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more about #mars more comments → Daveinva: As neat as this all is, the bottom line is the same as it was back in 1996: we won't prove a damn thing until we discover this sort of thing *on Mars*... more » Roklimber: I knew I shouldn't have peed on Mars when I was coming to Earth. But, hey, stupid engineers don't make decent bathrooms in spaceships, you know, and w... more » twophrasebark: . more » mekki: So this meteorite was found in Antarctica with Earth like bacteria. How do we know the bacteria simply didn't come from Earth itself and some how got ... more » Rusty626: The one thing I never understood about this meteorite is how do they know it's from Mars? more » Jassen: One day a scientist is going to get stoned and lick one of those mars meteorites, the bacteria in his mouth will interact with the dormant bacteria in... more » Friedhamster: I think the biggest thing hindering missions to Mars is money. There just isn't enough right now. more » Honu Harry: Oh great, there go our terraforming plans. Now the Greens..I mean Reds...will sue to stop every mission. Freakin' longhairs love alien bacteria more t... more » Slinkytech: And this was also placed to test us from God? Just like how Heaven is in the sky? Jesus is a jew, making god actually a jew god. I don't like religion. more » gorehound: I wonder if you would trip if you eat a drop of photo #1 ? maybe it is some weird kind of magic microbe poop. more » EdificeComplex: From now on when my nephew makes poo in his diaper, I shall call it the "formation of intelligent life!" more » TotalFanGirl: The key to intelligent life on Mars is poop? I don't want to be an astronaut anymore if that's where the search for life begins. Ewwww. more » ManchuCandidate: Everybody Poops: Microbe Edition more » Roklimber: I wonder if this discovery will make these caves more or less poopular... :) more » geekgrrl: ah, the Mars Opposition. I remember those days.. waiting in the trenches on Phobos, shotty at the ready.. the moment I saw that Cyberdemon, I knew I ... more » -
#madscience
New Evidence Points to Fossilized Life on Mars
Thirteen years ago, a team of researchers studying the Allan Hills meteorite found evidence that the rock might contain fossils of Martian bacteria. Now, fresh evidence makes a stronger case that Mars once contained life very similar to Earth bacteria. More » -
#madscience
Lava Caves Filled with the Most Beautiful Excrement in the World
For years, scientists believed that the colorful deposits found in lava caves around the world were mineral deposits, but more recently they've discovered that the collections — ranging from blue-green drips to shimmering pink hexagons — are actually microbe poop. More » -
#xenocommunications
US Armed Forces Listened for Messages from Mars
In 1924, Earth saw its closest Mars opposition in over a century, and some thought our Martian neighbors might use the event to attempt contact. So for one night, US Naval and Army stations scanned the skies for extraterrestrial transmissions. More » -
#fakemarsmission
What's the Worst that Could Happen on a Fake Mission to Mars?
Following the 105-day simulated mission that ended this summer, the European Space Agency is looking for volunteers to spend 520 days in isolation, simulating a Mars mission. So what could possibly go wrong when you never leave the ground? More » -
#rocketporn
The Vehicle Of Our Mars Dreams Is A Needle Waiting To Thread Space
Marvel at the beauty of NASA's Ares I-X test rocket, due to launch on Tuesday. If all goes well, NASA can move forward with development of its next-generation Orion spacecraft, which should carry us to the Moon... and Mars. More » -
#mars
Why Is Mars Red?
Scientists have long believed that Mars' distinctive hue comes from iron particles being rusted... but by what? A new study suggests that it wasn't water that turned the Red Planet red, but wind. More » -
#mars
The Opportunity Rover Discovers Mars's Largest Meteorite
Two weeks ago, NASA's Opportunity Rover discovered the largest meteorite yet observed on Mars. Sure, any space debris can be an exciting discovery, but the rock's size has its own cool implications: Mars's atmosphere used to be a lot thicker. More » -
#spaceexploration
Earth to Mars in 39 Days
A six-month space journey away, Mars often seems an almost impossible planet to reach. But engineers are developing a new engine that could turn six months to six weeks, bringing the Red Planet much, much closer than ever before. More » -
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#madastrobiology
If There's Not Life On Mars, We'll Add Some
Scientists have long speculated that Mars might have played host to microbial life in an earlier era. Now that it's certain water exists on the Red Planet, they're trying to grow some microbes that could live there. More » -
#mooniversary
Apollo 11 Astronauts Push For A Mission To Mars
Last friday, at the National Museum of the USAF, the Apollo 11 astronauts participated in a panel discussion about their historic Moon landing. They spent a good portion of the discussion, however, not on the Moon — but Mars. More » -
#weirdexperiments
Will People On Long Space Missions Inevitably Kill Each Other?
For 105 days, 4 Russians and 2 Europeans holed up in isolation in Moscow, to see if they could survive a mission to Mars without killing one another in frustration, while American scientists watched. Tomorrow, they'll be freed. More » -
#doctorwho
Your First Horrifying Look At Doctor Who's Next Monster
A new clip from Doctor Who's next special episode, "The Waters Of Mars," showcases the bizarre alien threat the Doctor faces this time around. What, you thought "Waters" was metaphorical? [Thanks, Bluehinter!] -
#mars
Definitive Evidence Of An Ancient Lake On Mars
Water on ancient Mars may actually have been abundant: Scientists have speculated about ancient rivers and lakes for years. But a team at University of Colorado at Boulder announced this week the first "definitive" evidence of a lake on Mars. More » -
#books
Kim Stanley Robinson's Favorite Mars Books
Red Mars author Kim Stanley Robinson names his 10 favorite Mars novels as part of a special Mars issue in the IEEE Spectrum. He charts the evolution of our understanding of the red planet, and the literature of colonization. -
#lifeonmars
Mars Landers May Have Erased Evidence Of Life
Have the Mars landers not only failed in identifying signs of life on the red planet, but also accidentally been destroying them all along? Scientists are beginning to suggest that may be the case. Oops. More » -
#alienwarart
Our Ever Changing War Of The Worlds
Humanity has been at war with Mars for over 100 years! HG Wells' War of The Worlds has stayed in print since its debut, and that means more than a century of awesome cover artwork. More » -
#johncarterofmars
Michael Chabon Signs On To Write John Carter Of Mars
Andrew Stanton's adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs pulp legend John Carter of Mars just got a new screenwriter… and it's one of the writers who best understands pulp science fiction. More » -
#spaceporn
First Look at the Spacecraft That Will Take Humans to Mars
Yesterday NASA gave the world a first look at the Orion, a space vessel that will take humans back to the Moon in 2020, and then onward to Mars in the 2030s. More »
