Since landing on Mars in January 2004, Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rovers, have helped scientists learn an amazing amount about the red planet. The sophisticated rovers far exceeded expectations with the geological clues they have dug up about the planet's past. In this video tour of the rover landing sites, the mission's principal science investigator, Steve Squyres, describes some ... Full description.

This is a collection of high-quality photographs of Mars, showing evidence of water. Each photo is available in multiple versions, and is accompanied by a detailed description of what it illustrates. Full description.

Onion skin of Martian crater Full description.

Mars has intrigued people for centuries, in particular because of its potential for extraterrestrial life. Today, technology has advanced to the point that scientists can actually send robots such as those used in NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission to study Mars. This video segment discusses the MER mission and why scientists are so interested in exploring the red planet. A background essay ... Full description.

This collection includes QuickTime, MPEG-1, and GIF animations and interactive images of Martian exploration and geology. These visualizations illustrate Mars' surface geology and historical and current water presence and display information from the Spirit, Opportunity, Pathfinder, and Sojourner rovers and landers. Many of the visualizations have long download times, but are well worth your patience. ... Full description.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) offers a variety of thematic slide sets. Each set is accompanied by a written description of the images, a glossary, and a list of suggested reading material. Each image features a caption explaining what is being shown. Topics include space shuttle views of the Earth, volcanic features on earth and other worlds, wind-formed features and impact craters on Mars, ... Full description.

It is not easy to get to Mars. Dozens of past missions have failed, with only a handful even attempting to land on the planet's surface. However, in January 2004, careful planning paid off when the Mars Exploration Rover mission successfully landed two rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. This video segment, adapted from a NOVA television broadcast, describes the history of Mars exploration, the many failed ... Full description.

This article examines the evidence for recent liquid water on Mars. NASA scientists believe that piles of crater-topped debris snapped by the Mars orbiter were caused by the teakettle explosion of water through volcanic lava flows at the planet's equator and are the best evidence yet for recent liquid water at the Red Planet. Researchers believe that lava flows advanced over wet ground, causing steam ... Full description.

This site holds more than twenty-five hands-on activities for teachers and students exploring the Earth, planets, geology, and space. Topics covered include the solar system, Mars, the Moon, properties of planets, volcanology, craters, folding and faulting, soils, streams, and wind. Each activity details procedures, materials, objectives, background information, and follow-up questions. Full description.

This article reports on the search for microscopic organisms on Earth and Mars. It discusses the work of Chris McKay, an astrobiologist with NASA, what we know from previous missions to Mars, the planetary similarities between Earth and Mars, and current research in the valleys of Antarctica, including the discovery of 3.5-million-year-old bacteria. The article explains how the work of McKay helps ... Full description.