Curiosity News & Features
Mapping the Red Planet with the Power of Open Science
Mars rovers can only make exciting new discoveries thanks to human scientists making careful decisions about their next stop. The Mars 2020 mission is aimed at exploring the geology of Jezero Crater and seeking signs of ancient microbial life on…
NASA Watches Mars Light Up During Epic Solar Storm
In addition to producing auroras, a recent extreme storm provided more detail on how much radiation future astronauts could encounter on the Red Planet. Mars scientists have been anticipating epic solar storms ever since the Sun entered a period of…
NASA Scientists Gear Up for Solar Storms at Mars
The Sun will be at peak activity this year, providing a rare opportunity to study how solar storms and radiation could affect future astronauts on the Red Planet. In the months ahead, two of NASA’s Mars spacecraft will have an…
Why is Methane Seeping on Mars? NASA Scientists Have New Ideas
The most surprising revelation from NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover — that methane is seeping from the surface of Gale Crater — has scientists scratching their heads. Living creatures produce most of the methane on Earth. But scientists haven’t found convincing…
NASA’s Curiosity Searches for New Clues About Mars’ Ancient Water
The rover has arrived at an area that may show evidence liquid water flowed on this part of Mars for much longer than previously thought. NASA’s Curiosity rover has begun exploring a new region of Mars, one that could reveal…
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Captures a Martian Day, From Dawn to Dusk
Videos from the rover show its shadow moving across the Martian surface during a 12-hour sequence while Curiosity remained parked. When NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover isn’t on the move, it works pretty well as a sundial, as seen in two…
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Clocks 4,000 Days on Mars
The mission team is making sure the robotic scientist, now in its fourth extended mission, is staying strong, despite wear and tear from its 11-year journey. Four thousand Martian days after setting its wheels in Gale Crater on Aug. 5, 2012, NASA’s…
NASA’s Curiosity Reaches Mars Ridge Where Water Left Debris Pileup
Believed to be a remnant of powerful ancient debris flows, Gediz Vallis Ridge is a destination long sought by the rover’s science team. Three billion years ago, amid one of the last wet periods on Mars, powerful debris flows carried…
Cracks in Ancient Martian Mud Surprise NASA’s Curiosity Rover Team
A new paper suggests the same conditions that created the cracks could have been favorable to the emergence of microscopic life.
NASA’s Curiosity Rover Faces Its Toughest Climb Yet on Mars
Shortly before the rover’s 11th anniversary on the Red Planet, its team helped guide it up a steep, slippery slope to examine meteor craters.