Mars

If a Mars rover ever were to find signs of life on the Red Planet, chances are that it would be in the form of compounds detected in the soil. A newly designed device could better help it do so, as compared to existing technologies.

JAXA and Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) have teamed up to develop a "Super Hi-Vision Camera" for JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission that will capture the first 8K ultra-high-definition images in orbit around the Red Planet.

A new experiment placing bacteria on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) has found that micro-organisms can survive in space for years, or even decades. The study lends weight to the idea that life could travel between planets.

A NASA spacecraft has observed a pulsing glow coming from Mars. Huge spots of ultraviolet light were seen in the night sky, pulsing with uncanny regularity – exactly three times every night. The find highlights the Red Planet's atmospheric processes.

Geological evidence shows that ancient Mars had flowing water. It’s long been thought that its climate was warm and wet, but a new study has found evidence that the planet was instead covered in ice sheets, and much of its water glacier run-off.

NASA has announced that, soon after yesterday’s launch of the Mars Perseverance rover, that mission had experienced minor issues that hindered communication and caused the spacecraft couriering the rover to enter a "safe mode."

NASA's Mars 2020 mission and the Perseverance rover are on their way to Mars. At 4:50 am EDT (11:50 GMT), the spacecraft lifted off on the first leg of its 309-million-mile voyage to search for signs of life on the Red Planet.

When NASA’s Perseverance rover touches down on Mars it will carry with it the first ever spacesuit samples to land on the Red Planet. The samples will be exposed to the high-radiation environment to test the durability of future spacesuits.

The United Arab Emirates has successfully launched its first interplanetary mission. This morning, Al Amal, or the Hope Probe, took off from Japan at 6:58 am Monday 20th July (local time), and is currently headed towards Mars.

The spacecraft containing NASA's Perseverance rover has been successfully mated with the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket that will propel it towards Mars at the end of the month.

For over a year, NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover has been investigating the clay-bearing unit in the Gale Crater. Now the intrepid explorer is on the move, starting a summer-long journey to a higher part of Mount Sharp dubbed the "sulfate-bearing unit."

ESA has awarded a contract to Airbus Defence and Space to go ahead on the next phase to develop the Sample Fetch Rover. The contract will allow Airbus to continue work on the rover that will collect Martian rock and soil samples for return to Earth.