#mars

NASA has selected 14 university teams as finalists in the 2026 RASC-AL competition, tasking students from MIT, Texas A&M, Dartmouth, and others with designing the communications, power, and sample-return systems that will support human life on the Moon and Mars.

Scientists analyzing NASA InSight seismic data have identified what appears to be a substantial liquid water reservoir 10 to 20 kilometers beneath Mars's surface, potentially rewriting our understanding of Martian habitability.

ESA's Mars orbiters captured unprecedented data as a massive solar storm hit the Red Planet, causing spacecraft glitches and supercharging Mars's upper atmosphere.

A new study suggests asteroid impacts could allow microbes to survive interplanetary transfer, raising the possibility that life on Earth began on Mars.

NASA's Curiosity rover has gathered its fourth rock sample from enigmatic boxwork ridge formations in Gale Crater, structures formed when water flowed through underground fissures billions of years ago. Previous samples have shown tantalizing hints that may point to ancient life on Mars.

Hollywood has painted a romanticized picture of life on the Red Planet, from Matt Damon growing potatoes to Arnold Schwarzenegger surviving the Martian surface. But experts say the real challenges of off-world living are far more daunting and far less cinematic than anything science fiction has prepared us for.

Mineral analyses near Pavonis Mons show Martian volcanoes evolved through multiple eruption phases, not single events as long assumed.

New analysis of young Martian volcanoes reveals surprising diversity in eruption styles and compositions. It challenges assumptions about Mars geology.