Planetary Science
Controversy Grows Over whether Mars Samples Endanger Earth
Planetary scientists are eager to bring Red Planet rocks, soil and even air to Earth, but critics fear the risk of contaminating our world’s biosphere
"Mars"
Space Exploration
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Begins Key Search for Life on Mars
Rolling up an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater, the rover starts crucial rock sampling.
Space Exploration
Largest Marsquake Ever Recorded May Be InSight’s Swan Song
NASA’s three-and-a-half-year mission to collect seismic data from Mars is running out of juice
Space Exploration
Will NASA Save Europe’s Beleaguered Mars Rover?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ended hopes of launching the ExoMars rover in 2022. Now the mission may never lift off at all
Space Exploration
SpaceX’s Starship and NASA’s SLS Could Supercharge Space Science
Scientists are beginning to dream of how a new generation of super-heavy-lift rockets might enable revolutionary space telescopes and bigger, bolder interplanetary missions
Space Exploration
Mars Helicopter Ingenuity Soars on 22nd Red Planet Flight
The aircraft’s sorties are helping NASA’s Perseverance rover scout a path into an ancient Martian river delta
Space Exploration
The First Rocket Launch from Mars Will Start in Midair
NASA’s Mars Ascent Vehicle will attempt a wildly unconventional liftoff to bring Red Planet samples back to Earth
Space Exploration
NASA Eyes Electric Car Tech for Future Moon Rovers
Space agencies are partnering with car manufacturers to custom build new rovers—or retrofit commercial vehicles—for future missions to the moon and Mars
Planetary Science
What We Learned from the Perseverance Rover’s First Year on Mars
Despite some unexpected challenges, team members are setting lofty goals for the rover in 2022
Space Exploration
NASA’s ‘Nuclear Option’ May Be Crucial for Getting Humans to Mars
After decades of false starts, a new push for nuclear-powered rocketry could make or break the space agency’s plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet
Planetary Science
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Finds Signs of Epic Ancient Floods on Mars
New results from the mission reveal that its landing site of Jezero Crater has a surprisingly dynamic and complex hydrologic history
Space Exploration
Mars on the Cheap: Scientists Are Working to Revolutionize Access to the Red Planet
The concepts include souped-up Mars helicopters and inexpensive orbiters and landers
Planetary Science
Success! Perseverance Mars Rover Finally Collects Its First Rock Core
The mission is living up to its name, drilling and storing a Martian rock after a misstep in August
Planetary Science
Crumbly Mars Rock, Not Hardware Flaws, Scuttled Perseverance’s First Sample Attempt
After an alarming failure, the rover is set to continue its mission to retrieve specimens for eventual return to Earth
Space Exploration
NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover Foiled in First Attempt to Grab Rock for Return to Earth
Seeking to collect its inaugural core sample, the mission hopes to begin what could be humanity’s boldest search for extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial Life
Future Space Travel Might Require Mushrooms
Mycologist Paul Stamets discusses the potential extraterrestrial uses of fungi, including terraforming planets, building human habitats—and providing psilocybin therapy to astronauts...
Planetary Science
Buried ‘Lakes’ on Mars May Just Be Frozen Clay
Mineral deposits, not salty water, are the most likely cause of radar reflections spotted beneath the planet’s south pole, a new study finds
Space & Physics
Unbinding Life, Unbounded
The blog’s author reflects as nine years of writing undergo an evolutionary change
Space & Physics
The 1,000 Caves of Mars
Want to seek shelter on Mars? There may be a lot of options, and we know where they are
Space & Physics
Death on Mars
The martian radiation environment is a problem for human explorers that cannot be overstated
