Mars is a cold, dry, desert-like planet. But billions of years ago, scientific evidence suggests that it had a thick atmosphere, which kept it warm enough to support flowing water on its surface. So, what happened to the Red Planet, and could it happen to Earth?

Interest in Martian life had been spurred by a now infamous announcement from the White House lawn in 1996, when President Bill Clinton declared that signs of life had been detected in a Martian meteorite found in Antarctica. That claim was later refuted—but it caused enough clamor to put the search for Martian life at the top of NASA’s agenda.

Researcher Valentin Bickel wanted to know just how intense winds can be on the red planet. Using data obtained by the Mars camera CaSSIS (Color and Stereo Surface Imaging System), the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter,

NASA’s Johnson Space Center reminded everyone on Monday that its four volunteers have been inside its Mars simulation habitat for a whole month now, though they still have 344 days to go before they emerge.

Science writer David Baron explores the initial interest in whether there was life on Mars in his latest book, "The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn of the Century America.

Coloe Fossae was shaped by powerful tectonics, which stretched and cracked Mars's crust, causing chunks of ground to collapse and form long, parallel troughs. Traces of debris can be seen in the swirling deposits found at the bottom of deep valleys and impact craters scattered across the region.

Fresh evidence from orbit is sharpening one of planetary science’s most tantalizing possibilities: that hidden caverns on Mars could shelter traces of life. Instead of focusing only on dried-up riverbeds and crater floors,

To say that a trip from Earth to Mars is merely a long one would be a massive understatement. On July 30, 2020, when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent its Mars rover "Perseverance" atop an Atlas V rocket to the red planet to collect rock samples,