Mars

Find out everything there is to know about Mars and stay updated on the latest Mars news with the comprehensive articles, interactive features and Mars pictures at LiveScience.com. Learn more about this fascinating planet as scientists continue to make amazing discoveries about Mars.
Latest about Mars

NASA may have unknowingly found and killed alien life on Mars 50 years ago, scientist claims
By Harry Baker published
One researcher hypothesizes that experiments carried out by NASA's Viking landers in 1976 could have inadvertently killed microbes living in Martian rocks. Other experts are skeptical.

Just 22 people are needed to colonize Mars — as long as they are the right personality type, study claims
By Harry Baker published
Researchers estimated that as few as 22 people would be needed to sustain a colony on Mars. But there are lots of caveats, and the new study largely misses the point of colonizing the Red Planet in the first place, experts say.

Bizarre polygons on Mars' surface hint that alien life on Red Planet was possible
By Harry Baker published
A patchwork of polygon-shaped cracks in ancient Martian mud are evidence of past wet-dry cycles, which could have helped extraterrestrial life emerge on the Red Planet.

Mars is spinning faster, and scientists aren't sure why
By Joanna Thompson published
Data from NASA's InSight mission shows that Mars's rotation is speeding up and its days are growing slightly shorter. Scientists have a few ideas why.

Mars rover is spying on the sun's far side to hunt for hidden, dangerous sunspots
By Harry Baker published
NASA's Perseverance rover is perfectly positioned to snap pictures of massive sunspots that could spit out powerful solar storms before they become visible from Earth.

'Building blocks of life' discovered on Mars in 10 different rock samples
By Charles Q. Choi published
NASA's Perseverance rover has found an intriguing menagerie of organic molecules in a Martian crater, but their source remains unclear.

Mars had an extreme climate shift 400,000 years ago, Chinese rover finds before its demise
By Keith Cooper published
China's presumed-dead Zhurong rover spotted telltale patterns of ancient climate change in the Martian dunes.

Mars helicopter Ingenuity phones home, breaking 63-day silence
By Mike Wall published
NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity has phoned home after 63 days of silence, and all appears to be well with the little rotorcraft.

NASA's Curiosity rover snaps extremely detailed 'postcard' of Martian landscape after waking up from a 'brain-boosting nap'
By Harry Baker published
The new panorama snapped by NASA's Curiosity rover combines photos from two different times of day to create a highly detailed image of the Red Planet.
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