Mars Archives

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Uncovers the Most Advanced Prebiotic Chemistry Yet on the Red Planet

Ryan Whalen·March 27, 2025

NASA's Curiosity rover collected the largest organic compounds ever discovered on the Martian surface, with new hints of ancient life, after scientists analyzed the pulverized rock samples.

Strange Spheres Spotted on Mars Baffle NASA Scientists, Point to Red Planet’s Mysterious Past

Micah Hanks·March 25, 2025

NASA scientists were recently “astonished” by the Perseverance rover's discovery of dark gray spheres on Mars, whose origin remains unclear.

Planetary Defence Spacecraft Captures New Images of Mysterious Martian Moon Deimos During Flyby

Ryan Whalen·March 17, 2025

New images of the mysterious Martian moon Deimos were captured when the Hera mission activated its instruments past Earth for the first time.

SpaceX’s Starship Explodes Midflight in Second Major Setback for Musk’s Mars Plans

Micah Hanks·March 7, 2025

SpaceX saw setbacks on Thursday after the eighth test flight of one of its Starship rockets ended in flames.

Was Mars ‘Rusted’ by Water? Scientists Uncover New Clues to the Red Planet’s Iconic Color

Ryan Whalen·February 25, 2025

Ancient Martian water may have played a crucial role in shaping the Red Planet’s crimson landscape, new findings suggest.

The Mystery of Water—and Potentially Life—on Ancient Mars May Have Just Been Solved

Christopher Plain·February 11, 2025

Harvard scientists studying the mystery of water and life on ancient Mars believe they may have finally found a solution.

Meteorites Provide Clues to Mystery of Missing Elements on Earth and Mars

Ryan Whalen·February 10, 2025

New research on meteorites may finally hold the answers to why Earth and Mars suffer from a mysterious absence of specific elements.

Artifacts on Mars Could Help Track Humanity’s Expansion into Space Similar to Earthly Archaeology, Researchers Say

Christopher Plain·December 30, 2024

Scientists say artifacts on Mars left behind by humanity should be tracked and preserved for future study just like heritage sites on Earth.

Evidence of Ancient Hot Water on Mars Points to the Red Planet’s Potentially Habitable History

Ryan Whalen·December 12, 2024

Traces of ancient hot water on the Red Planet hint that Mars may have had a habitable past, new research reveals.

Did Earth Once Have Saturn-Like Rings? Scientists Say Ring Theory Could Explain a Mysterious Ancient Event

Avi Loeb·November 20, 2024

New research reveals Earth likely had Saturn-like rings 466 million years ago. Now scientists say this could point to evidence of an ancient unexplained climate event.

The Oceans of Mars

This week on The Debrief Weekly Report...

MJ Banias·November 12, 2024

On this week's episode, Kenna and Stephanie decide to take a dip in a Martian ocean and discuss China's Mars expedition, and its discovery. After watching a movie and discussing brain science, they then wrestle an ancient terror bird to the ground, and ruminate on this giant fossil discovery.

Chinese Rover Zhurong Uncovers New Compelling Evidence About Mars’s Ancient Past

Tim McMillan·November 8, 2024

New evidence collected by China's Zhurong rover makes a compelling case for the existence of ancient oceans on Mars.

Look What NASA’s Perseverance Rover Just Spotted Eclipsing the Sun in Striking New Video

Micah Hanks·November 1, 2024

NASA's Perseverance rover has captured striking new imagery of an oddly shaped Martian moon as it passed before the Sun during a recent Red Planet eclipse event.

Do Jedi Mice Carry Very Tiny Lightsabers?

This week on The Debrief Weekly Report...

MJ Banias·October 24, 2024

On this week's episode, Kenna and Stephanie ask whether mice are actually Jedi in disguise, and explore the Red Planet's icy mysteries.

Scientists Have Made a Chilling Discovery That Could Soon Reveal Whether Life Exists on Mars

Micah Hanks·October 19, 2024

Scientists have discovered that exposed ice on Mars could create conditions suitable for photosynthesis, allowing microbial life to potentially thrive.

NASA Bridges the Gap Between High Fashion and Space Exploration with New Prada-Designed Spacesuits

Chrissy Newton·October 17, 2024

Italian fashion house Prada has unveiled new designs for the next generation of female astronaut spacesuits.

Martian “Cryptic Terrain” Revealed by Receding Frost on the Red Planet’s South Pole

Ryan Whalen·October 16, 2024

Images captured by the ESA's Mars Express have revealed unexpectedly dark "cryptic terrain" as frost retreated on the Red Planet earlier this year.

Was Mars Ever Home to Alien Life? NASA Unveils Groundbreaking Insights on How Mars Became Uninhabitable

Tim McMillan·October 8, 2024

NASA's Curiosity rover reveals how Mars lost its water, providing insights into the planet's extreme climate and potential for alien life.

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Makes Unprecedented Discovery of Bizarre ‘Freya Castle’ Rock on Mars

Tim McMillan·September 24, 2024

NASA's Perseverance Rover has made a striking discovery, dubbed "Freya Castle," that is unlike anything previously seen on the Red Planet.

20 Mysterious, Large-Scale Structures Found Hidden Beneath an Ancient ‘Lost’ Ocean on Mars

Christopher Plain·September 20, 2024

Scientists creating a gravity map of Mars have discovered the presence of mysterious large-scale structures hidden beneath a lost ocean.

New MIT Study Suggests Mars Could Be the Key to Unveiling Primordial Black Holes and the Mystery of Dark Matter

Tim McMillan·September 19, 2024

Physicists from MIT suggests looking to Mars as a novel way to find evidence of primordial black holes and dark matter.

