Was There Ever Life on Mars?
We don’t know . . . yet. That’s because we are just beginning to look, and here’s what we know so far. The Spirit and Opportunity rovers confirmed what had been suspected for decades, that Mars was once warmer and wetter, with long-lasting bodies of water on its surface. The Curiosity rover discovered that organic compounds necessary for life as we know it are present in Martian rocks. The ingredients were there, but this habitable environment ended around 3 billion years ago. At that time, all life on Earth was single-celled bacteria, and it would be another 2.5 billion years before multi-cellular life arose. So, we don’t expect to find fossils of things like plants and animals. Instead, we’re looking for ways in which ancient bacteria changed the chemistry and structure of rocks. The Perseverance rover is currently finding rocks that could contain this evidence and collecting samples of them for return to Earth in the next decade. Read More
Latest News About Mars
NASA: New insights into how Mars became uninhabitable
October 7, 2024
NASA’s Curiosity rover is providing new details about how the ancient Martian climate went from potentially suitable for life Read more
Weird striped rock 'unlike any seen on Mars' found by Perseverance rover
September 25, 2024
The stripy rocky may be volcanic in origin, but where did it come from? Read more
Mars’ missing atmosphere could be hiding in plain sight
September 25, 2024
A new study shows Mars’ early thick atmosphere could be locked up in the planet’s clay surface. Read more
Did Mars once have a third, larger moon?
September 18, 2024
A new paper proposes that Mars may actually have had a third larger moon Read more
A wobble from Mars could be sign of dark matter, MIT study finds
September 17, 2024
Watching for changes in the Red Planet’s orbit over time could be new way to detect passing dark matter. Read more
Gravity study gives insights into hidden features beneath lost ocean of Mars and rising Olympus Mons
September 17, 2024
Active processes in the martian mantle may be giving a boost to Olympus Mons Read more
NASA scientists re-create Mars ‘spiders’ in a lab for first time
September 11, 2024
Tests appear to confirm how the spider-shaped geologic formations are carved by carbon dioxide Read more
A long-lost moon could explain Mars' weird shape and extreme terrain
September 10, 2024
Mars is triaxial - it's an ellipsoid with different sizes along all three axes Read more
Parts of Mars might be younger than we thought
September 10, 2024
Data from InSight’s seismometer suggest more impactors strike the Red Planet than expected Read more
Mars’ “liquid water” mystery solved? Cornell researchers offer simpler explanation
September 1, 2024
They explain Mars’ bright radar reflections with ice layer interference Read more
Mars may host oceans’ worth of water deep underground
August 12, 2024
This could hint at a habitat where life could potentially thrive today Read more
Mars Express orbiter takes a deep dive into ancient Red Planet lake
August 8, 2024
We believe that water, and a lot of it, once existed here Read more
NASA discovers Mars rock with ancient potential for life
August 1, 2024
It’s possible that ancient microbes left marks that remain visible to this day Read more
NASA did not say it found life on Mars, but it’s very excited about this rock
July 25, 2024
Nonmicrobial processes could also explain its features Read more
NASA's Curiosity rover accidentally reveals ultra-rare sulfur crystals after crushing a rock on Mars
July 19, 2024
The yellow crystals have never been spotted on Mars before Read more
Mars orbiter captures Red Planet scar that's longer than the Grand Canyon
July 5, 2024
New images published by the ESA have captured a 600-km-long snaking scar Read more
Quakes on Mars reveal Red Planet is constantly bombarded by meteorites
June 28, 2024
Mars experiences almost daily impacts from rocks the size of a basketball Read more
Air sealed in Perseverance's Mars sample return tubes is as precious as the rocks themselves
June 24, 2024
It may offer valuable insight on the planet's ancient past Read more
Mars rover discovers a strange Red Planet rock
June 21, 2024
A peculiar, white-colored rock appears weirdly out-of-place on the Red Planet Read more
Marsquakes may help reveal whether liquid water exists underground on red planet
June 17, 2024
It may be too deep underground to detect with traditional methods Read more
Is there really a huge subsurface lake near Mars' south pole?
