If you thought the Mars One mission (a.k.a. the one-way ticket to the Red Planet in the name of reality TV) sounded oddly appealing, you were hardly alone. Newly released numbers show that the contest has already garnered almost 80,000 applications.
NASA's Mars Curiosity rover drilled into a rock and found that it contained a clay-like material. That's the news. The implication is much larger: Mars may once have had an environment hospitable to life.
That's according to the eccentric millionaire and space tourist Dennis Tito, who wants to send a man and a woman to travel around Mars and return to the Earth on a mission announced today that's aiming to take off by 2018.
The space races of yesteryear pitted international superpowers against each other. But these days, NASA's main competition in sending a man to Mars comes from a 72-year-old millionaire with a space travel hobby.
More than two-thirds of Americans think we'll land on Mars by 2033. Will we be able to pay for it?
Discovered: Global warming could cause more lava flow; humans started popping pills ages ago; babies begin acquiring language in womb; Mars astronauts would be very sleepy.
Discovered: What a never-before-seen type of rock tells us about water on Mars; forecasting the flu based on weather; atoms get colder than absolute zero; you'll change more than you think.
There are a lot of reasons to be excited about NASA's plan to send yet another rover to land on the Red Planet in 2020. But don't kid yourself. You wish it were a human heading to Mars instead.
Discovered: Alcoholic maggots learn just as well as sober ones; a new theory in athletic head injuries; city spiders getting fatter; Curiosity found something on its first trip across Mars.
Turns out, that employee from the Mars research team was just really excited about the mission — and not one specific, universe-altering discovery.
The Mars rover has another discovery that might just change everything — but they aren't telling anyone what it is yet. Thanksgiving nerd speculation, of course, is go for launch.
Discovered: Curiosity dispels theory of Martian methane; the flu could presage diabetes; political opinions can't outlive three questions; archaeologist says he's found Europe's oldest town.
You know how smug tourists like to talk about how climbing volcanoes in Hawaii is out of this world? Turns out they're sort of right.
Discovered: Smoking bans get heart health results; boys lean more than girls; music illiterates don't get emotion either; Curiosity verifies volcanic soil on Mars.
Discovered: Martian rock has cousins on Earth; history of rejection brings increased attention to research; X-raying illuminated manuscripts; upsetting news affects men and women differently.
Discovered: There's an app for keeping tabs on the spread of malaria; strange extracts from a Martian meteorite; tomatoes reduce stroke risk; stem cells fight deadly brain condition.
America's favorite $2.5 billion interplanetary science project stopped in its tracks recently when it discovered a strange, bright, shiny object nestled in the Martian soil.
Discovered: Caltech tops research university ranking again; coffee's connection to glaucoma; Curiosity scoops Martian sand; methadone reduces needle transmission of HIV.
Mapping the planets of our solar system is usually best left to NASA, but don't tell that to Foursquare or Google. The two tech companies both have extra planets mapped.
Every day The Atlantic Wire highlights the video clips that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention.
Discovered: Evidence ancient Mars was dry; short kids depress moms; swine flu mutation; creating artificial memories in rat brain tissue is still a long way off from Total Recall.
The Curiosity rover was finally able to remove its dust cover so it could produce the best quality image we've seen so far of the landscape on Mars.
Landing on Mars isn't cool. You know what's cool? Landing on Mars in HD.
NASA was pleased to learn yesterday that the rover they spent considerable time and expense to drop on a completely different planet can, in fact, rove.
Discovered: A gene that makes teens easily persuadable; the evolution of fireflies; NASA announces new Mars mission; the Mayans may have brought on their own demise.
The Curiosity rover's Twitter account can be a little strange. This week she was girl-talking with Britney Spears and talking space travel with Nancy Sinatra. So, we have to ask, who makes the better friend for Curiosity?
The Internet culture-friendly engineers and scientists at the Mars Curiosity Rover Mission took to Reddit today to do an AMA, or "ask me anything." Here are five things we learned.
The Curiosity rover has barely settled into its new home, but may be getting some company soon as India now says it wants to get into the Mars exploration business.
Discovered: Mars exhibits signs of plate tectonics; the natural form of a recently developed substance came from space; bacteria makes drinking water healthier; circuits at your fingertips.
The Curiosity rover has been snapping more pictures since arriving on Mars than a hipster at Lollapalooza, and this is its latest Instagram-worthy hit.
NASA's 'Curiosity' Mars rover landed on the red planet Monday, and because pretty much everything is political until November, at least a few of President Obama's detractors have turned it into the least convincing rebuttal to his "You didn't build that" speech ever.
The biggest machine we've ever sent to Mars will spend the next two years trying to prove that life once existed on the red planet.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
Discovered: Maybe, possibly, evidence of life on Mars, spray-on batteries, an extra second of time this weekend, and Britain cleaned up its city rivers.
Discovered: Mars has tons of water, space's new planets are too close for comfort, elephant seals make good scientists, and fructose (sugar!) could be healthy, after all.
Discovered: OB-GYNs aren't talking about sex enough, living alone is depressing, C-sections are too expensive, and there's a new type of land mass in town.
After a long day spent staring at Twitter, we're sharing our favorite tweets that made no sense.
Discovered: Mars's ocean, it's OK to eat cake for breakfast, giving the middle finger is harder than it looks.
We here at The Atlantic Wire were kind of eagerly anticipating learning where that falling Russian space probe would crash-land this week... only to be massively disappointed that the Russian space agency Roscosmos lost track of where it landed.
Discovered: A red-wine research fraud, the world's smallest frog, what makes alcohol addictive, the Internet's mind-altering properties, a new Mars-like planet.
Five decades after the start of the race to the Moon between Russia and the U.S. -- and five months after the American shuttle program was mothballed -- a Russian probe meant to go to Mars will crash land on Earth -- meaning America still has the edge in the Space Race.
In advance of tomorrow's planned launch, a look at what you need to know about NASA's most ambitious Mars project to date.
After a day of staring at Twitter, we're sharing our favorite tweets that made no sense.
NASA has detected "dark, finger-like" streaks that change with the seasons
The intriguing announcement comes just 24-hours after the final shuttle landing
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