The search for past or present life should be the top science objective of future human missions to Mars, a new National Academies report concludes.

For decades, the case for sending people to Mars has rested on a mix of romance, rivalry, and raw curiosity. Now a cluster of ...

The world’s most advanced deep-space capsule, the Orion, is set to speed astronauts around the Moon, a trek that could ...

The first astronauts who walk on Mars are now being told to go as planetary detectives, not just pathfinders. A sweeping new ...

If you were to stand on the surface of Mars in two years and look up to the night sky, you might see a bright streak flying across the heavens, followed a few minutes later by another. Rather than ...

"The detection of life on Mars is a persistent top priority for explorers of many disciplines, and it is the top science objective in this report." When you purchase through links on our site, we may ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

The best reason to send humans to Mars isn’t for guts or glory—or the construction of colonies to safeguard against existential Earth-bound risks. Instead it’s to answer a single, simple question: Is ...

If you thought 2025 was an exciting year for spaceflight, just wait until 2026. Here's a look at six missions that could define the year.

When astronauts set foot on Mars, it will be one of humanity’s greatest milestones. These first steps will be the result of decades of research, engineering, and imagination coming together, marking ...

The only way to create a sustainable program of exploring the moon and Mars with humans, beyond the initial flush of achievement, is by fully integrating science into our planning. We won’t be able to ...