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Mars

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida (John Raoux/AP)

world

Blue Origin launches huge rocket carrying twin Nasa spacecraft to Mars

Blue Origin has launched its huge New Glenn rocket with two Nasa spacecraft destined for Mars. It was only the second flight of the rocket that Jeff Bezos’s company and Nasa are counting on to get people and supplies to the Moon.

<p>Nasa’s Perseverance Mars rover is gathering samples. Picture: Nasa via AP</p>

world

Mars rover findings offer strongest hints yet of potential signs of ancient life

Perseverance taking a selfie on May 10 (Nasa via AP)

world

Nasa’s Mars Perseverance snaps a selfie as a Martian dust devil blows by

Mars' climate

world

Scientists believe they finally know what happened to Mars’ missing atmosphere

V Festival 2015 Day Two - Chelmsford

companies

Mars to buy Pringles owner Kellanova in deal worth $30bn

Nasas Mars probe

world

Scientists find evidence for large underground reservoir of water on Mars

Mars study suggests an ocean’s worth of water may be hiding beneath surface

Mars study suggests an ocean’s worth of water may be hiding beneath surface

Mars may be drenched beneath its surface, with enough water hiding in the cracks of underground rocks to form a global ocean, new research suggests.

Mon, 12 Aug, 2024

Morning frost detected on volcanoes near Mars’s equator

Morning frost detected on volcanoes near Mars’s equator

The “astonishing” discovery confirms that ice is not only confined to the red planet’s poles, and indicates that water ice is far more abundant across the planet than previously realised

Tue, 11 Jun, 2024

New Mars image

Mars may once have had Earth-like seasons conducive to life – study

Scientists believe wet and dry seasons would have provided ideal conditions for the formation of complex ancient organic compounds that would have served as precursors to life.

Wed, 09 Aug, 2023

Mars livestream by ESA spacecraft interrupted by rain on Earth

Mars livestream by ESA spacecraft interrupted by rain on Earth

It took nearly 17 minutes for each picture to reach Earth, nearly 200 million miles away, and another minute to get through the ground stations

Fri, 02 Jun, 2023

Life on Mars impossible to detect with current scientific instruments – experts

Life on Mars impossible to detect with current scientific instruments – experts

So far, state-of-the-art instruments onboard Nasa’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have only identified low levels of simple organic molecules

Tue, 21 Feb, 2023

Mars Lander

Nasa’s Mars lander InSight falls silent after four years

It could be the end of the red dusty line for Nasa’s InSight lander, which has fallen silent after four years on Mars. The lander’s power levels have been dwindling for months because of dust coating its solar panels.

Tue, 20 Dec, 2022

Mars-New Sounds

Mars rover captures first sound of dust devil on red planet

A Nasa rover has recorded the sound of a red dust devil whizzing past on Mars.

Wed, 14 Dec, 2022

Luke Jerram's Mars

Mars mega-tsunami may have been caused by asteroid strike, study suggests

According to the researchers, based on Pohl’s position it may have formed around 3.4 billion years ago, based on its position above and below rocks previously dated to this time.

Thu, 01 Dec, 2022

Mars-Ancient Microbes

Underground microbes ‘may have swarmed over ancient Mars’

But if they existed, these simple life forms would have altered the atmosphere so profoundly that they triggered a Martian Ice Age and snuffed themselves out, the researchers concluded.

Mon, 10 Oct, 2022

space probe orbiting mars - 3D rendering

Scientists find further evidence of liquid water on Mars

The study, led by the University of Cambridge, provides the first independent line of evidence using data other than radar, that there is liquid water beneath Mars’ south polar ice cap.

Fri, 30 Sep, 2022

InSight Lander

Nasa’s Mars lander captures strikes by four meteoroids

Scientists reported that the InSight lander detected seismic and acoustic waves from a series of impacts in 2020 and 2021.

Tue, 20 Sep, 2022

Nasa Perseverance rover on Mars

Lunchbox-sized instrument generates oxygen on Mars

An instrument the size of a lunchbox has been successfully generating breathable oxygen on Mars, doing the work of a small tree.

