Mars

This Extremely Toxic Lake Could Show Us How Life May Have Survived on Mars

by

The search for life on Mars is not an easy one. Not only is the red planet difficult to get to, it’s deeply inhospitable to life as we know it. However, there are places on Earth that could show us how life may have been able to survive on Mars – if not now, then … Read more

See Mars shine very close to moon in Saturday’s pre-dawn sky. Here’s where to look.

by

Mars and Venus will shine close to the crescent moon 45 minutes before sunrise on Jan. 29, 2022. Look to the southeast on the horizon to see them, weather permitting. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) There’s a cool “close encounter” of worlds happening right against the horizon at sunrise Saturday (Jan. 29). Provided you can see low … Read more

Astrobiology: Bacteria can survive extreme conditions that may have existed in ancient Mars lakes

by

Microorganisms have adapted to one of the harshest environments on Earth, a sulphurous and acidic lake that is considered an analogue to ancient lakes on Mars Space 28 January 2022 By Chen Ly A volcanic crater in Costa Rica with an extremely harsh lake known as Laguna Caliente Justin Wang Bacteria have adapted to survive … Read more

Water on Mars may have flowed for a billion years longer than thought

by

Observations by a long-running Mars mission suggest that liquid water may have flowed on the Red Planet as little as 2 billion years ago, much later than scientists once thought. Scientists charted the presence of chloride salt deposits left behind by flowing water using years of data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), which has … Read more

NASA’s ‘Nuclear Option’ May Be Crucial for Getting Humans to Mars

by

The pathway to humans on Mars lies through the atom, split. Far from Earth, whether in the void or on another world, power is life. A steady, strong flow of electricity is as crucial for operating computers and engines as it is for assuring access to corporeal necessities such as light and heat, breathable air … Read more

Perseverance rover does the ‘twist’ on Mars to shake loose stuck rocks

by

A quick twist and shake relieved NASA’s Perseverance rover on Mars of the last two pebbles clogging its sampling system.  The trouble began during the rover’s sixth Red Planet rock sample, on Dec. 29. Pebbles got stuck along the rover’s bit carousel, which passes rock samples into the spacecraft’s internal handling system for processing. After … Read more

Mars’ suspected underground lake could be just volcanic rock, new study finds

by

A suspected Martian underground lake is probably volcanic rock masquerading as water, according to a new study. In 2018, researchers found evidence that the Red Planet’s southern pole might have water beneath it. The possible water signature was first interpreted from radar observations made by Mars Express, a European Space Agency spacecraft. But a new … Read more

Mysterious Signal of Hidden Lakes on Mars May Not Be What We Thought

by

The likelihood of lakes of liquid water hidden under Mars‘ southern polar ice cap is receding before our very eyes. Last year, a paper found that temperatures were likely far too cold for water to remain unfrozen in the region. Now, a new study has found that the radar signal interpreted as liquid water was … Read more

Mars ‘asteroid showers’ have stayed steady over 600 million years

by

Our dating assumptions for the Red Planet might need a second look. Fresh analysis of craters on Mars suggests that asteroids have been smashing into the surface at a consistent rate for at least 600 million years. Scientists often use craters as a proxy to figure out how old a planetary surface is, since more … Read more