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Top Headlines

Device Could Help Detect Signs of Extraterrestrial Life

Sep. 16, 2020 — Although Earth is uniquely situated in the solar system to support creatures that call it home, different forms of life could have once existed, or might still exist, on other planets. But finding ...

Study Shows Difficulty in Finding Evidence of Life on Mars

Sep. 15, 2020 — While scientists are eager to study the red planet's soils for signs of life, researchers must ponder a considerable new challenge: Acidic fluids - which once flowed on the Martian surface - may have ...

Sustained Planetwide Storms May Have Filled Lakes, Rivers on Ancient Mars

Aug. 19, 2020 — A new study is helping scientists piece together the ancient climate of Mars by revealing how much rainfall and snowmelt filled its lake beds and river valleys 3.5 billion to 4 billion years ...

The Most Sensitive Instrument in the Search for Life Beyond Earth

Aug. 19, 2020 — Researchers have developed the highly sensitive ORIGIN instrument, which can provide proof of the smallest amounts of traces of life, for future space missions. The instrument may be used on missions ...

Latest Headlines

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Deep Learning Will Help Future Mars Rovers Go Farther, Faster, and Do More Science

Aug. 19, 2020 — NASA JPL are developing autonomous capabilities that could allow future Mars rovers to go farther, faster and do more science. Training machine ...

Lava Tubes on Mars and the Moon Are So Wide They Can Host Planetary Bases

Aug. 5, 2020 — Subsurface cavities created by lava on Mars and the Moon could provide a shield against cosmic radiation, new research ...

NASA's Maven Observes Martian Night Sky Pulsing in Ultraviolet Light

Aug. 6, 2020 — Vast areas of the Martian night sky pulse in ultraviolet light, according to images from NASA's MAVEN spacecraft. The results are being used to illuminate complex circulation patterns in the Martian ...

Researchers Use InSight for Deep Mars Measurements

Aug. 5, 2020 — Using data from NASA's InSight Lander on Mars, seismologists have made the first direct measurements of three subsurface boundaries from the crust to the core of the red ...

Early Mars Was Covered in Ice Sheets, Not Flowing Rivers, Researchers Say

Aug. 3, 2020 — A large number of the valley networks scarring Mars's surface were carved by water melting beneath glacial ice, not by free-flowing rivers as previously thought, according to new research. The ...

Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission to Red Planet Successfully Launched

July 30, 2020 — NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission is on its way to the Red Planet to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples to send back to ...

Astrophysicist Investigates the Possibility of Life Below the Surface of Mars

July 28, 2020 — Although no life has been detected on the Martian surface, a new study from astrophysicist and research scientist finds that conditions below the ...

SwRI Scientists Demonstrate Speed, Precision of in Situ Planetary Dating Device

June 29, 2020 — Scientists have increased the speed and accuracy of a laboratory-scale instrument for determining the age of planetary specimens onsite. The team is ...

Electrically Charged Dust Storms Drive Martian Chlorine Cycle

June 15, 2020 — The group that previously studied Martian dust storms now shifts focus to the electrochemical processes resulting from dust storms that may power the movement of chlorine, which is ongoing on Mars ...

Ancient Asteroid Impacts Created the Ingredients of Life on Earth and Mars

June 8, 2020 — A new study reveals that asteroid impact sites in the ocean may possess a crucial link in explaining the formation of the essential molecules for life. The study discovered the emergence of amino ...