mars's core caused it to lose its magnetic field. This, in turn, caused it to lose its oceans. But how?
We Might Have Accidentally Killed the Only Life We Ever Found on Mars Nearly 50 Years Ago
In one experiment, the Viking landers added water to Martian soil samples. That might have been a very bad idea.
Deimos: A Chip Off the Old Martian Block?
A new space probe suggests that the moonlet Deimos isn’t a captured asteroid after all.
Should We Go to Mars? Carl Sagan Had Thoughts
It'd be "a step more significant than the colonization of land by our amphibian ancestors some 500 million years ago." But Sagan had reservations.
Why Hasn’t NASA Sent Anyone to Mars?
The Perseverance mission to Mars represents a considerable step forward for the space program. But are rovers as good as it gets?
The Meaning of Methane on Mars
Curiosity rover's recent report of methane on Mars isn't the first time the gas has been indicated. Does it necessarily mean that Mars harbors life?
Why Getting to Mars is Not So Easy
There is a reason Mars has a reputation as a graveyard for spacecraft.
Protecting Mars From Earthly Contaminates
Now that water has been discovered on Mars, the next step is to ensure we don't contaminate the planet with Earthly microbes and bacteria.
The Canals of Mars
We now know there's liquid water on Mars, according to NASA. But at the turn of the 20th century, we believed something else: that Mars had canals.