Life on Mars

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.

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'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's planned mission to bring rock samples to Earth from Mars would beat both NASA and the European Space Agency to the punch.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Researchers have discovered a jaw-dropping ecosystem of crystal-clear lagoons and salt plains in Argentina's Puna de Atacama desert that could offer a window onto early life on Earth and Mars.