A full globe view of Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited entirely by robots.

Mission Status

03

NASA Spacecraft in Orbit

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NASA Rovers on the Surface

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NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover took this selfie, made up of 62 individual images, on July 23. A rock nicknamed “Cheyava Falls,” which has features that may bear on the question of whether the Red Planet was long ago home to microscopic life, is to the left of the rover near the center of the image.

A Fascinating Mars Rock

The rock has some indications it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago, but further research is needed.

A sweeping landscape gives way to hills on the colorized horizon in this artistic Mars composite image.

UPDATED: 10 Things for Mars 10

Recent discoveries that have Mars scientists talking.

These yellow crystals were revealed after NASA’s Curiosity happened to drive over a rock and crack it open on May 30. Using an instrument on the rover’s arm, scientists later determined these crystals are elemental sulfur — and it’s the first time this kind of sulfur has been found on the Red Planet.

Curiosity Discovers a Surprise

The rover found rocks made of pure sulfur--a first.

A white instrument at the end of a robotic arm is shown above the dusty surface of Mars.

AI is Changing Mars Rover Science

Artificial Intelligence is helping scientists identify minerals.

NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter captured this single image of Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, on March 11, 2024. Besides providing an unprecedented view of the volcano, the image helps scientists study different layers of material in the atmosphere, including clouds and dust.

Odyssey Marks 100,000 orbits

The 23-year-old orbiter is taking horizon-wide views of Mars.

Mars Overview

Mars is no place for the faint-hearted. It’s dry, rocky, and bitter cold. The fourth planet from the Sun, Mars, is one of Earth's two closest planetary neighbors (Venus is the other). Mars is one of the easiest planets to spot in the night sky – it looks like a bright red point of light.

Despite being inhospitable to humans, robotic explorers – like NASA's Perseverance rover – are serving as pathfinders to eventually get humans to the surface of the Red Planet.

The six-wheeled geologist found a fascinating rock that has some indications it may have hosted microbial life billions of years ago, but further research is needed.

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JUly 25, 2024

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock

Two large rocks on the surface of Mars show have sample holes drilled in them.

Why Do We Go?

Mars is one of the most explored bodies in our solar system, and it's the only planet where we've sent rovers to explore the alien landscape. NASA missions have found lots of evidence that Mars was much wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere, billions of years ago.

Explore with Us
A composite image of Earth and Mars was created to allow viewers to gain a better understanding of the relative sizes of the two planets.
Earth-Mars Comparison: This composite image, from NASA Galileo and Mars Global Survey orbiters, of Earth and Mars was created to allow viewers to gain a better understanding of the relative sizes of the two planets.
JPL

Mars Relay Network: Interplanetary Internet

Mars Relay Network is the first link in a two-way communications bridge from Mars to Earth
NASA/JPL-Caltech/VTAD
Read More About the Interplanetary Internet

How We Explore

  • Mars Sample Return

    NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) are planning ways to bring the first samples of Mars material back to Earth for detailed study. 

  • Perseverance Selfie with Ingenuity

    Perseverance Rover (Mars 2020)

    The Mars 2020 mission Perseverance rover is the first step of a proposed roundtrip journey to return Mars samples to Earth.

  • Mars rover sitting on the red soil of mars and facing the camera for a selfie

    Mars Curiosity Rover (Mars Science Laboratory)

    Curiosity is investigating Mars to determine whether the Red Planet was ever habitable to microbial life.

  • Artist's Concept of MAVEN

    MAVEN

    The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission is the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere.

  • An illustration of a spacecraft over Mars

    Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

    Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter searches for evidence that water persisted on the surface of Mars for a long period of time.

  • A gold-colored spacecraft orbits over Mars, with a dish antenna extending from its top, a spindly boom extending from the front of it toward the viewer, and a large three-paneled solar array attached vertically to its left side. Mars appears as a dusty tan color covering the lower half of the frame, with patches of white at its top, against a black sky flecked with stars in the upper frame.

    Mars Odyssey

    Mars Odyssey mission created the first global map of chemical elements and minerals that make up the Martian surface.

Learn More About Our Robotic Explorers
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Mars Resources

View the one-stop shop for all Mars iconic images, videos, and more!

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News & Features


All Mars News & Features
Article
7 min read

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Scientists Find Intriguing Mars Rock

Article
4 min read

UPDATED: 10 Things for Mars 10

A sweeping landscape gives way to hills on the colorized horizon in this artistic Mars composite image.
5 min read

NASA’s Curiosity Rover Discovers a Surprise in a Martian Rock

Article1 week ago
6 min read

Here’s How AI Is Changing NASA’s Mars Rover Science

Article2 weeks ago
This image of Perseverance's backshell and parachute was collected by NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter during its 26th flight on April 19, 2022.
4 min read

Mapping the Red Planet with the Power of Open Science

Article4 weeks ago

Beyond the Moon

Humans to Mars

Like the Moon, Mars is a rich destination for scientific discovery and a driver of technologies that will enable humans to travel and explore far from Earth.

Mars remains our horizon goal for human exploration because it is one of the only other places we know in the solar system where life may have existed. What we learn about the Red Planet will tell us more about our Earth’s past and future, and may help answer whether life exists beyond our home planet.

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Illustration of an astronaut on Mars, using a remote control drone to inspect a nearby cliff.
Illustration of an astronaut on Mars, using a remote control drone to inspect a nearby cliff.
NASA
Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA

Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

Mars rover sitting on the red soil of mars and facing the camera for a selfie

Mars 2020: Perseverance Rover

Mars Sample Return

Mars Exploration

The bright red-orange surface of Mars as seen from space.