Extraterrestrial Life

Tis the season for science fiction fun, but could we even tell if the universe around us was filled with galactic empires and rebel forces?

Two controversial new studies suggest the discovery of large objects at the outer reaches of the solar system

New findings reveal a crater’s vaporous hazes, and hint at the dwarf planet’s possible origin in the outer solar system

New study explores how life on one exoplanet could spread to its neighbor

Remote sensing can produce spectacular, and wholly alien, views of our homeworld.

What we know about alien worlds—and what’s coming next

A new study provides substantial support for earlier claims of 520-million-year-old arthropod brain systems, raising interesting questions about the nature of brains, life and intelligence in the cosmos

A recent claim for evidence of life on Earth as early as 4.1 billion years ago runs headlong into prevailing theories about a period of heavy asteroid impacts and the reshuffling of the young solar system's orbital architecture

The blockbuster film’s futuristic vision of interplanetary exploration could soon be out of date

Once thought of as a lush alien world teeming with life and later dismissed as an arid, desolate orb, the Red Planet’s salty, liquid water just might aid in the search for extraterrestrial life

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found evidence that flowing water causes suspicious dark streaks on the Red Planet

The risk of microbial contamination could prevent humans and even robots from visiting the most promising parts of the Red Planet