The Geminid meteor shower peaks Dec. 13–14, and the U.S. weather forecast will play a key role in what you'll see.
When astronauts finally set foot on Mars, they'll arrive carrying the weight of centuries of speculation about whether life exists beyond Earth. Now a new report from the National Academies has settled a fundamental question about priorities: searching for evidence of past or present Martian life should be the primary science objective for humanity's first crewed mission to the red planet, ranking above all other scientific goals including understanding the effects of Mars on human health.
