The Curiosity rover has been studying the Martian surface since 2012, and it has since enabled planetary scientists to learn a lot about the uniq

Six scientists spent 365 days in a geodesic dome set in a Mars-like environment 8,200 feet (2,500 meters) above sea level. The simulated habitat was loca

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover has been hard at work on the Red Planet since 2012 teaching us more and more about this mysterious and awe-inspiring worl

In a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences journal, Christopher H. House of the Earth and Environmental Systems I

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know by now that NASA’s planning to send another rover to the Martian surface to inv

Planetary scientists with NASA have spent the better part of five years analyzing the Martian surface and trying to decide where the best landing place for

NASA apparently had some technical difficulties with the Mars Curiosity Rover over the 4th of July weekend. The debacle all began on July 2nd. I

Could slight wobbles in the orbit of Mars be caused by microscopic black holes that have existed since the Big Bang? This is what a recent study published

Back in December, a critical component of the Mars-based Curiosity rover’s drill stopped working. In particular, two drilling stabilizers used to kee

One of the trickiest parts of sending astronauts to the Moon or Mars in the long-term is figuring out how and where they'll live. Both environments are

It is understood that Mars was probably once a water hole with tons of rivers and streams of running water, but after its atmosphere thinned out and its ma

NASA sent the Perseverance rover to Mars loaded with cutting-edge technology, one piece of which is a robotic helicopter called Ingenuity. On April 19, 202

NASA has been observing water loss in the Martian atmosphere for one full Martian year (687 Earth days) with the MAVEN mission to learn more about the rate

Whenever there’s an Earthquake on Earth, the rocks that make up the ground grind against one another through the harsh vibrations. This seismic proce

Just this week, NASA announced a significant milestone regarding the space agency’s InSight mission. The spacecraft, which launched from California&r

It seems like only science fiction has ever been able to put people on a planet to live in a controlled environment for extended periods of time,

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter recently completed a successful 54th flight, dubbed Flight 54, on the Martian surface on August 3, which comes after

In a rare event this week, sky gazers will be able to see three aligned planets in the Eastern skies at night amongst the stars. The planets Mars, Jupiter,

In a collaborative study slated to be published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters this September, planetary scientists from Rice University, NASA&

What can lava tubes on Earth teach us about finding life on Mars? This is a recent study published in Communications Earth & Environment hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated how molecular biomarkers found in volcanic lava caves on Earth could teach us about ancient subsurface Earth environments which could serve as analogs for how life could have formed and evolved on Mars. This study holds the potential to help researchers expand the locations of finding life in unlikely environments, both on Earth and other worlds, as well. For the study, the researchers examined mineral deposits in six lava tubes spread across Lanzarote, which is part of the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco but managed by Spain. Using sophisticated methods to analyze the deposits for signs of molecular biomarkers, the researchers identified signs that bacteria was active in the lava caves long ago due to calcium and sodium sulfates their instruments found. The researchers postulate that the reason these bacteria are preserved was due to the cooling lava acting as a shield against weathering that would otherwise erode the preservations away. Image of organic-rich sulfate deposits inside a lava cave on the island of Lanzarote, Spain. (Credit: Bogdan Onac) “This study adds to our understanding of geological and environmental changes on Earth and highlights lava tubes as potential refuges for microbial life, holding significant implications for astrobiology, particularly in identifying biosignatures on Mars and other celestial bodies,” said Dr. Bogdan Onac, who is a professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of South Florida and a co-author on the study. Lava tubes have become an increasingly crucial topic of discussion within the scientific community regarding how future astronauts could live on Mars due to the increased shielding from cosmic and solar radiation that constantly bombards the Red Planet’s surface. Now, this study postulates how these lava tubes could be catacombs for past life on the Red Planet and could help determine if life ever existed on Mars, and if it exists there today. What new discoveries will researchers make in Earth lava caves that could teach us about finding life beyond Earth in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science! As always, keep doing science & keep looking up! Sources: Communications Earth & Environment, EurekAlert!, Wikipedia

Was Mars a much more habitable planet billions of years ago? This is what a recent study published in Science Advances hopes to address as an international

As mankind gets ever-so-closer to putting boots down on Mars’ surface, there are a lot of challenges that need to be overcome. So far, inflatable hab

One thing NASA wants to do within just a few more decades it put mankind on Mars. Whether they’re settle there permanently, or just for several years

How many impacts occurs on the Red Planet per year? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy hopes to address as a team of international r

Last week, the European Space Agency had a giant face-palm moment after their Trace Gas Orbiter ejected the Schiaparelli Mars lander and it failed to land

What can NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars teach us about flying on other planets? This is what engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover has been on the red planet for three Earth years, collecting information and giving scientists information to analyze so

When space agencies like NASA send landers and rovers to other places in the solar system to explore, one of the most challenging questions they&rs