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The Red Planet is in the news again this week: it appears that the planet which is in line for a bashing next year from Comet Siding Spring could once have supported life, as there is ice in the Martian soil. Does it support life now? There’s no evidence of natural life there, and the lack of free methane in the atmosphere suggests that not even bacteria live on Mars now. But generally dismissed and debunked features such as the Mars Face remain as a testament to the planet’s mysteries. For example, the photo accompanying this story was debunked as a ‘tiny rock’ on BadAstronomy.com and false stories that it had been ‘photoshopped,’ such as the one linked here, were widely circulated.read more

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When NASA’s Curiosity Rover first dug into the Martian desert, it found clays that could only have been formed by fresh water. This meant that, around three billion years ago, Mars was a watery planet. But did it support life? On the first anniversary of its landing, halfway through its primary mission, Curiosity is headed to the foothills of Mount Sharp, an 18,000-foot mountain whose rocks could provide clues to a time on Mars when life could have thrived. But because Curiosity is driving at a careful pace–about a hundred yards a day–the journey will take eight or nine months to complete.
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It may kick up enough red dust to set back planned missions to Mars by several years.

On the Space.com website, Mike Wall reports that a newfound comet will give Mars a close shave next year, and there’s a slim chance that it could actually hit the Red Planet.

According to NASA, Comet 2013 A1 (Siding Spring) will come within about 31,000 miles of Mars in October 2014–However, the trajectory of the comet is still not known well enough to rule out a dramatic comet collision with Mars, though that could change.
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