Landing humans on Mars could teach us whether life ever existed beyond Earth, how planets change over time, and how humans can live on other worlds. By studying Mars up close, astronauts could answer ...

As humanity prepares to take its first steps on Mars, a comprehensive report released by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and steered by scientists at Penn State lays out ...

When Spirit dropped through the thin Martian air and bounced to a stop inside Gusev Crater, it did more than survive a high‑risk landing. It opened a new era in which rovers became the primary way ...

Visit NAP.edu/10766 to get more information about this book, to buy it in print, or to download it as a free PDF. The first steps humans take on Mars will represent a culmination of hopes and dreams ...

"Mars and its secrets have fascinated and mystified humans since ancient times. Its vivid color and visibility to the naked eye, its geologic kinship with Earth, its potential as our best hope for ...

Mars rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity have been making headlines with their discoveries of organic matter on the Red Planet. These findings are pivotal as they may hold clues to past life and ...

WASHINGTON — The search for past or present life should be the top science objective of future human missions to Mars, a new National Academies report concludes. The report, A Science Strategy for the ...

A new emphasis on Mars exploration was clear from the very beginning of the second Trump administration. “We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. Sixty years ago today, NASA’s Mariner ...