Elon Musk may be disappointed by recent studies threatening his plans to go to Mars, but planetary scientists are breathing a sigh of relief.
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Articles on Life on Mars
Displaying 1 - 20 of 24 articles
If humans are to live on Mars they will need a stable supply of food. Earth plants are not suited to the Mars climate but we can engineer plants that are.
Researchers have found evidence of a large lake of salty water, buried 1.5 kilometres beneath the southern polar ice cap on Mars. So what does that mean for life on the red planet?
The race may be on to send humans to live on Mars, but is it worth the effort -- and the spend -- when we have our own problems to deal with on Earth.
Clay on early Mars could have formed under hot and steamy conditions, challenging the idea that it was created just like that on Earth.
Planetary protection protocols try to make sure we don't seed places like Mars with life from our planet. An astrobiologist argues they're misguided – especially with human astronauts on the horizon.
Will humans ever live on Mars? Whoever it is to get there first will benefit from the experiences of those who stayed in simulated Martian missions here on Earth.
Even if alien life is never discovered, all is not lost.
We could learn a lot from any mission to send people to Mars, such as whether there's life elsewhere in the universe or even the technology for new household appliances.
One of the best ways to find out the challenges of living on Mars is to simulate living on another planet here on Earth. So what's it like to spend several months living the Martian life?
Life on the land could have started millions of years earlier on Earth than first thought. This could change the way we think about life developing elsewhere in the universe.
What's the best way to find out how people will cope with the journey to Mars and life on another planet? Lock a test crew up for a year in a simulation right here on Earth.
A philosopher argues that now is the time to figure it out, before we make the inevitable discovery of extraterrestrial life.
If we do find life on Mars, it will be difficult to prove that we didn't bring it there from Earth. An insider talks us through what's at stake.
Our panel of experts speculate on which of science's biggest questions could be answered in the coming months.
NASA has set a target date of 2030 for a manned mission to Mars. With no real scientific breakthroughs needed, success depends on developing the proper technology.
Now that we have discovered liquid water on the surface of Mars, what does this mean for the prospects of finding life there, past or present?
Enormous cloud-like plumes reaching 260km above the surface of Mars have left scientists baffled. This is way beyond Mars’s normal weather, reaching into the exosphere where the atmosphere merges with…
NASA has revealed that a whiff of methane has been detected twice in the last couple of years at the Martian surface by the Curiosity Rover. The source of the methane is uncertain. It is not even clear…
After a 24-hour delay due to bad weather, the first test launch of the Orion spacecraft by NASA is underway with the ultimate goal of putting human beings on Mars. Weeks after the landing on a comet by…
Top contributors
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Professor in Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge
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Associate member of the Australian Centre for Astrobiology, UNSW
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Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science and Planetary Exploration, University of Stirling
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Professor of Astrobiology, UNSW
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Earth and paleo-climate scientist, Australian National University
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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ARC Laureate Fellow, Curtin University
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Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, University of Birmingham
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Professor of Planetary Science and Astrobiology, Birkbeck, University of London
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Science Leader – Sensor Networks, CSIRO
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Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University
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PhD Student in Geosciences, University of Arizona
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Professor of Astronomy, Vanderbilt University
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Professor of Physics, Deputy Director (Solar System) at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL
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Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Ecology, Nottingham Trent University
