mars

Mars' atmosphere is about 95% carbon dioxide at roughly 0.6% of Earth's surface pressure. Rover and orbiter measurements show what is in it, how it cycles with the seasons, and what its trace gases and isotopes say about the air Mars lost.

Mars dust storms can wrap the whole planet, as the 2018 storm did. Here is how they start, what they did to Opportunity and Curiosity, and what they mean for future bases.

Curiosity's radiation detector has logged the Martian surface dose since August 2012. Here is what it measured, what that means for human health, and how much shielding settlers would need.

Mars air is roughly 160 times thinner than Earth's, and its temperature swings by more than 50 degrees in a day. Here is what rovers measure and why it matters.

Orbiters and rovers have read Mars' wet history in clay minerals, sulfate salts, river deltas, and lake mudstones. Here is what each clue shows and where it stops.

Rover soil analysis shows Mars' surface is crushed basalt, oxidized iron, water-bearing minerals, and perchlorate salt. Here is what each finding means.

NASA's Perseverance rover is reading Jezero Crater's rocks for signs of ancient microbial life, caching samples for a return trip that no longer has an approved mission, and testing oxygen-making technology for crews.

Suppose, for the sake of argument, that every terraforming obstacle got solved: enough imported gas, a working magnetic shield, centuries of patience. What would people actually build, grow, and become on a finished Mars — and how would its short year, low gravity, and two doomed moons reshape daily life?

Gravity shapes everything about an animal — its skeleton, muscles, circulatory system, even brain. Humans evolved on a 1g planet. On a Mars-like 0.38g world, we'd be taller, lankier, weaker, and likely shorter-lived from chronic bone and circulatory problems.

Discovering even one living microbe on Mars — or convincing fossil evidence of past Martian life — would be the most consequential scientific finding in history. It would tell us life arises easily where conditions allow, and reshape our entire view of the universe.

Establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon, on Mars, or in free-space habitats means solving problems in radiation, partial gravity, closed-loop life support, local resources, and population size. Here is what the measurements and the physics actually demand.

Orbit demands about 7.8 km/s of sideways speed, the Moon is 384,000 km away, and Mars is at least 55 million km. Here is the physics of getting to space, the history of exploration, and where Artemis, Starship, and Mars stand as of October 2026.