Mars

Goodnight, sweet spacecraft: NASA's InSight lander may have just signed off from Mars

1:54pm December 20, 2022

by Rachel Treisman

InSight's end has long been in sight, with NASA warning that it would likely be inoperative by the end of the year. The lander went quiet this weekend and shared a tweet it said might be its last.

Iceland is like Mars — "if Mars had hot tubs," according to a new ad campaign from Visit Iceland.

Iceland tells tourists it's like an alien planet. A NASA scientist agrees

10:01am November 18, 2022

by Bill Chappell

"Iceland. Better than space." That's the new tagline from Iceland's tourism board. We asked the head of Visit Iceland why her country might have an edge over space — and consulted NASA as well.

A self-portrait of NASA's Curiosity Mars rover on Vera Rubin Ridge.

Science

What a decade of Curiosity has taught us about life on Mars

5:00am August 06, 2022

Ten years ago today, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover successfully commenced its mission to explore the possibility of life on mars. Here's what it has discovered.

Queue Listen Now

Science

COMIC: How living on Mars time taught me to slow down

5:01am July 22, 2022

NASA engineer Nagin Cox lives on Earth but works on Mars time, where days are longer and time works differently. Her work with the rovers has entirely changed the way she thinks about time on Earth.

Queue Listen Now

NASA's Perseverance rover took this "selfie" next to a rock where it drilled for samples. NASA wants to bring samples collected by this rover back to Earth.

Science

NASA is bringing rocks back from Mars, but what if those samples contain alien life?

12:58pm May 04, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA and the European Space Agency are gearing up to bring home a pristine sample of Martian rock. But given the small chance of life on the red planet, they have to grapple with safety questions.

Queue Listen Now

A probe that will land on Saturn's moon Enceladus, seen here in false color, is one of the priorities outlined in the new report.

Science

NASA advisers call for a visit to Uranus, plus more science during moon landings

1:09pm April 19, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA should send probes to the ice giant planet of Uranus and to a moon of Saturn where conditions could be right for life. Those are some of the recommendations in a new report to the space agency.

Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington, D.C., on March 9, 2020.

Science

Elon Musk hints at a crewed mission to Mars in 2029

5:55pm March 17, 2022

by Rina Torchinsky

In 2016, Musk said that a "meaningful number of people" could reach the red planet in 10 years. Now, he seems to predict a crewed Mars landing in 2029.

The prototype rover Amalia is a copy of rover Rosalind Franklin that is set to explore Mars in the next ExoMars mission that searches for signs of life on the planet. The mission was set for 2022, but as Russia pushes ahead with its invasion of Ukraine, t

World News

A joint Europe-Russia mission to Mars is likely to be delayed because of sanctions

5:08pm March 02, 2022

by Rina Torchinsky

The mission, which had been set for this year, is a part of the ExoMars program to search for signs of life on Mars. It's likely to be delayed by nations' response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Perseverance takes a selfie with its helicopter companion Ingenuity in the background.

Science

NASA's Perseverance rover marks its first year hunting for past life on Mars

5:11am February 18, 2022

by Brendan Byrne

Since touching down in Jezero Crater, NASA's Perseverance rover has already cached 6 samples that could one day be brought back to Earth. Astrobiologists hope they hold signs of past microbial life.

NASA's Perseverance Rover shared the sights of Mars when it took this picture in June. Now it is sharing the sounds of the Red Planet.

Science

Listen to the otherworldly sound of Martian wind

2:58pm October 23, 2021

by Nell Clark

Two microphones aboard the Perseverance Rover make it possible to listen in on the Red Planet. They've captured nearly five hours of sounds, including the Martian wind.