Planetary geologists reply that these impressions usually result from pareidolia, the tendency for the brain to see familiar shapes in random patterns, a tendency Carl Sagan long ago called an ...

Astronomers predict it will pass relatively close to four planets (but not Earth) and the Sun, then continue its cosmic ...

Learn why scientists are cautiously optimistic about the potential biosignatures found in the Sapphire Canyon rock sample.

Scientists believe intriguing leopard spots on a rock sampled by the Perseverance rover on Mars may have potentially been ...

Jezero Crater’s rocks reveal three stages of water activity, shifting from hostile acidic fluids to more life-friendly ...

NASA’s other rover, Perseverance, landed in the Jezero Crater on February 18, 2021, to search for signs of ancient life and collect rock samples for a future return to Earth.

"The results reported here can be crucial when down-selecting which samples, if not all, are returned to Earth." ...

Earlier evidence pointing to ancient microbial life on the red planet hasn’t held up.

One of the studies, led by Dr. Aleksandra Sokołowska of Brown University and Imperial College London, has identified 258 ...

NASA’s Perseverance rover has delivered its most compelling clue yet in the search for life on Mars. A rock sample called ...

A planetary scientist walks through the sensors and systems that went into the recent detection of potential biosignatures.

Built around 3400 BCE, Newgrange in Ireland predates Stonehenge by 500 years and Egypt’s pyramids by 900. Containing 200,000 tons of rock, solstice-aligned passages, and richly carved kerbstones, it ...