June 10, 2024
Compacted layers of ice might be mimicking the radar echo of liquid water Read more
'We thought it was impossible:' Water frost on Mars discovered near Red Planet's equator
June 10, 2024
"It's exciting, and hints at exceptional processes at play" Read more
The 'hole' on Mars making headlines could be crucial to Red Planet exploration
June 6, 2024
The pit crater possibly opens into a larger cave that could provide a sheltered environment Read more
Martian meteorites deliver a trove of information on red planet's structure
May 31, 2024
Mars has a distinct structure in its mantle and crust with discernible reservoirs Read more
Exploring extremes in the search for life on Mars
May 20, 2024
The unique geochemical environment on Mars could shape life in the past or present Read more
Mars might have an asteroid problem
May 17, 2024
It could see two-and-a-half times more close encounters with asteroids than Earth Read more
A massive, icy Mars crater stares up at a Red Planet orbiter
May 16, 2024
Ice-related features on and below the surface lend insight on the Red Planet’s watery past Read more
An orbiter captured images of 'spiders' on Mars in Inca City. But what is it, really?
April 26, 2024
What's really going on has to do with a carbon dioxide eruption Read more
Thousands of strange white rocks found on Mars. Will they ever be brought to Earth?
April 3, 2024
These are very unusual rocks and we're trying to figure out what's been going on Read more
Rock sampled by NASA’s Perseverance embodies why rover came to Mars
April 3, 2024
The latest rock core was awash in water for an extended period of time in the distant past Read more
Fascinating Facts About Mars
- If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a nickel, and Mars would be the size of an aspirin tablet.
- From Mars’ surface, the Sun appears about two-thirds as large as it does from Earth and sunlight appears about 2 times dimmer.
- Mars has gullies characterized by an alcove at the top, a channel, and an apron of deposited material at the bottom. At first, gullies were thought to be a result of flowing water, but recent studies have shown that this is likely not true. Researchers are further studying how these gullies might have formed. Mars also has Lobate Debris Aprons (LDAs); these are now stationary glacial flows composed almost entirely of water ice and covered in a layer of debris. Although the age and origins of LDAs are a mystery, they are likely remnants of a previous ice age on Mars.
- Mars is known as the Red Planet because iron minerals in the Martian soil oxidize, or rust, causing the soil, and the dusty atmosphere, to look red.
- Mars is the only planet other than Earth that has polar ice caps.
- The tallest mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons, is on Mars; and the longest and deepest canyon in the solar system, Valles Marineris, is also on Mars.
- Mars is the only planet with observed dry ice (carbon dioxide) snowfall.
Missions
InSight (2018)
Mission to study crust, mantle and core of Mars
ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (2016)
ESA/Roscosmos mission to better understand methane and other trace atmospheric gases
MAVEN (2013)
Mission to study upper atmosphere and ionosphere
Mangalyaan (Mars Orbiter Mission) (2013)
ISRO mission to explore Mars surface features, morphology, mineralogy and atmosphere
Curiosity (2011)
Mission to determine if Mars is able to support microbial life
Phoenix (2007)
Mission to study history of water in the Martian arctic and search for evidence of a habitable zone
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005)
Mission to search for evidence that water persisted on the surface for long period of time
Spirit & Opportunity (2003)
Mission to study history of water on Mars
Mars Express (2003)
ESA mission to study atmosphere, climate, planet structure, mineralogy and geology and search for traces of water
Mars Odyssey (2001)
Mission to study radiation environment and detect water and shallow buried ice
Mars Pathfinder (1996)
Mission to deliver lander and rover to Mars surface
Mars Global Surveyor (1996)
Mission to study composition and topography and monitor weather patterns
Phobos 2 (1988)
Soviet Union mission to study surface and atmosphere of Mars and surface composition of Martian moon Phobos
Viking 1 & 2 (1975)
Mission to collect data about the surface and atmosphere and search for signs of life
Mariner 9 (1971)
Mission to map Mars' surface
Mars 2 & 3 (1971)
Soviet Union orbiter and lander
Mariner 6 & 7 (1969)
Flyby to study surface for signs of life
Mariner 4 (1964)
First Mars flyby