Mars

NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected high amounts of an unexpected form of carbon on Mars. That might not sound too exciting, but the kicker is that here on Earth, this chemical signature is usually associated with life.

A mystery that has puzzled scientists for over 25 years may have been solved as a new study led by the Carnegie Institution for Science suggests that signs of ancient life in a famous Martian meteorite may be due to geochemical processes.

When the first astronauts reach Mars, they will carry out heavy physical tasks after many months of traveling in weightlessness. New Atlas talked to Draper scholars Rachel Bellisle and Tom Abitante about technologies to help keep astronauts healthy.

A huge deposit of water has been discovered on Mars in a formation often called its Grand Canyon. The Trace Gas Orbiter has detected an area the size of the Netherlands where water could make up as much as 40 percent of the material near the surface.

By conducting "flybys" of Phobos when it wasn't actually there, ESA's Mars Express orbiter provided researchers with a controlled experiment to learn more about the mysterious, intermittent interaction between the Martian moon and solar winds.

Fifty years ago this weekend, NASA's Mariner 9 probe went into orbit around Mars. This pioneering mission revolutionized our ideas about Mars and, with humans looking to head that way, is a timely reminder of just how utterly inhospitable a place it is.

Thanks to a pilot project by Heinz and a team of researchers led by Andrew Palmer at the Florida Institute of Technology, when astronauts set up outposts on Mars they may be able to make their own ketchup using locally grown tomatoes.

A team at the Georgia Institute of Technology have come up with a concept that would see bacteria shipped to Mars produce rocket fuel and liquid oxygen from atmospheric CO2 to power a spacecraft on its return journey to Earth.

Jezero crater on Mars was chosen as the landing site for the Perseverance rover because satellite images suggested it was once an ancient lake. More direct evidence has now been found, as photos snapped by the rover reveal signs of flash flooding.

The first Martian colonists will need to figure out how to grow their own food locally, but the soil is less than ideal. A new study has shown that dosing plants with symbiotic bacteria can drastically improve their growth in barren Mars-like soil.

There have never been so many missions operating on the Red Planet at one time, but even after decades of technological advancements, these sophisticated robotic explorers are still at the mercy of celestial mechanics.

By casting one eye to a past where ancient buildings were held together with animal blood, and one eye to a future where humans use Martian soil for on-site construction, scientists have cooked up a new recipe for cost effective "cosmic concrete."