Mars

Mars' iron core surrounded by molten rock, seismic studies show

Two new pieces of research suggest center is smaller than previously thought

Science27 Oct 2023 | 6

Mars chilled for aeons, but stayed so stressed it gets crusty marsquakes

Multiple orbiters failed to find a crater matching rumble. Boffins now blame Red planet's internal problems

Science19 Oct 2023 | 7

Mars helicopter to try for new speed record on Thursday

57 flights past expected lifetime and still improving

Science12 Oct 2023 | 38

Elon Musk's ambitions for Starship soar high while reality waits on launchpad

Comment Monster rocket yet to trouble orbit, let alone the Red Planet

Science06 Oct 2023 | 86

Red Planet roommates have been stuck on 'Mars' together for 100 days

Simulation milestone coincides with NASA's 65th birthday – will it manage the real thing before its centenary?

Science04 Oct 2023 | 16

Perseverance rover sets a Martian speed record with software controls

347.7 meters in a day - humans could probably do better

Science27 Sep 2023 | 7

Researchers train an AI system to find extraterrestrial life

Machine learning model touted as ideal for finding LGMs on Mars, and beyond

Science27 Sep 2023 | 26

NASA's Mars Sample Return mission is in danger of never launching

Review board: Mega project is way over budget, needs cash, and senators want it axed

Science25 Sep 2023 | 22

MOXIE microwaved Mars air into oxygen, but now it's time for a breather

Concept will need to be scaled up to keep more than a small dog alive

Science11 Sep 2023 | 19

Boffins reckon Mars colony could survive with fewer than two dozen people

Taming that unforgiving dust world may be significantly less expensive than anticipated

Science16 Aug 2023 | 129

Curiosity finds evidence of wet and dry seasons on ancient Mars

Scientists: Martian mud cracked in a manner that only happens after repeated cycles of drying

Science12 Aug 2023 | 38

NASA to test potential 400Mbps laser link for Mars

High bandwidth comms experiment to fly with Psyche asteroid mission in October

Networks10 Aug 2023 | 12

NASA, DARPA enlist Lockheed to build nuclear-powered spacecraft

Hey, at least this one isn't an actual bomb

Science27 Jul 2023 | 16

Perseverance reveals more detail on Martian organic chemistry

Building blocks for life could have been present for up to 2.6 billion years on the Red Planet, rover discovery shows

Science12 Jul 2023 | 8

Mars helicopter phones home after 63 days of silence

If Japanese space boffins have their way, it could be joined by a robotic hummingbird

Science03 Jul 2023 | 14

Fresh details on the flash that sits inside Mars Perseverance Rover

Plus space-hardened SSDs planned for lunar DC ... if and when that happens

The Reg in Space15 Jun 2023 | 5

Scientists think they may have cracked life support for Martian occupation

Outdated ISS system will need an upgrade if we're to go further into space

The Reg in Space07 Jun 2023 | 82

Mars helicopter went silent for six sols, imperilled Perseverance rover

Ingenuity's still setting records, but waking it up and chatting are getting harder

The Reg in Space30 May 2023 | 42

Encoded 'alien message' will reach Earth today, but relax: It's just a drill

SETI encouraging everyone to break out their decoder rings, get in on the simulated first-contact fun

Science24 May 2023 | 23

Perseverance rover shows up Curiosity with discovery of Martian water park

Latest snaps have NASA rethinking scale of rivers on the Red Planet

Science12 May 2023 | 23

China's Mars rover finds signs of 'modern' water

Asia In Brief AWS adds Korean support; Singtel creates InfraCo; Philippines SIM registration drive extended

Science01 May 2023 | 4

China space agency reckons Zhurong Mars rover has probably been done in by dust

Hopes it might wake during the Martian solstice, but not with much confidence

Science27 Apr 2023 | 4

NASA InSight lander spills the beans on Mars' core

The lander might be dead, but its scientific legacy lives on

Science25 Apr 2023 | 8

Mars Helicopter completes 50th flight, 45 more than NASA planned

And sets a Martian height record for good measure

Science17 Apr 2023 | 33

Curiosity gets interplanetary software patch for better driving and more on Mars

And you thought patching your production environment was stressful

Science15 Apr 2023 | 52

Move over, Google Earth. Caltech's here with a fresh 3D tour of Mars

Alien dust world globe took three years of hand-stitching images to create

Science08 Apr 2023 | 18

Wannabe space 'superpower' UK tosses £1.6M at eight research projects

Very world-beating funding

Science08 Mar 2023 | 65

To explore caves on Mars and the Moon, take a hint from Hansel & Gretel, say boffins

Robot adventurers drop mesh network 'breadcrumbs' to stay connected

Science03 Mar 2023 | 31

China's Zhurong rover may be dead: NASA images show no sign of life

Pic Or maybe it's just resting and pining for the fjords

Science23 Feb 2023 | 11

Research raises questions: Are instruments taken to Mars sensitive enough to find life?

