Earthlings have tried 40 times to fly by, land on or orbit the red planet. Have only gathered any data 16 times.

U.S. engineers have been figuring out what it will take to get out of Earth orbit to Mars

The hair-raising 7-min. descent and high-precision landing of NASA's Curiosity rover on the surface of Mars last week (p. 24) provided a much-needed reinvigoration to a space agency that is struggling to stay relevant after last year's retirement of the space shuttle fleet.

Small satellites could provide high visibility of the enemy

It was hardly surprising when it was announced that Chris Kubasik would succeed Robert J. Stevens as CEO

Lawmakers question USAF 's efforts to foster competition in the launch market

Rover development led to capabilities that can be applied elsewhere.

Limits on plutonium and human radiation tolerance will hamper exploration