They're not actual spiders, of course, but rather strange geological features.

On Wednesday, Sotheby’s will auction off a chunk of rock believed to have originated on Mars for an anticipated two to four million dollars – a steal relative to the $28 million you would have dropped to experience a few fleeting minutes of zero gravity with Katy Perry.

As it flew by Mars, the spacecraft's onboard camera snapped 22 pictures of the planet's surface, sending them back home to Earth – the first-ever close-up photos of Mars obtained by humans, and the very first photos of another planet obtained from a position in deep space.

Mariner 4, built by JPL in Pasadena, took the images on July 14, 1965. One of the mission's leaders reflects on decades of studying the Red Planet.

Mars has long been a symbol of humanity’s curiosity and ambition. Once the backdrop for science fiction tales, it’s now the focus of real-world plans for exploration, colonization, and survival. But as the race to Mars intensifies,

NASA's Opportunity Rover Sends Ominous Photo Marking the End of 15 Years of Exploration on Mars The universe has always drawn humanity towards it, and throughout the centuries, humans have looked up to the stars for answers,

Sixty years ago today, NASA’s Mariner 4 spacecraft took the first up-close images of Mars, changing humanity's understanding of the Red Planet. The spacecraft was designed and built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Your blood is also red because of a mixture of iron and oxygen in a molecule called hemoglobin. So in a way, the ancient connection between the planet Mars and blood wasn’t completely wrong. Rust, which is a common form of iron oxide found here on Earth, also often has a reddish color.

Mars may soon welcome explorers seeking ice deposits crucial for human survival. Recent findings suggest significant ice reserves lie close to the surface, especially in areas between Arcadia and Amazonis Planitiae.

Dark “slope streaks,” likely resulting from dust avalanches, stretch across an area of Mars called Acheron Fossae in this image from the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.