Long ago, a lake on mars may have been sprawling with microbes

I found your recent article Are We Aliens? (June, p62) very interesting. I noticed it mentioned that samples from the Mars Sample Return mission would “give us further clues” about the panspermia theo

Mars is a pretty horrible place for any creature used to life on Earth. The average surface temperature is -63°C (-81°F) and doesn’t reach above freezing anywhere except right on the equator, during t

The prospect of life on Mars – Earth’s planetary next-door neighbour, an alien world that betrays tantalising hints of a watery past – has bewitched humanity for centuries. From the ‘canals’ seen by a

What makes your team’s discovery on Mars so exciting? We found large organic molecules composed of 10, 11 and 12 atoms of carbon. These long, chain-shaped molecules – called alkanes – are very fragile

What the scientists are saying… The oldest ...

A heartbeat-like pulse has been discovered beating deep beneath East Africa – and it’s ripping the continent apart. The strange thumping is caused by a rhythmic surge of molten mantle rock rising and