Mars

The Red Planet looks to have been home to a large body of water billions of years ago

Subdued seasonality might be linked to the emergence of complex life on Earth around 600 million years ago

Although it can be tough for observers in the West to vet such claims from the Russians, fears that Phobos-Grunt's fall would cause dangerous chemicals to rain from the sky are probably unfounded, experts say

At most, 20 to 30 fragments of Phobos-Grunt, weighing a total of less than 200 kilograms, may reach Earth’s surface, most likely the ocean

Here's a rundown of the top 11 spaceflight stories of 2011, from the last mission of NASA's venerable space shuttle program to China's first-ever docking of two spaceships in Earth orbit

The incident has become a lessons-learned example of miscommunication in assuring that planetary protection procedures are strictly adhered to

By adapting ideas from robotic planetary exploration, the human space program could get astronauts to asteroids and Mars cheaply and quickly

A veteran satellite spotter tracked Russia's Phobos-Grunt spacecraft as it passed over the southern Netherlands on Tuesday

How a spacecraft propelled by ion drives could deliver humanity deeper into space than ever before. Read more in our special report on deep-space exploration

NASA has launched its next Mars rover, known as Curiosity

The rover formerly known as the Mars Science Laboratory should tackle some of the biggest questions about Mars—assuming it can survive an elaborate touchdown

Phobos-Grunt appears to be stuck in Earth orbit. In two weeks, if its thrusters aren't restarted, the spacecraft will be lost completely