Extremophile microbes exist in the gypsum-rich “fringes” of the driest place on Earth.
Mars
Posted inNews
Mars Mission’s Monetary Roller Coaster Hits New Lows
In February, the NASA research center laid off more than 500 people, citing congressional budget uncertainties over the controversial Mars Sample Return mission. What is its path forward?
Posted inNews
Martian Jumble May Be Hiding a Giant Volcano
The discovery of Noctis Mons could make the region a target for future Mars missions.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Towards a Unified Framework for Earth, Mars, Titan, and Exoplanets
From a simple set of in situ or synthetic data, a general unified model has been developed to calculate turbulent fluxes and evaporation rates on any rocky body with an atmosphere.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Salty Soil May Release Methane on Mars
Through roving and drilling, Mars Curiosity Rover may be breaking up the ground’s salty, hardened soils that seal methane, possibly causing a temporal, local methane spike.
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Mars as a Driver of Deep-Sea Erosion
An analysis of breaks in deep-sea sediment links the geological record to a 2.4-million-year cycle that heats Earth and ventilates our oceans.
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Microbe Goo Could Help Guide the Search for Life on Mars
Sticky substances secreted by microbes may help create landforms on Earth. And new research shows that these substances are more preserved in iron-rich sediment. Mars is decidedly iron-rich (it’s the Red Planet, after all), so the new study adds to evidence that microbe goo could help researchers explain landform creation there. “I think this is […]
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mapping Mars: Deep Learning Could Help Identify Jezero Crater Landing Site
Researchers used new techniques to more precisely estimate ground elevations on Mars, producing a refined resolution map for rover landings.
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Mars’s Interior May Have an Extra Layer of Molten Rock
New findings suggest that unlike in Earth, the bottom of Mars’s mantle is a sea of molten silicate rock.