Mars may have been hospitable to life early in its history.
Articles on Life on Mars
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Microbial life might survive today underground, in caves or under ice sheets.
A planetary scientist walks through the sensors and systems that went into the recent detection of potential biosignatures.
Unique, spotted rocks in Mars’ Jezero Crater could indicate that the planet once hosted life.
The rock is peppered with spots that could have been formed by microbes four billion years ago.
The Viking missions paved the way for future Mars missions and helped researchers understand the red planet’s climate and geology.
NASA’s Curiosity rover has spotted carbon-containing minerals that can tell scientists more about what ancient Mars’ atmosphere may have looked like.
Scientists will have to check whether the samples contain living microbes before they can be safely studied.
The discovery indicates water may have remained stable on Mars for much longer than scientists thought.
‘Extremophile’ bacteria can survive extreme cold, heat, acidity and pressure.
It’s not easy to collect rocks on a budget when the rocks are 140 million miles away.
Determining whether or not life exists on another planet is an extraordinarily complicated – and expensive – scientific endeavor.
In sci-fi depictions, extraterrestrial habitats have evolved tandem with scientific understanding of conditions on planets
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and one of our closest neighbors in space. But it’s not a very welcoming place for an Earthling to visit.
NASA’s successful Mars landing will reveal yet more secrets from the red planet. But there is much we already know from Martian fragments that found their way to Earth.
Methane gas in the atmosphere is a tantalising hint suggesting that life could exists on Mars.
Scientists preparing to land the Rosalind Franklin rover in a few years are nervously awaiting the landing of Nasa’s Perseverance rover.
Of the three probes to reach Mars this month, only two will land. But they will add to our growing knowledge of the red planet, and the search for evidence of life.
We’ve already sent probes to land on Mars. The challenge now is to get people there and bring them home again.
New findings boost chances of finding life on Mars, but there are better candidates in the solar system.
Top contributors
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Assistant Professor of Geology, University of Florida
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Associate member of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW
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Professor of Physics, Deputy Director (Solar System) at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL
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Professor in Earth Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Emeritus Professor of Mineral Physics, University of Cambridge
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Scientist, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
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Associate Professor in Chemistry, Dublin City University
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Professor of Astronomy, Vanderbilt University
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Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University
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Executive Dean (Engineering), Edith Cowan University
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Research Scientist at Centro de Astrobiología, Spain, and Visiting Scientist in Astronomy, Cornell University
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Research Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, Macquarie University
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Senior Lecturer in Planetary Sciences, The Open University
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Principal Lecturer in Wildlife Conservation, Nottingham Trent University
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Associate Professor of Philosophy & Biological Sciences, Clemson University