Water supersaturation in the Martian atmosphere discovered PhysOrg - September 29, 2011
New analysis of data sent back by the SPICAM spectrometer on board ESA's Mars Express spacecraft has revealed for the first time that the planet's atmosphere is supersaturated with water vapour. This surprising discovery has major implications for understanding the Martian water cycle and the historical evolution of the atmosphere.
Did an amateur spot secret Mars base? MSNBC - June 6, 2011
A self-described "armchair astronaut" claims to have identified a human (or alien) base on Mars. David Martines noticed a mysterious rectangular structure that appears to be on the Red Planet's surface while trolling the planetary surface using Google Mars, a new map program created from compiled satellite images of the planet. This is a video of something I discovered on Google Mars quite by accident," said Martines, the armchair astronaut, in a now-viral YouTube video. "I call it Bio Station Alpha, because I'm just assuming that something lives in it or has lived in it. He zooms in the surface anomaly - a long, pixelated, white object - and lists the coordinates as 49'19.73''N 29 33'06.53''W. "It's over 700 feet long and 150 feet wide. It looks like it's a cylinder or made up of cylinders," he says. Has Martines really found evidence of alien life, or a secret space base, as he and some media sources are claiming? No, say experts: "Bio Station Alpha" is simply a glitch in the image caused by cosmic energy interfering with the camera.
Neighboring volcanoes on Mars PhysOrg - April 4, 2011
ESAÕs Mars Express has returned images of mist-capped volcanoes located in the northern hemisphere of the red planet. Long after volcanic activity ceased, the area was transformed by meteor impacts that deposited ejected material over the lower flanks of the volcanoes.
Comanche Outcrop on Mars Indicates Hospitable Past NASA - August 30, 2010
Could life once have survived on Mars? Today, neither animal nor plant life from Earth could survive for very long on Mars because at least one key ingredient - liquid water - is essentially absent on the red planet's rusty surface. Although evidence from the martian rovers indicates that long ago Mars might once have had liquid water on its surface, that water might also have been too acidic for familiar life forms to thrive. Recently, however, a newly detailed analysis of an unusual outcropping of rock and soil chanced upon in 2005 by the robotic Spirit rover has uncovered a clue indicating that not all of Mars was always so acidic. The mound in question, dubbed Comanche Outcrop and visible near the top of the above image, appears to contain unusually high concentrations of elements such as magnesium iron carbonate. The above image is shown in colors exaggerated to highlight the differences in composition. Since these carbonates dissolve in acid, the persistence of these mounds indicates that water perhaps less acidic and more favorable for life might have once flowed across Mars. More detailed analyses and searches for other signs will surely continue.
Martian Face Turns Out to be a Rocky Mesa PhysOrg - August 2, 2010
Technology has advanced a considerable amount since the original photo was taken, though. Now NASA has released a new image of the area - one that shows quite clearly that what looks like a face in the 1976 image is really just a rocky mesa.
Mars' entire surface was shaped by water BBC - June 25, 2010
The whole of Mars' surface was shaped by liquid water around four billion years ago, say scientists. Signs of liquid water had been seen on southern Mars, but the latest findings reveal similar signals in craters in the north of the Red Planet. The team made their discovery by examining data from instruments on board Europe's Mars Express and Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
Strange Martian Ice Spirals Explained PhysOrg - June 16, 2010
They Were Created by Wind
Ancient Mars Had Vast Ocean, New Evidence Shows National Geographic - June 14, 2010
Ancient Ocean May Have Covered Third of Mars Science Daily - June 14, 2010
A vast ocean likely covered one-third of the surface of Mars some 3.5 billion years ago, according to a new study conducted by University of Colorado at Boulder scientists.
Planetary scientists solve 40-year-old mysteries of Mars' northern ice cap PhysOrg - May 26, 2010
Scientists have reconstructed the formation of two curious features in the northern ice cap of MarsÑa chasm larger than the Grand Canyon and a series of spiral troughs - solving a pair of mysteries dating back four decades while finding new evidence of climate change on Mars.
Lava, Not Water, Made Mars "Riverbed" National Geographic - March 10, 2010
A channel in an ancient Martian "riverbed" wasn't carved by liquid water but was built by molten lava, according to a new study of surface features on Mars. Pictures of the red planet have long revealed features such as valleys and alluvial fans reminiscent of those seen around water bodies on Earth.
