Geography of Mars

Nasa has released a stunning image from Mars showing an area covered by a sea of "blue" sand dunes.

The picture shows the sand dunes covering the planet's northern polar cap, where temperatures can reach as low as -150C (-238F).

Nasa says the sand dunes actually cover an area the size of Texas, the second largest US state, which has an area of about 695,662 km²

After seven months of travel, NASA's rover Perseverance is preparing to land on Mars on Thursday, which will be the start of a years-long search for evidence of ancient microbiological life on the Red Planet.

The Mars 2020 mission, launched in late July from Florida, includes the largest vehicle ever sent there.

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NASA's Mars-orbiting Maven spacecraft has discovered that the sun likely robbed the red planet of its once-thick atmosphere and water.
     

Briny water flows during the summer months on Mars, raising the possibility that the planet long thought to be arid could support life today, scientists analyzing data from a NASA spacecraft said Sept. 28.

New findings from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water is flowing intermittently on Mars, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) revealed on Monday.

India?s famously frugal Mars mission has been extended by around six months thanks to a surplus of fuel on board the spacecraft, the country?s space agency said March 24.

The Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft had been scheduled to wrap up its mission this month after India in September became the first Asian nation to reach the Red Planet, all on a shoe-string budget.

A British-built space probe that disappeared without trace more than a decade ago has been spotted on the surface of Mars, the UK Space Agency said on Jan. 16.
      
The Beagle 2 lander was found partially deployed with one of its parachutes still attached in images taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).