Despite centuries of study and many spacecraft visits, the Red Planet still holds secrets. Here are just a few.
Mars
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Where the Wild Marsquakes Are
A new analysis of the seismic data gathered by the InSight lander reveals that marsquakes occur across a much larger area of the planet than previously believed.
Posted inNews
Ancient Mars May Have Had a Cyclical Climate
Hexagonal structures in sediments are evidence of repeated wet and dry conditions on the Red Planet.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Optimizing Carbonate Classification on Mars
Combining data from several of the Perseverance rover’s spectroscopic sensors offers a more accurate means to classify carbonate minerals that may hold hints of ancient life.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Mars Has Far Fewer Minerals Than Earth Does
The development of plate tectonics and life on Earth provided avenues for mineral evolution that did not occur on Mars, resulting in relatively limited mineral diversity on the Red Planet.
Posted inScience Updates
The Nitty-Gritty Forces That Shape Planetary Surfaces
Scientists are coming up with ingenious ways to compare terrestrial sand dunes, dust storms, and rain with their counterparts on Mars and Titan.
Posted inNews
Tiny Martian Moon May Be a Chip Off the Old Block
A close approach to Deimos reveals that its surface does not look like that of an asteroid, hinting at a Martian origin.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Dust in the (Martian) Wind
The InSight Lander, on Mars, intentionally dumped sand over its seismic instrument’s tether and the wind sorted the particles by size as it blew them away.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Hand Magnets Destroy the Magnetic Record of Meteorites
Meteorite collectors often use strong magnets for classification, but this approach destroys crucial evidence of processes active in the early solar system.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
A New Origin Story for Mars’s Burns Formation
The Red Planet’s Grasberg and Burns formations have different compositions today, but they may have started out the same way.