It's our neighbor most likely to support (or to have once supported) life. We learn more every day from the many machines (the two Rovers and Phoenix) we have sent to explore it. And we are now planning (in the distant future) for a manned flight to Mars.http://www.newser.com/2008 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorThu, 20 Nov 2008 1:55:55 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/42277/mars-lander-falls-silent.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Martian autumn has cut power to NASA’s Phoenix Mars Lander, ending its mission of scientific discovery, NASA reports. As anticipated, shorter days and increasingly overcast skies are preventing sufficient solar energy from reaching the lander’s power cells. It has already collected data for 2 months longer than its originally planned 90-day mission, yielding information crucial to understanding Mars’ environment.http://www.newser.com/story/42277/mars-lander-falls-silent.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 10 Nov 2008 15:40:13 CSThttp://www.newser.com/story/36187/mission-accomplished-on-mars.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTime's almost up for NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander: With its 90-day mission complete, the $480 million project will continue testing soil samples until the punishing winter puts it out of commission. Wired recaps Phoenix triumphs with an interactive timeline, from its flawless landing at Mars' north pole to its groundbreaking analysis of Martian ice and water.http://www.newser.com/story/36187/mission-accomplished-on-mars.html?refid=rss_all_defaultFri, 29 Aug 2008 17:02:44 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/34156/mars-toxin-dims-hopes-for-red-planet-life.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Phoenix lander has found a toxin in Mars soil that considerably decreases the odds of finding Martian life, Science.com reports. The chemical, perchlorate, is a harsh oxidizing agent often used in solid rocket fuel, so researchers are double checking to ensure it wasn’t carried from Earth. The results are especially surprising because Sunday’s tests revealed no sign of perchlorate.http://www.newser.com/story/34156/mars-toxin-dims-hopes-for-red-planet-life.html?refid=rss_all_defaultTue, 05 Aug 2008 6:22:34 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33999/nasa-briefs-white-house-on-possible-martian-life.html?refid=rss_all_defaultNASA has briefed the White House on its plan to announce a new finding on the "potential for life" on Mars, Aviation Week reports. NASA has no evidence that the red planet has harbored life, but new Phoenix lander discoveries suggest it is possible—a finding that Phoenix officials call far more “provocative” than the mere presence of water.http://www.newser.com/story/33999/nasa-briefs-white-house-on-possible-martian-life.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 02 Aug 2008 13:27:56 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33890/nasa-lander-confirms-water-on-mars.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe Phoenix spacecraft has tasted Martian water for the first time. By melting icy soil in one of its lab instruments, the robot confirmed the presence of frozen water lurking below the Martian permafrost. Until now, evidence of ice in Mars' north pole region has been largely circumstantial. Scientists popped open champagne today when they received confirmation.http://www.newser.com/story/33890/nasa-lander-confirms-water-on-mars.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 31 Jul 2008 20:22:50 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/33519/sticky-soil-foils-mars-work.html?refid=rss_all_defaultNASA is revising its soil-harvesting method because the Phoenix Mars lander is having trouble with its icy finds, Space.com reports. The lander’s attempts to analyze the soil have been troubled because the soil is sticking to its scoop, stubbornly refusing to fall into the tiny oven designed to melt and study it. Next time, the scoop will dig less and vibrate more. NASA is studying the soil to see whether it could have ever supported life.http://www.newser.com/story/33519/sticky-soil-foils-mars-work.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 28 Jul 2008 8:25:24 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/32378/scientists-hatch-round-trip-mission-to-mars.html?refid=rss_all_defaultBefore scientists can put a man on Mars, they first need to figure out how to get a mission back to Earth, reports the Guardian. An international team is doing just that—developing an $8 billion mission to travel to Mars and return with rock samples and possibly microscopic life. The trip would launch between 2018 and 2023 and would require the expertise and financial backing of NASA, the European Space Agency, and other space programs.http://www.newser.com/story/32378/scientists-hatch-round-trip-mission-to-mars.html?refid=rss_all_defaultMon, 14 Jul 2008 8:22:14 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/31027/you-might-be-able-to-grow-asparagus-on-mars.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSamples of Martian soil analyzed by instruments onboard the Phoenix lander have earth-bound scientists “flabbergasted.” Why? Readings indicate that the extraterrestrial loam could, perhaps has, and possibly will, support life, Reuters reports. Along with ice the lander discovered earlier, “We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life,” a scientist said.http://www.newser.com/story/31027/you-might-be-able-to-grow-asparagus-on-mars.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThu, 26 Jun 2008 16:09:42 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/102285/huge-meteor-strike-explains-marss-shape-reports-say.html?refid=rss_all_defaultThe lopsided shape of Mars may well be a result of a cataclysmic impact of a Pluto-size meteor billions of years ago, three teams of scientists are reporting. That would suggest that the lowlands of Mars’s northern hemisphere are a single gigantic impact crater, the largest crater in the solar system.http://www.newser.com/story/102285/huge-meteor-strike-explains-marss-shape-reports-say.html?refid=rss_all_defaultSat, 28 Jun 2008 7:08:52 CDT