Mars

Researchers are asking meteorite hunters to refrain from using magnets to test the authenticity of their finds because this can destroy the specimen's magnetic memory, erasing valuable information about the nature of the solar system.

The mission may be defunct, but NASA’s InSight Mars lander is still discovering new things about the Red Planet. Scientists poring over data have now made the first direct observations of another planet’s core, and it’s not quite what we thought.

The first aircraft to fly on another planet has hit a new milestone. NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has recently clocked up its 50th flight, and achieved a new altitude record in the process.

If you’re looking for some Red Planet real estate, there’s a new tool that could help you pick out the very best spot. Caltech scientists have created a nearly complete global map of Mars at an extremely high resolution of 5 m (16.4 ft) per pixel.

The race is on to find viable materials for building on other planets, and one team has (thankfully) moved on from its last creation made of blood and urine to unveil a new biocomposite brick that's not only much stronger but a little more palatable.

Exploring an unmapped cave system is a daunting enough prospect on its own, but think how risky it would be to do so on another planet such as Mars. That's why a new system is in the works, which would use "breadcrumb"-dropping rovers to do the job.

NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered opal on Mars. The deposits may prove to be valuable to future Martian explorers not as jewelry but as a potential source of water.

It may look like a lightsaber sitting on the surface of Mars, but this titanium tube is a sample canister dropped off by Perseverance. This could eventually be the first pristine sample of Martian soil and rock returned to Earth in a future mission.

After over four years on Mars, NASA's InSight lander has been declared dead. Mission Control was unable to reestablish contact with the robotic spacecraft on two consecutive attempts, showing that the batteries are exhausted.

Dust devils are a common occurrence on Mars, but Perseverance has now captured one from up close for the first time. The NASA rover recorded video from right inside the dust devil, as well as the first audio of the phenomenon on the Red Planet.

NASA’s InSight has detected the strongest and longest quake on Mars so far. The event was five times more powerful than any previous marsquake, unleashing as much energy as all others combined. With the lander failing the record is unlikely to topple.

Ever since taking off on its historic first flight last year, NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has been single-handedly raising the bar for the Red Planet’s aviation scene, and has now soared to its greatest heights yet.