NASA Announces End of Ingenuity Mission
NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter made history by achieving the first powered, controlled flight on another planet on April 19, 2021. Despite initial plans for up to five flights, the helicopter has…
Mars Express Finds New Evidence for Ice-Rich Layered Deposits in Medusae Fossae
Over 15 years ago, ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft studied the Medusae Fossae Formation, revealing enigmatic deposits up to 2.5 km deep. From those early observations, it was unclear what the…
Mars Odyssey Beams Back Magnificent Images of Martian Horizon
In an operation that took mission scientists three months to plan, NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter captured a series of panoramic images that showcases the curving Martian landscape below gauzy layers…
ESA’s Trace Gas Orbiter Observes Green Atmospheric Nightglow on Mars
The atmospheric nightglow is observed on Earth. On Mars, it was something expected, yet never observed in visible light until now. This image shows an artist’s impression of what nightglow…
InSight Finds Evidence for Molten Silicate Layer above Martian Metallic Core
Mars’ liquid iron alloy core is surrounded by a layer of fully molten silicate (magma) about 150 km thick, according to a pair of papers published in the journal Nature.…
Ancient Mars was Planet of Rivers, Planetary Scientists Say
Ancient river deposits exist across Mars and can be identified in satellite data by erosional landforms called fluvial ridges. Fluvial ridges take the shape of ancient river deposits, and are…
InSight’s Largest Marsquake Was Likely Caused by Geological Processes, Study Says
During its time on Mars, NASA’s InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport) lander recorded over 1,300 seismic events, known as marsquakes. Of these, a number were…
ESA’s Mars Express Focuses on Surroundings of Olympus Mons Volcano
Lava flows on Olympus Mons probably melted ice in the ground, making the volcano flank unstable; rockfalls and landslides moved hundreds of km into the surrounding landscape, forming a characteristic…
Early Mars Had a Sustained, Cyclic, Possibly Seasonal, Climate
New observations of mud cracks made by NASA’s Curiosity rover show that high-frequency, wet-dry cycling occurred in early Martian surface environments, indicating that the Red Planet may have once seen…
Mars is Spinning Faster, Planetary Researchers Say
To track the Red Planet’s spin rate, planetary scientists relied on the Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE) onboard NASA’s InSight lander. They found the planet’s rotation is accelerating by…