Tests conducted with tardigrades suggest that there is something in Martian dirt that dramatically reduces biological ...

A new study shows how simulated Mars dust affects tardigrades, offering insight into space farming and contamination risks.

Why it matters: While not evidence of life, these discoveries show that ancient Mars had complex organic chemistry, ...

Learn how bacteria survived a simulated asteroid impact and could travel between planets on asteroid debris.

Searching for past or present life on Mars is the sole driving force behind every mission we send to the red planet, from orbiters to landers to rovers. However, there remains a concern in the ...

As an astronomer studying the universe beyond Earth, I’m fond of “outside the box” views almost by default. But one of my favorites is whenever a spacecraft takes a snapshot of our home world and the ...

Mars' gravity has a surprisingly large influence on Earth, affecting our planet's tilt and orbit and thereby contributing to climate cycles lasting hundreds of thousands to millions of years, new ...

Earth’s climate is not only shaped by smokestacks, forests, and oceans. It is also quietly tuned by the slow choreography of the planets, with Mars acting as a distant partner that nudges our world’s ...