Life on Mars
Latest about Life on Mars

Perseverance rover spots peculiar 'spider egg' rock on Mars — and scientists have no idea how it got there
By Damien Pine published
On March 11, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover spotted a mysterious rock made of hundreds of tiny spheres that resemble spider eggs. Studying its formation could help us look for fossilized remains of microbial life on Mars.

If life can exist in your stomach, it can exist on Mars. Here's what it might look like.
By María Rosa Pino Otín published
If life exists on other planets, it needs to be adaptable to extreme environments. To get a clue of what it might look like, we can turn to a surprising place: the human gut.

Mars' red color explained by surprising new research
By Ben Turner published
New research has revealed that Martian dust's red hue comes from reactions that occurred in wet — not dry — conditions, and it could have implications for the possibility of life on the planet.

NASA rover discovers liquid water 'ripples' carved into Mars rock — and it could rewrite the Red Planet's history
By Joanna Thompson published
NASA's Curiosity rover photographed remnants of rippling waves in an ancient Martian lakebed, proving that the Red Planet had open water for longer in its history than previously thought.

China aims to be 1st to bring samples back from Mars
By Stephanie Pappas published
China's planned mission to bring rock samples to Earth from Mars would beat both NASA and the European Space Agency to the punch.

Did alien life exist in hot water on Mars billions of years ago?
By Robert Lea published
Was alien life in "hot water" on Mars billions of years ago? New evidence from the Martian meteorite "Black Beauty" suggests so.

Scientists spot ancient 'smiley face' on Mars — and it could contain signs of life
By Harry Baker published
Newly released images of Mars reveal a "smiley" salt deposit on the Red Planet's surface. A related study suggests that similar deposits, which were left behind from ancient lakes, may be a good place to look for signs of former life on Mars.

Enormous hidden ocean discovered under Mars could contain life
By Ben Turner published
Scientists examining data from NASA's InSight Lander have revealed the likely presence of an underground reservoir containing enough liquid to cover the planet with a mile of water.

Hidden 'biosphere' of extreme microbes discovered 13 feet below Atacama Desert is deepest found there to date
By Sascha Pare published
Researchers have found microbes thriving 13 feet beneath the scorched surface of Chile's Atacama Desert, marking the deepest discovery of microbial life in the region to date.

NASA's Perseverance rover may already have found signs of life on Mars, discovery of ancient lake sediments reveals
By Ben Turner published
The discovery of an ancient lake bed beneath the Perseverance rover's location on Mars could mean the robotic scout has already scraped up microbial fossils. But we won't know for sure until we fetch the sample.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.