Layers in a Mars Crater Record a History of Changes PhysOrg - February 11, 2010
Near the center of a Martian crater about the size of Connecticut, hundreds of exposed rock layers form a mound as tall as the Rockies and reveal a record of major environmental changes on Mars billions of years ago.
A Nasa probe has sent back photographs of what appears to be 'trees' on the planet's surface. Telegraph.co.uk - January 13, 2010
The "trees" are really trails of debris caused by landslides as ice melts in Mars' spring.
Enlarged Images NASA - January 29, 2010
Ancient Mars lakes revealed in new images MSNBC - January 5, 2010
Vast lakes of melted ice existed on Mars more recently than previously thought during a warm, wet spell on the red planet, new images suggest. The lakes might have been habitats for life, if there ever was life on Mars. So far, however, there is no firm evidence of any Martian biology, past or present
Spectacular Mars images reveal evidence of ancient lakes PhysOrg - January 4, 2010
Mars methane 'not from meteors' BBC - December 9, 2009
Meteoritic material subjected to high temperatures did not release enough methane to account for the amount believed to be released on Mars. The researchers argue that the methane must therefore be created by geologic or chemical processes, or it is a by-product of microbial life.
Bacteria from Mars found inside ancient meteorite Telegraph.co.uk - November 26, 2009
Their fossilized remains have been found in the rock, which was blasted out of Mars 16 million years ago as the solar system was forming. The meteorite, called Allen Hills 84001, made headlines in 1996 after fossils were found in it. Scientists believed they were bacteria from Earth that contaminated the rock while it lay in the frozen wastes.
Water Ice Exposed by Meteor Strikes National Geographic - September 24, 2009
A series of meteor strikes on Mars has uncovered pure water ice - and maybe liquid water - in the red planet's relatively balmy mid-latitudes. Sharp-eyed spacecraft discovered the ice when several meteors slammed into Mars's surface and created five craters some 1.5 to 8 feet (0.5 to 2.5 meters) deep and 26 feet (8 meters) in diameter.
A single meteor shower created the craters, which revealed bright blue ice that vaporized in about 200 days. Above, the left column shows four separate craters right after the impact, and right, the same craters after the ice had mostly vaporized. If the instruments had photographed the same areas just a few months later, they would have missed the surprising discovery altogether.
"Diamond Dust" Snow Falls Nightly on Mars National Geographic - July 3, 2009
Every night during Mars's winter, water-ice crystals fall from high, thin clouds over the north pole, new data from NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander have revealed.
New Explanation For Migration Of Volcanic Activity On Mars Science Daily - December 18, 2008
Picture a ball. It's an ordinary ball in every way except that it is roughly 4,300 miles in diameter and is moving through the cold of space some 35 million miles from Earth, and hurtling around the sun in just less than two Earth years. This is Mars.
New minerals (opal) point to wetter Mars BBC - October 29, 2008
A Nasa space probe has discovered a new category of minerals spread across large regions of Mars.
The find suggests liquid water remained on Mars' surface a billion years later than scientists had previously thought. The US Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft found evidence of hydrated silica, better known as opal. The discovery adds to the growing body of evidence that water played a crucial role in shaping the Martian landscape and - possibly - in sustaining life.
How to Mine Martian Water Space.com - August 20, 2008
The confirmation of Martian water ice by the Phoenix Mars Lander may hint at the planet?s potential for supporting life - or at least human life. NASA scientists have quietly developed technologies such as microwave beams for future explorers to extract water from the moon or Mars, even as the Phoenix team focuses on finding out more about the Martian climate and history of water. "If there is an outpost, there's a need for water, and we don't want to bring water from Earth," said Edwin Ethridge, a materials scientist at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Water 'widespread' on early Mars BBC - July 17, 2008
Water was once widespread on Mars, data from a Nasa spacecraft shows, raising the prospect that the Red Planet could have supported life. Researchers found evidence of vast lakes, flowing rivers and deltas on early Mars, all of which were potential habitats for microbes. They also discovered that wet conditions probably persisted for a long time on the Red Planet.
