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At least someone's big summer trip isn't cancelled—NASA is sending another rover to Mars! 

The Mars 2020 rover is scheduled to launch this summer, and today is a milestone in the mission: the Mars 2020 rover has finally gotten a name.

AirSpace listeners know that no space mission is complete without a cool name, and there’s no “higher” recognition than having a space probe named in your honor (see what we did there?). 

The InSight lander, designed to study the interior of Mars, is the latest in a history of NASA lander and rover missions that goes back to the 1970s.

Have you heard? NASA’s InSight lander is set to touchdown on Mars next Monday, November 26. So, grab your popcorn and leftover turkey and get ready to witness the latest Martian robot land on the Red Planet.

The Viking 1 lander, which launched on a 10-month journey to Mars in August of 1975, paved the way for the future of scientific inquiry in space. Here's a closer look at how the lander worked. 

Did we just find life on Mars? No. But NASA did announce two exciting new discoveries on the Red Planet—just before a Martian dust storm engulfed the planet. 

When NASA’s Curiosity rover uses its robotic arm to snap a selfie on the surface of Mars, how does that picture get back to Earth? It’s thanks to programmers like Melody Ho.

If you’re going to Mars, which do you bring: water or a shovel? The question may sound a little tongue-in-cheek, but it actually goes right to the heart of a critical need for future human exploration of Mars – accessible water. Learn how the MARSIS instrument is helping answer this question. 

When John Grant was only 16, the Viking landers were sent to Mars. Today, Grant  helps lead the operation groups controlling two Mars rovers,  Opportunity and Curiosity, as a geologist at the National Air and Space Museum’s Center for Earth and Planetary Studies. Recent data collected by Curiosity and published in Science describes an ancient lake environment located at Gale Crater—an environment Grant, a coauthor of the article, believes holds further clues to whether there was ever life on the Red Planet.