Life on Mars - News and Scientific Articles on Live Science (original) (raw)

A photo of Mars China aims to be 1st to bring samples back from Mars ByStephanie Pappas published 13 December 24 China's planned mission to bring rock samples to Earth from Mars would beat both NASA and the European Space Agency to the punch.

On the left, an image of Mars. On the right, the black beauty meteorite. Did alien life exist in hot water on Mars billions of years ago? ByRobert Lea published 30 November 24 Was alien life in "hot water" on Mars billions of years ago? New evidence from the Martian meteorite "Black Beauty" suggests so.

A pink smiley face with meteor craters for eyes on the surface of mars Scientists spot ancient 'smiley face' on Mars — and it could contain signs of life ByHarry Baker published 11 September 24 Newly released images of Mars reveal a "smiley" salt deposit on the Red Planet's surface. A related study suggests that similar deposits, which were left behind from ancient lakes, may be a good place to look for signs of former life on Mars.

Illustration of the Red Planet aka Mars against a black background. Enormous hidden ocean discovered under Mars could contain life ByBen Turner published 12 August 24 Scientists examining data from NASA's InSight Lander have revealed the likely presence of an underground reservoir containing enough liquid to cover the planet with a mile of water.

Cracked desert soil in the Yungay Valley region of the Atacama Desert. Hidden 'biosphere' of extreme microbes discovered 13 feet below Atacama Desert is deepest found there to date BySascha Pare published 24 April 24 Researchers have found microbes thriving 13 feet beneath the scorched surface of Chile's Atacama Desert, marking the deepest discovery of microbial life in the region to date.

An artist's depiction of NASA's Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, storing samples of Martian rocks in tubes for future delivery to Earth. Perseverance will land inside Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021. NASA's Perseverance rover may already have found signs of life on Mars, discovery of ancient lake sediments reveals ByBen Turner published 26 January 24 The discovery of an ancient lake bed beneath the Perseverance rover's location on Mars could mean the robotic scout has already scraped up microbial fossils. But we won't know for sure until we fetch the sample.

An aerial picture of the lagoon and surrounding salt plain with microbial mounds visible beneath the water surface. Lost world of lagoons filled with mounds of microbes discovered in Atacama desert BySascha Pare published 11 December 23 Researchers have discovered a jaw-dropping ecosystem of crystal-clear lagoons and salt plains in Argentina's Puna de Atacama desert that could offer a window onto early life on Earth and Mars.

NASA's Curiosity rover took this selfie while inside Mars' Gale crater on June 15, 2018, which was the 2,082nd Martian day, or sol, of the rover's mission. Scientists created AI that could detect alien life — and they're not entirely sure how it works ByBen Turner published 25 September 23 The new machine-learning algorithm can distinguish between biological and nonbiological samples with 90% accuracy. Exactly how is a mystery.

Extraterrestrial Life

An illustration of Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano in the solar system. 'Building blocks of life' discovered on Mars in 10 different rock samples ByCharles Q. Choi published 17 July 23 NASA's Perseverance rover has found an intriguing menagerie of organic molecules in a Martian crater, but their source remains unclear.

A fragment of the Tissint meteorite, which crashed to Earth in 2011. Mars meteorite that crashed to Earth contains 'huge diversity' of organic compounds ByHarry Baker published 18 January 23 A new study into the Tissint meteorite, which crash-landed in Morocco in 2011, revealed a wide array of organic compounds hidden in the rare space rock.