NASA’s Curiosity rover has detected more than 20 carbon-containing compounds — including seven never before seen on Mars — in a sample collected from 3.5-billion-year-old clay-bearing sandstones in Gale Crater. A close-up of three holes Curiosity drilled into Martian rock at a location nicknamed Mary Anning in October 2020. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech /…
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) – Performing a type of experiment never before tried beyond Earth, NASA’s Curiosity rover has identified more organic compounds on Mars as scientists strive to learn whether the Red Planet ever harbored life. Five of the seven diverse organic compounds confirmed by the six-wheeled rover in rock that…
A continent-like shelf beneath the Martian surface hints that a vast ocean once covered up to a third of Mars, reshaping the long-running debate over its watery past. This artist’s impression shows how Mars may have looked about 4 billion years ago. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO. While it is widely accepted that Mars…
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the success of the historic Artemis II mission currently underway would not be possible “if it wasn’t for President Trump,” as the Orion spacecraft is set to pass beyond the far side of the Moon in the next 24 hours. Isaacman detailed the mission’s progress, how technology has assisted in…
A new analysis of isotopic signatures across planets and meteorite parent bodies suggests our home world formed entirely from inner solar system material, challenging long-standing theories of distant origins. An artist’s impression of the asteroid 2025 MN45. Image credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA / P. Marenfeld. “Our calculations…
Kim Stanley Robinson, author of Red Mars Terese Loeb Kreuzer/Alamy 2026 marks the dawn of a momentous era: humankind taking our first steps towards colonising Mars. Later this year, NASA’s ESCAPADE probes will fly to the surface of the Red Planet, capitalising on its proximity to Earth and paving the way for crewed flights in…
NASA’s Perseverance rover is on the hunt for gems NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS The Perseverance rover has found precious stones inside Martian pebbles. These gem grains are made of a substance called corundum, which is also known as ruby or sapphire depending on the traces of metals within it. Ann Ollila at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New…
