Life on Mars
Latest about Life on Mars
![Cracked desert soil in the Yungay Valley region of the Atacama Desert.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/9WVtwPDMnnkEVipPooKmb7-320-80.jpg)
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.
![An artist's depiction of NASA's Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, storing samples of Martian rocks in tubes for future delivery to Earth. Perseverance will land inside Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uohAYFTm4Tx7ADpsJP2B5c-320-80.jpg)
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.
![An aerial picture of the lagoon and surrounding salt plain with microbial mounds visible beneath the water surface.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/qP5ohMx4q98LsRQvKPCRR6-320-80.jpg)
Lost world of lagoons filled with mounds of microbes discovered in Atacama desert
By Sascha Pare published
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.
![NASA's Curiosity rover took this selfie while inside Mars' Gale crater on June 15, 2018, which was the 2,082nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/ubY9QH5fSdZMMco9rYuiP4-320-80.jpg)
Scientists created AI that could detect alien life — and they're not entirely sure how it works
By Ben Turner published
The new machine-learning algorithm can distinguish between biological and nonbiological samples with 90% accuracy. Exactly how is a mystery.
![An illustration of Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the solar system.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/FGQ2bbgtGoP6n9k6qofSsi-320-80.jpg)
'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.
![A fragment of the Tissint meteorite, which crashed to Earth in 2011.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nCqbLLmYDunVBGtr5Triab-320-80.jpg)
Mars meteorite that crashed to Earth contains 'huge diversity' of organic compounds
By Harry Baker published
A new study into the Tissint meteorite, which crash-landed in Morocco in 2011, revealed a wide array of organic compounds hidden in the rare space rock.
![D. radiodurans (affectionately known as "Conan the Bacterium") is particularly well-suited to surviving Mars' harsh environment.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/VQDc7BeCQaJxG2eAQMX2iB-320-80.png)
Bacteria could survive underground on Mars for hundreds of millions of years, new study finds
By Stephanie Pappas published
New research suggests that signs of ancient Martian life could be out there – or rather, hidden just beneath the Martian surface, safe from harmful radiation.
![Mars in late spring. William Herschel believed the light areas were land and the dark areas were oceans.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/5Pcs3WttnUFgXD9Syd7vT-320-80.jpg)
First Martian life likely broke the planet with climate change, made themselves extinct
By Ben Turner published
The finding comes from a modeling study that assumes ancient Martian life was similar to that on Earth during the same time period.
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