Martian “Spider” Mystery is Finally Solved by NASA Scientists Who Recreated These Strange Formations on Earth

Micah Hanks·September 17, 2024

Mysterious Martian "spider" formations have been recreated in the lab, providing a deeper understanding of what leads to their creation.

Scientists Have Traced Six Meteorites Back to Their Original Craters on Mars in a Scientific First

Chrissy Newton·August 16, 2024

Scientists have successfully traced six meteorites to their original craters on Mars, providing unprecedented new insights into their origins.

Terraforming Mars with Metal Nanorods Could Be 5,000 Times Faster Than Greenhouse Gas Proposals

Christopher Plain·August 7, 2024

New research into terraforming Mars says using metal nanorods to trap the sun's heat could be 5,000 times faster than greenhouse gas concepts.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Just Smashed Open a Martian Stone, Revealing an Unusual Red Planet Discovery

Micah Hanks·July 23, 2024

NASA's Curiosity rover has made a colorful discovery on the Red Planet: a stone filled with sulfur crystals.

Mysterious ‘Scars’ of Mars Unveiled in Images of Massive Feature Captured by Mars Express Spacecraft

Micah Hanks·July 8, 2024

Striking new images obtained by the Mars Express spacecraft have revealed a massive scar on the surface of Mars.

Scientists Discover Stress-Tolerant Moss That Could One Day Be a Crop on Mars

Kenna Hughes-Castleberry·July 1, 2024

Scientists have identified a plant that could be a crop on Mars thanks to its ability to withstand harsh environments.

Astrobiologist Makes ‘Improbable’ Find atop Massive Martian Volcanoes

Christopher Plain·June 11, 2024

An international research team led by a Brown astrobiologist says they've discovered something 'improbable' atop these Martian volcanoes.

Large Lake of Liquid Water underneath Mars’ Polar Ice Caps May Just be a Mirage

Christopher Plain·June 10, 2024

New research says the previous discovery of large lakes of liquid water underneath mars' polar ice caps may just be an optical illusion.

Voyager’s Whisper in the Darkness

This week on The Debrief Weekly Report...

MJ Banias·May 1, 2024

On today’s episode, Kenna and Stephanie open a channel to the Voyager 1 probe, and discuss how some clever NASA engineers have reestablished a link with the decades old system. They also chat about some fancy house plants that can clean your home's air, and the "spiders" that haunt Mars.

The Mars Express Orbiter Just Captured This Eerie Phenomenon on the Red Planet

The Spiders of Mars? Or Something Else Entirely?

MJ Banias·April 26, 2024

The ESA's Mars orbiter captured this eerie Martian phenomenon. Are those spiders? Or something even weirder?

This Ancient Food Could Help Keep Astronauts Alive On Long Haul Space Missions

MJ Banias·April 10, 2024

New research reveals olive oil may help alleviate many of the health risks associated with space travel.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Moves Closer to Solving the Mysterious Disappearance of Water on Mars

Micah Hanks·April 1, 2024

NASA’s Curiosity Rover has begun investigations of an area that could offer significant insights into the disappearance of liquid water on Mars.

New Study Says Mars Wasn’t That Wet, Not a Great Contender for Alien Life

MJ Banias·March 15, 2024

A new study may prove that Mars was not as wet as we previously thought, making it more difficult for ancient alien life to have formed there.

Giant Volcano on Mars, Hiding in Plain Sight for Decades, is ‘Long-Sought Smoking Gun’ for Scientists

Micah Hanks·March 13, 2024

Scientists have discovered a gigantic volcano on Mars near the planet’s equator that remained unnoticed for decades, according to newly published research.

Discovery Points to Promising Conditions For Ancient Life on Mars

Micah Hanks·February 29, 2024

Scientists may have explained the origin of organic materials on Mars that could shed light on whether life once existed on the planet.

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Closer to Solving Mystery of Methane Biosignature on Mars, Aiding Search for Life

Christopher Plain·February 5, 2024

Researchers are closing in the source of methane gas in the Martian atmosphere, upping the chances of finding signs of life on the red planet.

Chances That Odd Soil Samples Collected at Mars’ Jezero Crater Contain Signs of Ancient Life Just Increased Dramatically

Christopher Plain·January 29, 2024

New analysis of the subsurface features beneath Mars Jezero crater dramatically increases the chances the Perseverance rover's soil samples contain signs of ancient life.

Ingenuity Helicopter Ends Its Historic Mars Mission, as NASA Reveals What Finally Grounded the First Aircraft to Fly on Another Planet

Micah Hanks·January 26, 2024

NASA has announced that the Ingenuity helicopter has formally concluded its mission on Mars, following dozens of successful test flights during its three-year tenure on the planet.

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Has Captured Images of Something Odd Carved into the Martian Landscape

Micah Hanks·December 20, 2023

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recently captured images of an odd-looking series of ridged lines carved into the landscape of the Red Planet, the U.S. space agency recently announced.

250-Mile-High View of Mars Catches Glimpse of a Mystery Lurking in Orbit Above the Red Planet (Images)

Micah Hanks·December 1, 2023

An uncommon view of the Martian horizon was recently obtained by NASA’s Odyssey orbiter, in new images that offer a glimpse at one of the most mysterious objects orbiting the Red Planet.

AI-Powered Robot Chemist Unlocks Oxygen from Martian Water, Potentially Pioneering a New Era of Sustainable Space Exploration

Tim McMillan·November 14, 2023

Discover how an AI-powered robot chemist could transform Mars missions by synthesizing oxygen from Martian water.