NASA's Europa Clipper is about to use Mars' gravitational pull to slingshot itself towards Jupiter's smallest moon later this week. The craft launched from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in October 2024,

The spacecraft, launched in 2024, will use gravitational assists from Mars and Earth to reach Jupiter’s moon Europa by 2030.

China’s Zhurong rover used ground-penetrating radar to find signs of beaches beneath Mars’ surface, adding evidence to the idea the planet hosted an ancient ocean.

Mars may have once had a vast, ice-free ocean, according to new evidence from China’s Zhurong rover. Using ground-penetrating radar, the rover revealed sloping, sand-like deposits underground that strongly resemble beach formations on Earth.

A new study in the journal Nature Communications reveals that Mars is red for very much the same reason it may have once been home to life — namely, that it was a wet planet. This is in line with research from last year that detailed how Mars was covered in bodies of water in its distant past.

A new study may have revealed the true source behind how the Red Planet got its hue. It’s been long thought that Mars shines red due to the rusted iron minerals within the dust that covers the planet — but a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications suggests otherwise.