Wed, 31 Aug, 2022

Perseverance rover collects key rocky clues as to whether there was life on Mars

Perseverance rover collects key rocky clues as to whether there was life on Mars

Nasa’s Perseverance rover has collected the first rock samples from Mars that could be returned to Earth in the first step towards answering if the red planet ever hosted life.

Thu, 25 Aug, 2022

Mars Meteorite

‘No evidence of primitive life’ in Martian meteorite which landed on Earth

In 1996, a Nasa-led team announced that organic compounds in the rock appeared to have been left by living creatures

Thu, 13 Jan, 2022

Perseverance images confirm Jezero crater is an ancient Martian lake

Perseverance images confirm Jezero crater is an ancient Martian lake

The study shows how much water flowed into the crater – which today is a dry, wind-eroded depression – and indicates where the rover could search for signs of life

Thu, 07 Oct, 2021

Mars surface shaped by furious floods from overflowing craters, study says

Mars surface shaped by furious floods from overflowing craters, study says

The surface of Mars was shaped by fast and furious floods from overflowing craters, a new study suggests.

Wed, 29 Sep, 2021

Mars study

Mars habitability limited by its small size, study suggests

While scientists have found evidence of water in Mars’ early history, the red planet has no liquid water on its surface today

Mon, 20 Sep, 2021

Mars study

China’s Mars rover soldiers on after finishing initial programme

Officials said it would continue to explore the area known as Utopia Planitia where it landed on May 14

Sat, 21 Aug, 2021

Mars study

Japan aiming to beat US and China in race to bring soil to Earth from Mars region

China in May became the second country to land and operate a spacecraft on Mars and plans to bring back samples around 2030.

Thu, 19 Aug, 2021

NASA Venus

Sky Matters: Get ready for a rare planetary sight in our skies

We're weeks away from an exciting alliance between the planets Venus and Mars

Mon, 28 Jun, 2021

China Space Mars Mission

China’s Mars rover touches ground on red planet

China’s first Mars rover has driven down from its landing platform and is now roaming the surface of the red planet, Beijing’s space administration said. The solar-powered rover touched Martian soil at 10. 40am Beijing time (3.

Sat, 22 May, 2021

China Space Mars Mission

China lands spacecraft on Mars for the first time

China has landed a spacecraft on Mars for the first time on Saturday, a technically challenging feat more difficult than a moon landing, in the latest step forward for its ambitious goals in space.

Sat, 15 May, 2021

China Space Mars Mission

China lands spacecraft on Mars

China has become the first nation after the US to land a spacecraft on Mars, according to state media. The official Xinhua News Agency cited the China National Space Administration (CNSA) as saying the lander had touched down.

Sat, 15 May, 2021

Mars Helicopter

Mars helicopter gets extra month of flying as rover’s scout

Nasa’s Mars helicopter is getting an extra month of flying.

Fri, 30 Apr, 2021

China Mars Rover

China names space rover that will explore Mars

China’s first Mars rover will be named Zhurong after a traditional fire god, the government announced. The rover is aboard the Tianwen-1 probe that arrived in Mars orbit on February 24 and is due to land in May to look for evidence of life.

Sat, 24 Apr, 2021

Mars Helicopter

Nasa’s Mars helicopter Ingenuity soars higher and longer on second flight

It achieved the intended altitude of 16ft (five metres) and even accelerated sideways 7ft (two metres).

Fri, 23 Apr, 2021

WATCH: Nasa’s Ingenuity makes history with first controlled flight on Mars

WATCH: Nasa’s Ingenuity makes history with first controlled flight on Mars

Nasa has compared the experiment to the Wright Brothers' achievement 117 years ago.

Mon, 19 Apr, 2021

Space Mars Rover

Nasa’s new Mars rover hits the dusty red road in first trip

Nasa’s newest Mars rover hit the dusty red road this week, putting 21 feet on the odometer in its first test drive.

