New Signs of Long-Gone Life on Mars

A spectacular nail-biter of a landing was just the beginning. This was the year Mars’ rover Curiosity proved its worth by giving researchers unprecedented access to the Red Planet.

By Adam Hadhazy
Dec 9, 2013 6:31 PMNov 12, 2019 4:27 AM
curiosity-view.jpg
Curiosity looks back at the walls of Gale Crater in this colorized view.  | NASA/JPL/MSSS/Damia Bouic

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In 1976, the Viking spacecraft gave us the first clear picture of the Martian surface — and sparked hopes that the barren, toxic planet once hosted life. In 2013, the rover Curiosity found the most convincing evidence yet that the planet was once habitable, as well as clues about why life there might have died out.

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