On Mars, a relatively pure water ice layer lies beneath several centimeters of dry soil at mid-latitudes. Its widespread presence poleward of 60° latitude was detected by remote neutron spectroscopy […]
Mars
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Mars Curiosity Rover Observes Evidence Of Past Groundwater
A hilly landscape that looks like spiderwebs when viewed from orbit holds clues to the history of water on ancient Mars.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report, Titan
Planetary Protection For Sustainable Space Exploration – Philosophical Transactions A Theme Issue: (open access)
Royal Society Publishing has recently published an OPEN ACCESS theme issue of Philosophical Transactions A: Planetary Protection for sustainable space exploration compiled and edited by Karen Olsson-Francis, Athena Coustenis, Peter […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
MarsRetrieval: Benchmarking Vision-Language Models for Planetary-Scale Geospatial Retrieval on Mars
Data-driven approaches like deep learning are rapidly advancing planetary science, particularly in Mars exploration. Despite recent progress, most existing benchmarks remain confined to closed-set supervised visual tasks and do not […]
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech, Life Support Systems, Mars, Moon, Space Agriculture, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Agent Mars: Multi-Agent Simulation for Multi-Planetary Life Exploration and Settlement
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed robotics, healthcare, industry, and scientific discovery, yet a major frontier may lie beyond Earth. Space exploration and settlement offer vast environments and resources, but impose […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
Unusual Crater Texture On Mars Hints At Early History
This scene from the eastern side of Terra Cimmeria, northeast of the Hellas impact basin, shows many impact craters of different sizes and types of preservation, with a few sharp-looking […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors
Perseverance Mars Rover Now Autonomously Pinpoints Its Location Using Generative AI
Imagine you’re all alone, driving along in a rocky, unforgiving desert with no roads, no map, no GPS, and no more than one phone call a day for someone to […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report
Orbital Recon: A Decade Of Carbon Dioxide Sublimation At Mars’ South Pole
We’ve monitored the so-called Happy Face Crater in the South Polar region of Mars for over a decade. Two images that we took, one in 2011 and the other in […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Away Teams & Field Reports, Conferences and Meetings, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Status Report, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts
Foundational Artificial Intelligence for the Moon and Mars (FAIMM) Webinar
On Monday, February 23, 2026 at 12 pm Eastern Time, the planetary science division will host a webinar overview of program element C.12 Foundational Artificial Intelligence for the Moon and […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return
Curiosity Lights Up ‘Nevado Sajama’ at Night
The LED lights are part of the Mars Hand Lens Imager, or MAHLI, a camera on the end of Curiosity’s robotic arm. The image was captured by the Mast Camera, […]