Study in Chile desert finds NASA Mars mission instruments unlikely to detect signs of life in Earth's most arid regions

Science21 Feb 2023 | 18

Curiosity finds clearest evidence yet for water on Mars

A rippled rocky ridge suggests the presence of lakes and waves, all at a higher elevation than expected

Science09 Feb 2023 | 10

Field trip! European Space Agency sends astronauts abroad to learn about rocks

Astronauts need better autonomy as ground control gets further away

Science06 Feb 2023 | 12

NASA, DARPA to go nuclear in hopes of putting boots on Mars

Fission reactor rocket should get them going quite fast

Science25 Jan 2023 | 44

Robot seal tested for stress relief on pretend Mars mission

Anything to avoid interacting with Elon Musk

Offbeat11 Jan 2023 | 29

The balmy equator of Mars looks rich in opal-bound water

The poles have ice but it's freezing up there, so why not grind gems for cocktails?

Science09 Jan 2023 | 10

China's Mars rover hibernates for a scarily long time

Zhurongs don't make a right and suggest the mission may not have survived winter

Science09 Jan 2023 | 19

Perseverance rover drops off first sample tube on surface of Mars

Woohoo! Cameras on robot's belly confirm it isn't going to drive over it

Science22 Dec 2022 | 30

NASA retires Mars InSight mission after it enters ‘dead bus’ condition

So long and thanks for all the science

Science22 Dec 2022 | 19

NASA's Mars InSight uploads its (probably) final image, shares it in a tweet

All those expensive gadgets the boffins attached to it, they couldn't afford a feather duster?

Science20 Dec 2022 | 28

Boffins hear Martian dust devils' rumbles for first time

Audio recordings of local whirlwinds provide data on Mars weather, wear and tear of space hardware

Science13 Dec 2022 | 3

You're getting warmer: NASA's thermal mole reveals active mantle plume on Mars

Discovery shows 'astrobiological potential of subsurface habitable environments'

Science05 Dec 2022 | 9

Boffins are studying Martian clouds to avoid another Opportunity episode

They look and behave a lot like those on Earth – except they're made of dust

Science18 Nov 2022 | 9

You wait for an aurora on Mars and MAVEN spots two arriving at the same time

Boffins baffled: There's, like, zero magnetic field and very little atmosphere. What gives?

Science11 Nov 2022 | 8

InSight Mars lander has only 'few weeks' of power left

Think I got some dust in my eye

Science02 Nov 2022 | 70

Signs of sediment-rich ocean lend direction to Mars life search

3D models and maps show similarities in how the planet and Earth share sediment strategies

Science31 Oct 2022 | 7

NASA details totally doable, not science fiction plan for sending Mars rocks to Earth

So crazy, it just might work

Science29 Oct 2022 | 79

Origins of mysterious marsquake settled: It was a meteoroid what done it

We've spotted the massive ice-hole it left behind

Science28 Oct 2022 | 13

Martian microbes could survive up to 280 million years buried underground

That is if they're anything like the radiation-resistant 'Conan the Bacterium' here on Earth

Science26 Oct 2022 | 31

Mars rover Curiosity reaches sulfate-rich Mount Sharp after 10-year journey

NASA had been aiming for the region since before landing because there are 'signs of past water'

Science20 Oct 2022 | 13

Self-imposed climate change may have killed Martian life

Hungry microbes blamed for chilling out the party too much

Science11 Oct 2022 | 27

Japan tests probe to land on Martian moon Phobos, bring a chunk of it back to Earth

COVID hiccups be damned, work on instruments and connectivity is under way and space agency JAXA is determined to hit launch window

Science06 Oct 2022 | 20

Astroboffins present fresh evidence of moving liquid water on Mars

Pack your bags, we're off to huddle on some alien ice caps. It beats Earth

Science30 Sep 2022 | 30

Was there life on Mars? Perseverance scrapes up promising samples

Fact organic matter was found in sedimentary rock, which preserves fossils here on Earth, 'important'

Science16 Sep 2022 | 16

The answer to 3D printing equipment on Mars might lie in the Red Planet's dust

Talk about dirt cheap

Science07 Sep 2022 | 27

How this Mars rover used its MOXIE to convert CO2 into precious oxygen

Producing vital gas out of Red Planet's hostile atmosphere? Truly a test of Perseverance

Science01 Sep 2022 | 42

NASA has MOXIE, but rivals reckon they can do better for oxygen on Mars

Food and fuels, too? Totally not sounding like a Star Trek replicator

Science18 Aug 2022 | 39