To date, the overwhelming majority of astronauts have been men, with Russia as an example only recently sending a woman to space after an absence of female cosmonauts for several decades.  But the first manned mission to Mars should be all women, a science writer who took part in a simulated

Six people have sealed themselves inside a white vinyl dome in Hawaii to embark on an eight-month test of how their mental health might fare during a mission to Mars.   The NASA-funded project, the longest US Mars simulation yet, involves three men and three women who have no access to fresh food

 The heavens are hosting an event this weekend that occurs once in a million years or so.   A comet as hefty as a small mountain will pass mind-bogglingly close to Mars on Sunday, approaching within 87,000 miles at a speed of 126,000 mph. NASA's five robotic explorers at Mars — three orbiters and

On 19 October, the comet Siding Spring will sideswipe Mars in a near miss that will be on display for five orbiting spacecraft, including two that just arrived last month. After cowering from high-speed dust in the comet's tail, the spacecraft will examine the comet and watch as its diffuse

  There have been rocks that look like traffic lights, and even a perfectly rounded stone discovered on the surface of Mars.  But the latest bizarre formation appears to show a rock in the shape of a cannon.  Nasa has been beaming photos from the red planet since its Curiosity rover landed in