“Dust, wind and sand dynamics appear to be the main seasonal drivers of slope streak formation,” Bickel said in a statement. “Meteoroid impacts and quakes seem to be locally distinct, yet globally relatively insignificant drivers.”

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket will launch the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission.

Mars is set for a rare twin encounter this weekend as NASA prepares to launch the $80 million ESCAPADE mission — short for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers — to study how the planet lost its once-dense atmosphere and surface water.

Mars is an inhospitable desert planet. Billions of years ago, things were different. In Jezero Crater, for example, fed by a vast river delta, there was probably a considerable body of water roughly the size of Lake Constance.

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A new study has revealed that lichens can withstand the intense ionizing radiation that hits Mars' surface. (The lichen in this photo is Cetraria ...

Rovers and landers on Mars can measure wind speed only where they are located — they cannot check winds across the whole planet. So to understand Mars better, scientists use pictures taken from satellites orbiting Mars and use advanced data analysis to study how winds move everywhere.

Visit Mars as it might have looked billions of years ago. Not frozen and dry, but wet, warm, and alive with flowing water. Across vast highlands near the Martian equator, deep river-like valleys snake through the surface. These valleys don’t just suggest ...

Scientists discovered that baker’s yeast can survive harsh Mars-like conditions, revealing how simple life forms adapt under stress.