Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

Phil Plait Bad Astronomy hirise_arabiaterra_mounds

Forget Yellowstone: Thousands of immense supervolcano eruptions buried much of ancient Mars

By Phil Plait 4 months ago

Was ancient Mars warm and wet, as depicted in artwork here, or cold and frozen? Credit: lttiz / wikipedia

Was young Mars warm and wet or cold and frozen?

By Phil Plait 1 year ago

A second avalanche occurred at the same time as the other not far away, along the same canyon cliff face. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Here's why you shouldn't stand at the base of a Martian cliff in spring

By Phil Plait 2 years ago

The HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took this amazing image of the Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars on May 31, 2019. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Orbiting Mars robot sees roving Mars robot. It’s Mars robots all the way down.

By Phil Plait 2 years ago

Mars crater

This mind-blowing Martian crater almost doesn't look real

By Elizabeth Rayne 2 years ago

Star Trek Dune Hero

Mars Orbiter discovers Star Trek logo on the Martian surface

By Jeff Spry 2 years ago

A series of fresh impact craters on Mars were created by the breakup of an incoming asteroid or comet. The event happened sometime no earlier than 2009. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Sometime in the past decade Mars suffered an impact shotgun blast

By Phil Plait 2 years ago

A “selfie” of the Mars InSight lander, using 11 images taken by a camera mounted on a mobile robotic arm. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Mars InSight: Pix from the ground and from space

By Phil Plait 3 years ago

A color-enhanced image of the crater Stickney and some of the grooves covering Phobos, a moon of Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

How Phobos got its grooves

By Phil Plait 3 years ago

A spectacular if oddly shaped crater near the equator on Mars, situated between two ancient volcanoes. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

What flattened this Martian crater?

By Phil Plait 3 years ago