The three smaller water bodies join a previously discovered lake buried beneath ice at the red planet’s south pole.

As the afternoon breezes blow harder in the Atacama Desert—a place so desolate it’s used as a model of Mars—more microbes move into its driest regions.

Astrobiologist Armando Azua-Bustos draws parallels between the Red Planet and the Atacama Desert in Chile.

Identifying microbes from Earth that can survive on spacecraft may help scientists eliminate them from future space missions and from searches for extraterrestrial life.

Researchers confirm that chemicals present in the dust of the Red Planet are highly toxic to bacteria.

NASA researchers have discovered ancient microbes locked inside minerals, suggesting a possible niche for interstellar life.

September 2015's selection of notable quotes

May 2015's selection of notable quotes

Mounting and drilling a comet, mind-controlled gene expression, and dissecting cat genomes