Engineers from Ohio State University are developing a new way to power rocket engines, using liquid uranium for a faster, more efficient form of nuclear propulsion that could deliver round trips to Mars within a single year. NASA and its private partners have their eyes set on the Moon and Mars, aiming to establish a […]
Scientists Think They Have Found a Brand-New Mineral on Mars
Scientists have a fairly good idea of what Mars’ surface looks like. But exactly what that surface is made up of is more of a mystery. Now, scientists believe they have discovered an entirely new mineral on Mars from an unusual layer of iron sulfate with a distinct spectral signature. In a Nature Communications paper […]
Flawed Tests on Earth May Explain Why NASA’s Rovers Get Stuck on Mars
In the spring of 2019, the six-wheeled Spirit rover was driving backwards to drag an inoperable front right wheel when it got stuck on the sandy Martian surface. Despite spending months trying to excavate its robot, NASA could not free Spirit. Now, engineers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison may have figured out a way to […]
Biggest Martian Meteorite Ever Found Could Fetch $4 Million at Auction
One lucky bidder will soon fork over millions of dollars to take home NWA 16788, a 54-pound (24-kilogram) Martian meteorite. This space rock, discovered in the Sahara Desert in 2023, is the largest chunk of the Red Planet ever found on Earth. Sotheby’s, a New York-based auction house, estimates the meteorite could fetch up to […]
Astronomers Find Hidden Volcano on Mars
Mars’s marred surface consists of craters, canyons, and mysterious formations that hint at a complex geological past. Scientists recently studied a tantalizing feature that could shed light on the planet’s elusive history. A mountain perched on the rim of Mars’ Jezero Crater may actually be a volcano hiding in plain sight, according to a new […]
Mars Orbiter Captures Rare View of Ancient Volcano Poking Above the Clouds
Floating in orbit above Mars, NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter captured a panorama of the Red Planet’s biggest volcanoes, Arsia Mons, peeking over a sea of clouds. The picturesque moment offers an exceptionally rare view of a Martian volcano, showing the landform at an angle in space that captures the planet’s horizon. “We picked Arsia […]
SpaceX’s Starship Spins Out of Control and Burns Up After Reaching Space
Update: May 27, 8:25 p.m. ET: Announcers on the SpaceX broadcast said Starship will break up above and crash into the planned landing zone in the Indian Ocean. They added that the Super Heavy booster was indeed lost. Update: May 27, 8:18 p.m. ET: SpaceX anticipates the total loss of Starship as a result of […]
Water on Mars? Mysterious Dark Streaks Aren’t What Scientists Thought
In 1976, NASA’s Viking mission successfully landed the first spacecraft on Mars. When the mission began sending images from Mars’ surface back to Earth, scientists noted long, dark streaks on crater walls and cliff sides. To this day, some researchers suggest that the strange geographical features are the result of water flow—but a recent study […]
NASA’s Mars Rover Captures a Giant Dust Devil Swallowing Its Friend
Mars is a devil eat devil world. The Perseverance rover recently witnessed a gruesome scene on the Red Planet, in which a dust devil consumed its smaller counterpart, morphing into one, slightly larger, swirling column of air and dust. NASA’s six-wheeled robot was carrying out an imaging experiment to better understand the Martian atmosphere when […]
Billions of Years Ago, Mars Featured Beaches Fit for a Vacation, Astronomers Say
Step aside, Santa Monica. It seems that Mars once had beaches that would give the Californian coast a run for its money. An international team of researchers has revealed evidence of bygone “vacation-style” sandy beaches on Mars: underground rock layers that testify to an ancient northern ocean with gently lapping waves, as detailed in a […]