Mars Simulation Chamber News Today

Through roving and drilling, Mars Curiosity Rover may be breaking up the ground's salty, hardened soils that seal methane, possibly causing a temporal, local methane spike.

The Spiders from Mars isnt just the name of David Bowies backing band in the 1970s—its the nickname given to mysterious formations on Mars that resemble creepy black arachnids. These araneiforms (Latin for spider-like) were first observed 20 years ago, but astronomers have finally determined theyre caused by carbon dioxide vapor escaping from cracks in polar ice in the spring. Researchers were able to nail down this long suspected hypothesis by recreating conditions from the surface of Mars i...