Mars Archives

When a meteoroid shook the edge of Apollinaris Mons on Mars, it triggered streaks that carved a hundred new scratches on the surface. The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captured these dust avalanches on the slopes the night before Christmas in 2023. -- ESA

Origins Of Streak Features On Mars

by Keith CowingNovember 6, 2025November 6, 2025

This image from the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard the European orbiter also shows the faint cluster of impact craters in the discoloured region at the base […]

Optical Layout of EXI showing the baffles, door mechanism, lens assemblies made up of the lens tubes with lens elements, filter wheel, and detectors -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Diurnal Variations Of Lee Wave Clouds On Mars Using Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI)

by Keith CowingNovember 5, 2025November 5, 2025

Understanding the diurnal behavior of lee wave clouds on Mars provides critical insight into the planet’s mesoscale atmospheric dynamics and their interaction with surface topography.

This sweeping view along a rusty red ridge and into a crater showcases the exquisite beauty of icy, layered terrain in the south polar region on Mars. Larger image -- ESA

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Icy Worlds, Mars, Status Report

A Look At The Icy Terrain In The South Polar Region Of Mars

by Keith CowingOctober 30, 2025October 30, 2025

The High Resolution Stereo Imaging camera on board ESA’s Mars Express captured this frosty scene in the Ultimi Scopuli region near the south pole of Mars on 19 May 2022.

Astrobiologist Kennda Lynch examining microbial mats in the Pilot Valley Basin, a paleolake basin in Utah cited in this new study - in an earlier, separate NASA expedition in 2017. Photo credit: NASA Astrobiology Institute

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Analytical Methodology to Reveal Biosignatures on Mars and Ocean Worlds

by Keith CowingOctober 29, 2025October 29, 2025

Terrestrial analog environments and their microbial communities are key elements to prepare for the exploration of extraterrestrial planetary environments that potentially sustained, or even may still sustain, the (bio)chemistry necessary […]

This graph displays data collected by NASA's Perseverance Mars rover from targets in a rock formation nicknamed "Bright Angel." Scientists later determined one of those targets, a rock nicknamed "Cheyava Falls" (second line from the top), contained a potential biosignature. -- NASA

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report

Mars Perseverance’s SHERLOC Finds Organic Molecules in Bright Angel

by Keith CowingOctober 29, 2025October 29, 2025

A potential biosignature is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin but requires more data or further study before a conclusion can be reached about the absence […]

For the second stage of our analysis pipeline, outputs were further evaluated using a livability index L (scaled between 0 and 1). Among the 51 Mars-positive samples, the mean livability index was 0.417, with scores clustering at a midrange band of 0.31-0.48 (Table 5). These results suggest that most images were neutrally classified with the model neither stating high nor low livability rates across the tested data. Dust warnings were found to be common, with twenty-four samples flagged as “Warning” , twenty-five as “Caution” , and two as “Severe” (Table 6). -- eartharxiv.org

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

A Computer Vision Framework For Estimating Surface Habitability From Mars Using Convolutional Analysis

by Keith CowingOctober 28, 2025October 28, 2025

Identifying signs of life in extraterrestrial environments is one of the growing challenges in planetary science. Conventional approaches of detecting habitability rely heavily on direct contact with biosignatures or geological […]

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover generated this mineral map showing the presence of two minerals – vivianite (purple and pink) and greigite (dull yellow and green) – on the surface of a rock nicknamed "Cheyava Falls." -- NASA

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Mars Perseverance’s PIXL Finds Vivianite, Greigite in Cheyava Falls Sample

by Keith CowingOctober 28, 2025October 29, 2025

The data helped scientists determine the rock contained a potential biosignature, which is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin but requires more data or further study […]

Researcher Issaku Kohl recorded this image at a historic mining district in Spain, which scientists now an analog for the surface of Mars. It shows the mixing zone on the Rio Tinto, where green water, rich in the Fe2+ ion of iron, containing very high O₂ content sulfate, is discharging from a mine tailings pile. This water is mixing into the river’s main branch red waters, where most of the iron occurs as Fe3+ and sulfate oxygen is mostly sourced from water. -- University of Utah

Analog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mars, Press Release

How A Pyrite-oxidizing Microbe Helps Preserve Atmospheric Oxygen In Sulfate

by Keith CowingOctober 27, 2025October 27, 2025

Because oxygen-bearing sulfate minerals trap and preserve signals from Earth’s atmosphere, scientists closely study how they form. Sulfates are stable over billions of years, so their oxygen isotopes are seen […]

This image was acquired on Oct. 14, 2025 (Sol 1653) at the local mean solar time of 22:30:30. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/multimedia/raw-images/image-of-the-week/week-244

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

A SHERLOC Image From Mars Perseverance On Sol 1653

by Keith CowingOctober 24, 2025October 22, 2025

This photo was selected by public vote and featured as “Image of the Week” for Week 244 (Oct. 12 – 18, 2025) of the Perseverance rover mission on Mars.