The Curiosity rover, one of NASA's flagship missions, analyzes Martian geology, geochemistry, climatology, and radiation to assess whether Mars could have supported microbial life.
Mars
Posted inEditors' Vox
First Results from the MAVEN Mission to Mars
Geophysical Research Letters publishes First Results from the MAVEN Mission to Mars, demonstrating a remarkable achievement of NASA's MAVEN team and the broader scientific community.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Curiosity Rover Finds Organic Molecules on Martian Surface
Scientists assess the present and past habitability of Mars from organic compounds detected at Gale Crater.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Formed These Curious Ripples on Mars?
Dunes, ridges, or something else? Scientists seek to understand the origins of transverse aeolian ridges.
Posted inScience Updates
The Importance of Dunes on a Variety of Planetary Surfaces
The Fourth International Planetary Dunes Workshop: Integrating Models, Remote Sensing, and Field Data; Boise, Idaho, 19–22 May 2015
Posted inOpinions
Craters Could Make Great Impacts on Mars Exploration
Future robotic missions to Mars hoping to peer beneath its surface in search of signs of life should target recent impact craters, where falling meteorites have done the drilling for them.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Water Beneath the Surface of Mars, Bound Up in Sulfates
Researchers present maps of hydrogen and sulfur that hint at water locked in hydrous sulfates in Mars's southern hemispheric soil.
Posted inScience Updates
Volatiles in Mars: Constraints, Questions, and Future Directions
Workshop on Volatiles in the Martian Interior; Houston, Texas, 3–4 November 2014
Posted inResearch Spotlights
"Knobby Terrain" a Sign of Mars's Explosive Past
Newly identified knobby terrain related to ancient volcanoes on Mars hint that pyroclastic ash and rock flowed down slopes early in the red planet's history.
Posted inNews
MAVEN Unlocks Secrets of the Martian Atmosphere
In its first month, NASA’s orbiter saw effects of the solar wind at low altitude and tracked a plume of gases escaping into space