Mars Was Warm, Wet, May Have Hosted Life, Study Says National Geographic - July 17, 2008
Martian soil 'could support life' BBC - June 27, 2008
Martian soil appears to contain sufficient nutrients to support life - or, at least, asparagus - Nasa scientists believe.
Preliminary analysis by the $420m Phoenix Mars Lander mission on the planet's soil found it to be much more alkaline than expected. Scientists working on the spacecraft project said they were "flabbergasted" by the discovery. The find has raised hopes conditions on Mars may be favorable for life.
Mars Soil Resembles Veggie-Garden Dirt, Lander Finds National Geographic - June 27, 2008
Soil near the north pole of Mars is surprisingly Earthlike, with a pH not unlike many vegetable gardens, according to preliminary results from the Phoenix Mars Lander.
Mars probe makes 'ice' discovery BBC - June 20, 2008
Mars Lander Finds Ice, NASA Says National Geographic - June 21, 2008
Earth vs. Mars: Polar Opposites Live Science - May 23, 2008
The ends of the Earth and the ends of Mars are both extreme locations. While the poles of both planets are unique, they share some remarkable similarities.
Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars NASA - April 14, 2008
Nasa probe pictures Phobos moon BBC - April 10, 2008
New Hi-Res Views of Mars' ''Fear'' Moon Unveiled National Geographic - April 10, 2008
Stickney Crater on Phobos NASA - April 10, 2009
Microscopic Fuzz May Be Best Evidence of Martians Space.com - March 31, 2008
If Martian life existed a few billion years ago, scientists think any plant-like microbes would have left behind a stringy fuzz of fibers. That's because here on Earth, researchers now say they have found such ancient fuzz, called cellulose, preserved in chunks of salt deposited more than 250 million years ago ? making it the oldest biological substance yet recovered. The announcement comes about a week after a team of planetary scientists announced discovering evaporated salt deposits on Mars and adds another element of hope to the search for alien life or signs of its past biology.
Hundreds of Salt Deposits Spotted on Mars National Geographic - March 20, 2008
Evidence of a dense brine that once oozed on Mars could bring new vigor to the search for salt-loving life-forms on the red planet. Mikki Osterloo of the University of Hawaii and colleagues have discovered hundreds of small depressions that appear to be filled with the kinds of salt deposits that form on Earth when water evaporates.
Mars is 'covered in table salt' BBC - March 20, 2008
Avalanche on Mars Nasa - March 11, 2008 
Avalanche Photographed on Mars Space.com - March 3, 2008
Mars Orbiter Photographs Avalanches on Mars NASA - March 3, 2008
First Mars Avalanches Seen In Action National Geographic - March 4, 2008
Mars May Have Hosted Potentially Habitable Lake National Geographic - March 10, 2008
3-D Mars Volcano, National Geographic - February 6, 2008
The solar system's tallest mountain - the Martian volcano Olympus Mons, which stands about three times as tall as Mount Everest, is seen here in unprecedented 3-D detail. The image is part of newly released data from the Mars Express orbiter's High Resolution Stereo Camera. Known as a digital terrain model, the information provides the first comprehensive topographical look at much of the red planet's surface. The data will allow scientists to simulate "standing" on Martian cliffs, hillsides, lava flows, and desert plainsÑa vital tool for figuring out Mars's complex geography and chemistry. "This data is essential for understanding how water or lava flowed across Mars," said Gerhard Neukum, a professor at Freie UniversitŠt in Berlin, Germany, in a press statement.
Why claims of life on Mars still capture the imagination BBC - February 6, 2008
"Life on Mars!" declared the headlines: an image showing a tantalizingly blurred Bigfoot-like figure, captured in a panorama by Nasa's robot geologist Spirit, spread round the world last month. First identified by a Japanese blogger, it didn't take long for the image to reach thousands upon thousands of people, appearing in newspapers and becoming one of the most emailed stories on the BBC News website. It is a rock, just a couple of centimetres tall, but it is easy to understand why some envisaged a humanoid figure there.
'Active glacier found' on Mars BBC - December 21, 2007
Sulfur Dioxide Kept Ancient Mars Ocean Flowing National Geographic - December 21, 2007
Life's Building Blocks Found in Mars Rock Space.com - December 11, 2007
Riddle of Mars's Mysterious "Spiders," "Fans" Solved National Geographic - December 13, 2007
New images from Mars have revealed startling details about "spiders" and "dark fans" - two of the bizarre features that the give the planet's so-called cryptic region its name. The formations appear during the spring in a region near the planet's south pole dense with unusual features.
