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Small BodiesStories, updates, insights, and original analysis from The Planetary Society.
NASA has lost a spacecraft around Mars. Is MAVEN gone for good?
A pioneering spacecraft has gone missing around Mars, and NASA says the mission is probably unrecoverable.
Calendar of space events 2026
Space missions, rocket launches, and celestial events are coming our way in 2026.
ESCAPADE launch: What to expect
NASA's ESCAPADE mission will send a pair of twin probes to Mars to study how the solar wind has stripped away the planet’s atmosphere, leaving behind the desolate surface we see today.
Our best proof of life on Mars yet? A deep dive into Cheyava Falls
A strange rock on Mars is different from anything we’ve seen before in the search for life.
A biosignature on Mars? Unpacking Perseverance's Cheyava Falls find
An interview with Joel Hurowitz of Stony Brook University, New York, one of the lead scientists involved in the discovery of possible biosignatures on Mars.
NASA: Perseverance found possible biosignatures in Martian rock
NASA’s Perseverance rover has identified a potential sign of past life on Mars — not a definitive detection, but perhaps the most compelling hint yet.
Extraterrestrial lights
How other worlds experience auroras.
Calendar of space events 2025
Space missions, rocket launches, and celestial events are coming our way in 2025.
The year in pictures
The sights of space from the past 12 months.
Mars’ enduring role in the search for life
New discoveries underscore why we must keep exploring the red planet.
Mars may host oceans’ worth of water deep underground
The tentative discovery hints at an habitat where life could potentially thrive.
Eureka? Scientists’ first hints of life on other planets may not be so obvious
Knowing that you've found signs of life beyond Earth may not be as clear-cut and simple as one might think.
NASA discovers Mars rock with ancient potential for life
A single 3.5 billion-year-old rock shows signs of all the conditions life needs to thrive.
Challenges facing the human exploration of Mars
From the dangers of radiation to the complications of landing a crewed spacecraft, there are myriad technical challenges facing human exploration of Mars.
Europe goes to Mars
NASA and ESA have signed a partnership agreement to get the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover down to the surface of Mars, getting the mission back on track after geopolitical factors delayed it.
What are planets made of?
A look at the compositions of terrestrial planets, gas giants, and ice giants in our Solar System.
The best places to search for life in our Solar System
From Earth's neighboring planets to distant moons, these are the best places to look for alien life.
What went wrong with Mars Sample Return
An edited transcript of an interview with Orlando Figueroa, chair of the independent review team that evaluated NASA's Mars Sample Return program.
Why the true colors of the planets aren't what you think
Cameras on our space probes act as proxies for our own eyes, but what they see isn't necessarily what our eyes would see.
The best pictures of Mars from space
Spacecraft have been taking pictures of Mars from space since 1965. Here are some of our favorites.