Sat, 06 Mar, 2021

Giant parachute on Mars rover carried secret message

Giant parachute on Mars rover carried secret message

The huge parachute used by Nasa’s Perseverance rover to land on Mars contained a secret message, thanks to a puzzle lover on the spacecraft team.

Wed, 24 Feb, 2021

Nasa Perseverance rover on Mars

Watch: Nasa unveils video captured by Perseverance as it landed on Mars

Nasa has unveiled a first-of-its-kind video the Mars Perseverance rover captured as it touched down on the red planet, and released the first audio recorded on the surface of Mars.

Mon, 22 Feb, 2021

Nasa Perseverance rover on Mars

Nasa’s Perseverance rover sends back first colour images from Mars

The image, unveiled during a press briefing on Friday, was taken by the descent stage that placed the vehicle on the ground

Fri, 19 Feb, 2021

Nasa Perseverance rover to land on Mars

Nasa’s Mars Perseverance rover lands on the red planet

Its mission is to search for signs of ancient life, and explore and collect samples for future return to Earth from diverse environments on Mars

Thu, 18 Feb, 2021

Nasa Perseverance rover to land on Mars

Nasa’s Perseverance rover to land on Mars in hunt for life

The mission is to explore and collect samples for future return to Earth from diverse ancient environments on Mars

Thu, 18 Feb, 2021

Emirates Mars

UAE publishes first photo from Mars probe

The United Arab Emirates has published the first image from its Mars probe now circling the red planet. The picture, taken on Wednesday, shows sunlight just coming across the surface of Mars.

Sun, 14 Feb, 2021

New Mars image

China’s Tianwen-1 probe reaches Mars’ orbit

It is the first time the country has successfully made the journey, after its attempt with Russia in 2011 failed to make it through Earth’s orbit

Wed, 10 Feb, 2021

China’s Tianwen-1 probe to enter Mars’ orbit

China’s Tianwen-1 probe to enter Mars’ orbit

The country is hoping to add its name to the short list of nations that have successfully reached the red planet, after its first attempt with Russia in 2011 failed to make it through Earth’s orbit

Wed, 10 Feb, 2021

Mars Lander InSight

Mars digger declared defunct after failing to burrow into planet

Nasa has declared the Mars digger dead after failing to burrow deep into the red planet to take its temperature. Scientists in Germany spent two years trying to get their heat probe, dubbed the mole, to drill into the Martian crust.

Thu, 14 Jan, 2021

ExoMars mission

ExoMars rover parachute test brings Red Planet mission one step closer

The ExoMars rover is one step closer to landing on the red planet after successful tests of the parachutes that will bring it down onto the Martian surface.

Thu, 26 Nov, 2020

Mars study

Skygazers prepare to catch Mars at its biggest and brightest

Skygazers may notice that Mars is looking bigger and brighter at the moment due to a process which only happens every two years or so.

Mon, 12 Oct, 2020

Mars study

Salty lake and ponds could be gurgling beneath Mars South Pole

A network of salty ponds may be gurgling beneath Mars’s South Pole alongside a large underground lake, raising the prospect of tiny, swimming Martian life.

Mon, 28 Sep, 2020

You may want to watch out for a rare sight in the night sky on Saturday

You may want to watch out for a rare sight in the night sky on Saturday

You won't need a telescope or binoculars to see this sight

Thu, 03 Sep, 2020

Mars study

Elon Musk says first test of Starship makes hopes of Mars trip ‘look real’

SpaceX launched a prototype of its Mars rocketship hundreds of feet into the air, then landed it upright in a successful test flight.

Wed, 05 Aug, 2020

Mars spacecraft

Letter to the Editor: Sending a buggy to Mars. Have we gone bonkers?

So we've Sent a Car Buggy to Mars this week on the back of a rocket and still there's no cure for Covid 19 on the horizon.

Fri, 31 Jul, 2020

Mars spacecraft

Nasa’s Perseverance rover on its way Mars to search for evidence of ancient life

Nasa’s new car-sized robotic spacecraft is on its way to Mars in a mission to search for evidence of ancient life. The Perseverance rover successfully blasted from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Thursday at 12.

Thu, 30 Jul, 2020