Mars: News & Features

Avalanches, Icy Explosions, and Dunes: NASA Is Tracking New Year on Mars

5 min read

Instead of a winter wonderland, the Red Planet’s northern hemisphere goes through an active — even explosive — spring thaw. While New Year’s Eve is around the corner here on Earth, Mars scientists are ahead of the game: The Red…

Article1 week ago

NASA Mars Orbiter Spots Retired InSight Lander to Study Dust Movement

5 min read

New images taken from space show how dust on and around InSight is changing over time — information that can help scientists learn more about the Red Planet. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) caught a glimpse of the agency’s retired…

Article2 weeks ago

NASA Outlines Latest Moon to Mars Plans in 2024 Architecture Update

3 min read

As NASA develops a blueprint for space exploration throughout the solar system for the benefit of humanity, the agency released several new documents Friday updating its Moon to Mars architecture. The roadmap sets NASA on course for long-term lunar exploration…

News Release

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Reaches Top of Jezero Crater Rim

5 min read

The road ahead will be even more scientifically intriguing, and probably somewhat easier-going, now that the six-wheeler has completed its long climb to the top. NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has crested the top of Jezero Crater’s rim at a location…

Article2 weeks ago

NASA Performs First Aircraft Accident Investigation on Another World

5 min read

The review takes a close look the final flight of the agency’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, which was the first aircraft to fly on another world. Engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California and AeroVironment are completing a detailed…

Article3 weeks ago

Making Mars’ Moons: Supercomputers Offer ‘Disruptive’ New Explanation

5 min read

A NASA study using a series of supercomputer simulations reveals a potential new solution to a longstanding Martian mystery: How did Mars get its moons? The first step, the findings say, may have involved the destruction of an asteroid.  The research team,…

Article1 month ago

NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Takes a Last Look at Mysterious Sulfur

5 min read

The rover captured a 360-degree panorama before leaving Gediz Vallis channel, a feature it’s been exploring for the past year. NASA’s Curiosity rover is preparing for the next leg of its journey, a monthslong trek to a formation called the…

Article1 month ago

NASA’s Perseverance Captures ‘Googly Eye’ During Solar Eclipse

4 min read

The tiny, potato-shaped moon Phobos, one of two Martian moons, cast a silhouette as it passed in front of the Sun, creating an eye in Mars’ sky. From its perch on the western wall of Mars’ Jezero Crater, NASA’s Perseverance…

Article2 months ago

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Looks Back While Climbing Slippery Slope

6 min read

On its way up the side of Jezero Crater, the agency’s latest Red Planet off-roader peers all the way back to its landing site and scopes the path ahead.   NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is negotiating a steeply sloping route…

Article2 months ago

Could Life Exist Below Mars Ice? NASA Study Proposes Possibilities

4 min read

Researchers think meltwater beneath Martian ice could support microbial life. While actual evidence for life on Mars has never been found, a new NASA study proposes microbes could find a potential home beneath frozen water on the planet’s surface. Through…

Article2 months ago