Martian Global Warming Thunderbolts - October 23, 2007
Climate change on Mars may be happening more rapidly and dramatically than on Earth. As in the case of terrestrial "global warming," however, the electrical connection is still being ignored. According to NASA scientists, the planet Mars has been steadily warming for at least the past several decades - and this warming is occurring at a pace that could destroy the planetÕs southern ice cap in the foreseeable future.
A Hole in Mars NASA - May 28, 2007
Black spots have been discovered on Mars that are so dark that nothing inside can be seen. Quite possibly, the spots are entrances to deep underground caves capable of protecting Martian life, were it to exist.
Mars Has Cave Networks, New Photos Suggest National Geographic - March 22, 2007
Seven circular pits on the surface of Mars appear to be openings to underground caverns, researchers have announced. The discovery of potential caves is exciting, the scientists said, because such underground formations may be the most promising places to look for signs of life.
Mars Melt Hints at Solar, Not Human, Cause for Warming, Scientist Says National Geographic - March 1, 2007
Simultaneous warming on Earth and Mars suggests that our planet's recent climate changes have a natural - and not a human-induced - cause, according to one scientist's controversial theory. Earth is currently experiencing rapid warming, which the vast majority of climate scientists says is due to humans pumping huge amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Rocks reveal Mars' watery past BBC - February 15, 2007
Exquisite color images of the Martian surface give a tantalising glimpse into the Red Planet's watery past. Shots of the deep valley Candor Chasma show light coloured areas of rock where water could have flowed. These "haloes" surround fractures in the martian bedrock which provide a promising target in the search for evidence of past life on the planet.
Night Clouds Warm Red Planet Space.com - February 6, 2007
Nighttime clouds detected for the first time on Mars help to keep the planet's surface warm after sunset when temperatures drop, a new study suggests. The nocturnal clouds are five times thicker than their daytime counterparts and hover close to the ground, almost like a fog.
Mars probe snaps dramatic new images of gullies New Scientist - February 1, 2007
Photos strengthen case for water on Mars - Includes Slideshow MSNBC - December 7, 2006
Water Flows Today on Mars Astrobiology Magazine - December 7, 2006
Water 'flowed recently' on Mars BBC - December 7, 2006
Ice geysers 'discovered on Mars' BBC - August 20, 2006
Geysers spewing sand and dust hundreds of feet into the "air" have been discovered on Mars, scientists say.
Images from a camera orbiting Mars have shown the 100mph jets of carbon dioxide erupt through ice at the planet's south pole, Arizona State University says. The orbiting camera, called the Thermal Emission Imaging System (Themis), is on the Mars Odyssey probe. The geyser debris leaves dark spots, fan-like markings and spider-shaped features on the ice cap.
Study Reveals Young Mars Was A Wet World Suited For Life Space.com - April 21, 2006
The most comprehensive study ever conducted of minerals on Mars' surface reveals the planet has undergone three distinct geological eras throughout its history, with water playing a progressively lesser role in each.
Happy Face on Mars Exposed Space.com - April 12, 2006
With a few hills, some shadow, and a heavy dose of imagination, you can see a lot of things on Earth or in a space rock that are not there. In this realm of false sightings, Mars reigns. Mars has a heart, for one. And then there's the mile-long translucent worm. The most famous example is the Face on Mars, the one that some people believe to be the construct of an intelligent civilization
Martian Aurora Is One of a Kind Scientific American - June 9, 2005
The impressive display known as the northern lights is one example of Earth's auroras, which occur around the planet's poles. Now scientists have discovered that the Red Planet puts on its own dazzling light show--one that is powered in a unique manner.
Knocked Off Its Axis? Astrobiology Magazine - April 19, 2005
Since the time billions of years ago when Mars was formed, it has never been a spherically symmetric planet, nor is it composed of similar materials throughout, say scientists who have studied the planet. Since its formation, it has changed its shape, for example, through the development of the Tharsis bulge, an eight kilometer [five mile] high feature that covers one-sixth of the Martian surface, and through volcanic activity. As a result of these and other factors, its polar axis has not been stable relative to surface features and is known to have wandered through the eons as Mars rotated around it and revolved around the Sun.
