NASA has selected several mission proposals for future missions to Mars. They include missions where NASA is the primary driver, as well as participation by NASA on the ESA's ExoMars project.
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission, or MAVEN: The mission would provide first-of-its-kind measurements and address key questions about Mars climate and habitability and improve understanding of dynamic processes in the upper Martian atmosphere and ionosphere. The principal investigator is Bruce Jakosky, University of Colorado, Boulder. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., will provide project management.The Great Escape mission: The mission would directly determine the basic processes in Martian atmospheric evolution by measuring the structure and dynamics of the upper atmosphere. In addition, potentially biogenic atmospheric constituents such as methane would be measured. The principal investigator is Alan Stern, Southwest Research Institute, Boulder, Colorado. Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, will provide project management.
And several others.
Did the Viking landers find life on Mars thirty years ago only to end up killing it with the tests used?
James C. McLane III (writing at The Space Review) ponders the question of whether or not we will contaminate Mars as we explore.
So, was Earth ever invaded by Mars? Maybe not in the sense of the tripods of H.G. Wells, but some scientists are looking at the possibility of invasions on a smaller scale.
Jeff Foust (writing at The Space Review) looks at Kathy Sawyer's recent book on ALH84001 + 10, one of the most (in)famous rocks.
So, did the Viking landers actually discover life on Mars, or not? New studies question the "negative" results.
Some new studies suggest that life is possible on Mars, despite the harsh conditions there.
The debate over whether or not the methane detected on Mars is a sign of life continues. Some interesting theories (pro and con) are outlined in this article. I guess the only way we'll settle this is to go and take a direct look!
Will swarms of tennis-ball-sized robots be deployed on Mars to search for life in underground caves? We should see prototypes of this unique probe within a year or so.
Peter Ward, astrobiologist, paleontologist and co-author of Rare Earth (along with Donald Brownlee) returns with Life As We Do Not Know It. Jeff Foust (writing for The Space Review) takes a look.