Recent scientific studies suggest a shift in the perception of Mars, commonly considered a barren and waterless planet. The new findings indicate that this may be far from the truth and instead, Mars may have once been home to massive oceans.

On the Red Planet, aurorae glow green because the charged particles collide with oxygen atoms high above Mars. They may be bright enough that astronauts on Mars could spot them with their naked eye. Here on Earth, it’s usually helpful to have a telescope or even a phone camera filter to really see the aurora.

We'll likely need to get Perseverance's samples to Earth to determine if they do indeed harbor evidence of Mars life —but the prospects of such a mission are cloudy at best.

Minerals in the rock might have been produced by microbes in chemical reactions, but researchers say they’ll need to examine the sample more closely to know for sure

Mars’ Jezero Crater holds signs of ancient water and strange mineral reactions, some linked with organic compounds. With Perseverance’s samples and AI-refined mineral maps, scientists are closing in on whether Mars once had the chemistry needed for life.

Mars is known for its barren desert landscape and dry climate. But two recent studies in the journals Nature and Science go beneath the surface, exploring the interior of the red planet using seismic data from NASA’s InSight mission.

NASA's Perseverance robot spotted the intriguing rock on Aug. 31 and stopped to snap a photograph. The post Life on Mars? Turtle-shaped rocked spotted on the Red Planet appeared first on Talker.