Exploring the Red Planet
As NASA prepares to launch its new Curiosity Mars rover, we look back at some of the highlights--and the misfires--in more than 50 years of Mars missions
Digging Mars: Mars Science Lab Set to Blast Off
The Mars Phoenix mission revived hopes that the Red Planet may be habitable, preparing the way for a new rover to be launched this month
![Timeline of Mars Exploration, from 1960 to 2011 [Interactive]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/072189EA-8208-4468-A45EC098000DA374_agenda.jpg?w=380&h=213&fit=crop)
Timeline of Mars Exploration, from 1960 to 2011 [Interactive]
Two Mars missions are scheduled to launch this month. How have their predecessors fared? Find out more in Exploring the Red Planet
![Mapping Mars: Where Have All the Landers Gone? [Interactive]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/18491045-4DB9-4BFC-ADD24249158B4E3D_agenda.jpg?w=380&h=213&fit=crop)
Mapping Mars: Where Have All the Landers Gone? [Interactive]
The first man-made object to land on Mars arrived 40 years ago this month, and NASA's Curiosity rover should soon depart for the Red Planet. Here is a look at where humankind's many Mars landers have touched down, and where the planet betrays a history of all-important liquid water...
Wet Down: Warm, Wet Conditions on Ancient Mars May Have Been Confined to Subsurface
Mars has plenty of minerals that suggest a watery past, but that does not mean that the Red Planet once looked like Earth
NASA's Next Mars Rover to Land at Huge Gale Crater
The site is a giant crater called Gale, thought to harbor clues of ancient water activity on the Martian surface
Obama's Goals for Space Exploration Include a Manned Mission to Mars Orbit in the 2030s
In a speech from Florida's Space Coast, the president argued the case for his proposed NASA budget and outlined his vision for human spaceflight
Phobos-Grunt Probe to Put Microbial Life in Mars Orbit
A tagalong to the Russian sample-return mission makes some researchers uncomfortable
What Would Happen If Earth and Mars Switched Places?
Last Saturday, at a workshop organized by the Foundation Questions Institute, Nobel laureate physicist Gerard 't Hooft gave a few informal remarks on the deep nature of reality.
Water Spirit: Rover Findings Hint of a Warmer, Wetter Era on Mars
Bountiful carbonate minerals in a rock outcrop on the Red Planet could have formed under watery greenhouse conditions billions of years ago
Mass Arrest: Jupiter's Early Migration Could Explain Mars's Small Size
The wandering orbit of Jupiter at the dawn of the solar system may have had wide-ranging effects
At Heaven's Gate: 50 Years After Humans First Reached Space, What Frontiers Remain?
Humankind has been confined to Earth's orbital environs for decades, but plans abound for manned missions to deeper reaches of the solar system
Unfree Spirit: NASA's Mars Rover Appears Stuck for Good
Now designated a stationary science platform, Spirit's next order of business is bracing for a long, harsh winter
Room for Debate: Where, If Anywhere, Is NASA Headed?
Without a firm destination, will NASA's ambitions for a return to manned spaceflight beyond Earth orbit founder? Or, will scrapping the Constellation Program give the U.S. more options for human exploration of the moon, Mars and the asteroids?...
Mars Moil: One Mission Revived as Others Fight for Life or Await Possible Resurrection
On the frontier of planetary exploration, nothing is easy
10 Views of Earth from the Moon, Mars and Beyond [Slide Show]
For more than 40 years, missions throughout the solar system have sent back stunning images of our home planet
Deep Freeze: Mars Orbiter Finds Massive Stores of Buried Dry Ice
Radar soundings point to huge deposits of carbon dioxide near the Red Planet's south pole, which may have once contributed to a different climate
Space Geology: From the Moon to Mars
The only scientist and field geologist ever to visit the moon offers some pointers to those who will one day visit Mars
Thawing Martian Ice Age Left Telltale Water Tracks
Signs of repeated ice- and snow-melt in a mid-latitude gully may point to the most recent water activity on the Red Planet's surface
How to Get Humans on Mars: Make It a One-Way Trip
Landing humans on Mars is a completely achievable feat with current technology—if you are okay with the idea of a one-way ticket, points out physicist and Scientific American columnist Lawrence Krauss in an op-ed in yesterday's New York Times ...
A Wet Run for a Dry Planet: NASA Tests Drilling Technology in the Desert with Mars Sample Return in Mind [Slide Show]
Despite a gummed up drill bit and three days of very un-Martian precipitation, engineers pronounced the test a success--and learned to expect the unexpected, whether it be in the California outback or on Mars...
Rethinking the Dream of Human Spaceflight
Fifty years after the first human ventured into space, we need some creative thinking
Mars Bars: Seasonal Markings on Martian Slopes Could Indicate Flowing Water
Newfound features on the Red Planet hint that liquid water may still exist there
Opportunity Knocks at Martian Crater
Seven years into its three-month mission, the Mars rover Opportunity reaches Endeavour Crater, a possible geologic treasure trove. John Matson reports