Mars pictures reveal frozen sea just below the surface of Mars BBC - February 21, 2005
A huge, frozen sea lies just below the surface of Mars, a team of European scientists has announced. Their assessment is based on pictures of the planet's near-equatorial Elysium region that show plated and rutted features across an area 800 by 900km. The team think a catastrophic event flooded the landscape five million years ago and then froze out. They tell a forthcoming edition of Nature magazine that sediments covered the ice, locking it in place. Large reserves of water-ice are known to be held at the poles on Mars but if this discovery is confirmed by follow-up observations, it would be a first for a region at such a low latitude.
Martian gases pose life question BBC - February 25, 2005
An Italian scientist working on the Mars Express probe says gases detected in the planet's atmosphere may indicate life exists on the Red Planet today. Vittorio Formisano told a Dutch space conference methane and formaldehyde could signify biological activity. But the cautious professor, from the Institute of Interplanetary Space Physics in Rome, said only soil analysis on the planet could prove it.
On Mars: Earth-Like Clouds and a New Type of Rock Space.com - December 13, 2004
NASA's Mars rovers have returned new evidence for past water, pictures of Earth-like clouds seen for the first time from the planet's surface, and a rock that doesn't look like anything scientists have ever seen.
Red Planet had 'recent' volcanism BBC - August 2004
Mars appears to have been volcanically active more recently than previously supposed, according to growing evidence from Europe's Mars Express orbiter. New estimates suggest volcanoes could have been active between one million years ago and 20 million years ago, but more work is needed to refine the dates Previous spacecraft data suggested that volcanism on Mars ceased some time around 600-500 million years ago.
Rover finds new Mars water signs - The Lion Stone BBC - May 18, 2004
The US space agency's robotic rover Opportunity has found initial evidence that rocks at a new Martian crater it is exploring were deposited in water. The rover has conducted tests on a 30-cm-long rock called Lion Stone, which was probably tossed out by the impact that excavated Endurance Crater. Lion Stone is peppered with spherical "concretions", exhibits fine layering and is rich in sulphur, Nasa says. The concretions probably formed when minerals precipitated out of water. These tiny spheres were found in the rock outcrops and soil in Eagle Crater, where Opportunity touched down
Blueberries On Mars
(Agencies) China Daily - March 20, 2004
This false-color composite image, taken at the outcrop region dubbed 'Berry Bowl' near the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's landing site, released by NASA March 18, 2004, shows the sphere-like grains or 'blueberries' that fill Berry Bowl. Of particular interest is the blueberry triplet, which indicates that these geologic features grew in pre-existing wet sediments.
Close-ups of Mars BBC - January 23, 2004
This picture was taken on 15 January 2004, east of an area called the Hellas basin.
It shows an area 100 km across, including a channel - Reull Vallis - once formed by
flowing water. The landscape is seen in a vertical view, with north is at the top.
This picture, taken on 14 January 2004, shows a vertical view of a 7.6-km-wide
mesa in the true colors of Mars. The summit plateau stands about 3 km above
the surrounding terrain. The original surface was dissected by erosion - only
isolated mesas have remained intact.
This image, taken on 14 January 2004 from a height of 275 km, shows an area
50 km across, containing features controlled by the action of tectonic plates.
The location is south of Valles Marineris, a 4,000-km-long canyon running
across the surface of the planet. North is at top.
Taken on 14 January 2004 in the huge canyon Valles Marineris, this picture
shows cliffs, flatish highlands known as mesas, and features which indicate
erosion caused by the action of flowing water. The landscape is seen in a
vertical view, with north at the bottom.
'Martian features' found on Earth BBC - May 2003
Features in a Martian meteorite believed by some to be the fossilized remains of alien bacteria may have formed underwater. Researchers have found a "striking" match between microscopic features on underwater rocks and mineral deposits from Earth and microbe-like structures in the famous Martian meteorite ALH84001. The discovery could bring scientists closer to knowing whether the 3.9 billion-year-old meteorite contains fossilized alien life. The evidence comes from volcanic rocks and underwater geological formations called calcareous pinnacles found below the surface of Lake Van in Turkey, the world's biggest alkaline lak
ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF ALL FILES
