Category: Planets and exoplanets

Six candidates spent eight months away from civilisation on the side of the dormant Mauna Kea volcano. Astrobiologist Samuel Payler was one of the six chosen, find out more about his ‘Red Planet experience’.

Age Range: 13 years +
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Interviewer: Lee Cavendish

This 5-page feature from All About Space magazine is an interview with Samuel Payler, a doctoral candidate at the UK Centre for Astrobiology, University of Edinburgh. In this interview with Lee Cavendish, Samuel fondly recalls his experience as one of the six members of HI-SEAS V, the team which took part in a Mars simulation.

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Could we all be Martians? We put the theory that life on Earth is of extraterrestrial origin under the microscope.

Age Range: 15 years +
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Author: Jonathan O’Callaghan

This 9-page feature from All About Space magazine challenges the classical theory of life’s origin on Earth, introducing Mars as a worthy contender. The article presents the theories of how the Red Planet once looked, before debating the key reasons life could have originated there, or here on Earth.

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Billions of years ago, Mars had a thick atmosphere. So what happened to it? The MAVEN mission’s top brass explains how they found out where it went and why.

Age Range: 15 years +
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Author: Ben Briggs

This 6-page feature from All About Space magazine explores what Mars is really like, and the mystery of its changing atmosphere. The article introduces the MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN), the probe which has helped scientists discover more about Mars’ history and present, and clarify what happened to the planet’s atmosphere.

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The Mars Science Laboratory is the greatest mission to ever explore another world. It probes the Red Planet’s ferocious past, uncovers its mysterious present and, through the search for life, it may be a precursor to future manned missions

Age Range: 15 years +
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Author: Jonathan O’Callaghan

This 13-page feature from All About Space magazine is all about exploring Mars. The article starts by summarises some of the most ambitious robotic missions to date. Then, it covers the history of the robotic missions to the Red Planet, and details how the Mars Scientific Laboratory (MSL) is currently working towards uncovering the greatest unanswered questions about Mars.

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Mars is a fascinating place to explore due to its amazing geology and potential for ancient life. If you’re headed there any time soon, don’t forget this explorer’s guide!

Age Range: 10 years +
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This 5-page feature from All About Space magazine is an explorers guide to Mars. It considers everything an explorer would need to know: How far away is Mars, and how might you get there? What are the top sights to see on Mars and what are the key facts and figures you might need to know?

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With private space enterprises and NASA planning manned missions to Mars in the coming years, All About Space discovers how the world’s leading space explorers will take the first humans to the Red Planet.

Age Range: 14 years +
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Author: Gemma Lavender

This 11-page feature from All About Space magazine explores both the past and the future of Mars exploration. After the history of our exploration of the Red Planet is laid out, the article turns to the reasons for the race to carry out manned-missions to Mars, and the leading candidates who might achieve it.

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In August 2012, the most ambitious robotic vehicle ever devised to date landed on Mars on a mission to probe the Red Planet for signs of past and present habitability. We spoke to the team’s deputy project scientist one year after about Curiosity’s accomplishments at that point, and what they hoped it would be doing in the years that followed.

Age Range: 14 years +
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Author: Jonathan O’Callaghan

This 7-page feature from All About Space magazine gives an insight into the first year that Curiosity spent on Mars. Diagrams and full colour images detail it’s progress against the mission objectives, and the key instruments it required to accomplish them.

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The fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest, the red and varied landscape of this once Earth-like planet has fascinated humanity since we first viewed it in the night sky. All About Space explores just why this planet holds such allure.

Age Range: 14 years +
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Author: Shanna Freeman

This 13-page feature from All About Space magazine goes in-depth into the features of Mars. With full colour images, this article details the structure, atmosphere and geographical features of Mars – and much more!

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It is over 50 years since the first spacecraft flew past Mars and, in that time, we
have learnt a huge amount about our mysterious red neighbour

Age Range: 14 years +
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Author: Laura Mears

This 13-page feature from All About Space magazine explores 25 Amazing Discoveries on Mars including it’s ancient waterways and the many dangers of exploration.

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Designed to last 90 days, Opportunity survived for over a decade on Mars. Here
we look back on how the record-breaking rover changed the way we see the Red Planet.

Age Range: 14 years +
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This 9-page feature from All About Space magazine explores the objectives and explorations of Opportunity through the 5353 Sols it spent on Mars.

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