Data from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has indicated that temperatures rise and fall twice a day on Mars, with a rise during the nighttime as well as during daytime resulting from the thin water-ice clouds that form in the equatorial region of Mars. Pasadena, California — Researchers using NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have found that [...]

By examining images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and performing experiments on sand dunes in Utah and California, researchers believe that marks on the Martian dunes are tracks from sliding dry-ice. Pasadena, California — NASA research indicates hunks of frozen carbon dioxide — dry ice — may glide down some Martian sand dunes on cushions [...]

A newly published study details the discovery of a high concentration of boron in a Martian meteorite that far exceeds that of any previously reported extra-terrestrial object. Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa NASA Astrobiology Institute (UHNAI) have discovered high concentrations of boron in a Martian meteorite. When present in its oxidized form [...]

Further analysis of Curiosity data has led researchers to believe that an ancient, flowing stream once existed on Mars. Pasadena, California – Detailed analysis and review have borne out researchers’ initial interpretation of pebble-containing slabs that NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity investigated last year: They are part of an ancient streambed. The rocks are the first [...]

On May30th, NASA will hold a press conference to discuss the latest findings from the Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment Detector aboard the Curiosity rover. Pasadena, California – NASA will host a media teleconference at 11:30 a.m. PDT (2:30 p.m. EDT) Thursday, May 30, to present new findings from the Mars Science Laboratory Radiation Assessment [...]

NASA’s Curiosity rover has completed the drilling of the second rock sample on Mars and should deliver portions of the sample in coming days to laboratory instruments inside the rover. Pasadena, California – NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity has used the drill on its robotic arm to collect a powdered sample from the interior of a [...]

Scientists have chosen the second drilling site for the Curiosity rover on Mars. Pasadena, California — The team operating NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has selected a second target rock for drilling and sampling. The rover will set course to the drilling location in coming days. This second drilling target, called “Cumberland,” lies about nine feet [...]

Using a climate model adapted to the special conditions on Mars, researchers believe they can reliably predict snowstorms on Mars far in advance, helping future missions choose better routes that avoid heavy snowfall. Snowstorms lashing down at the northern hemisphere of Mars during the icy cold winters may be predicted several weeks in advance, say [...]

In a newly published study, scientists from Princeton University and the California Institute of Technology suggest that Mount Sharp most likely emerged as strong winds carried dust and sand into the 96-mile-wide crater in which the mound sits. A roughly 3.5-mile high Martian mound that scientists suspect preserves evidence of a massive lake might actually [...]

ESA’s Mars Express has captured new images of a region on Mars known as Sulci Gordii, which lies about 200 km east of Olympus Mons. Giant landslides, lava flows and tectonic forces are behind this dynamic scene captured recently by ESA’s Mars Express of a region scarred by the Solar System’s largest volcano, Olympus Mons. [...]

In a project funded through NASA’s Innovative Advanced Concepts Program, researchers from University of Washington and MSNW are calculating the potential for expeditions to Mars using a rocket powered by fusion. Human travel to Mars has long been the unachievable dangling carrot for space programs. Now, astronauts could be a step closer to our nearest [...]

New data from NASA’s Curiosity rover helped reveal changes in the Martian atmosphere, providing the most precise measurements ever made of isotopes of argon. Vienna — Mars has lost much of its original atmosphere, but what’s left remains quite active, recent findings from NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity indicate. Rover team members reported diverse findings today [...]