Mars

First Mars was the setting of imaginary declining civilizations; then it was a dead, cratered, Moon-like world. Thanks to a coordinated Mars exploration program that began in 1996 and continues to the present day, we now know Mars better than any world other than our own, yet we have more questions than ever.

Geologically, Mars is quiescent, but its atmosphere breathes and changes from year to year, interacting in complex ways with the water sequestered in Mars' ice caps and permafrost. Water does not, today, flow on Mars, but it evidently has in the past, and it may flow again in the future when Mars' rotation axis tilts much more steeply. Did Mars ever look like Earth, or has it always been as cold and dry as an Antarctic desert? Has there ever been the right combination of liquid water, available energy, and time to permit life to begin on Mars?

Latest Blogs from Mars

Google+ Hangout with ESA about Europe's Mars exploration

Posted by Emily Lakdawalla on 2013/10/04 09:00 CDT

The European Space Agency invited me to join Mars Express project scientist Olivier Witasse, and spacecraft oeprations manager Michel Denis for a Hangout on Europe's recent and future exploration of Mars and Phobos.

MAVEN with solar panels open in the clean room for the last time

NASA's MAVEN Mission Spared from Shutdown

Posted by Casey Dreier on 2013/10/03 04:40 CDT | 3 comments

Launch preparations will resume for NASA's MAVEN spacecraft, due to launch to Mars on November 18th. Work had previously been suspended, potentially causing the spacecraft to miss its once-every-26-month launch opportunity.

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Mars' Calendar

Mars' axial tilt is similar to Earth's, and its days (or sols) are similar in length, so it has similar seasons. But its elliptical orbit makes seasons more extreme in the southern hemisphere. This page lists dates for seasonal changes and turnover of Mars Years.