Year in Review Space

These discoveries in 2024 could be groundbreaking — if they’re true

These 7 findings could be game-changing but need more study

on rugged, reddish-brown terrain under a pinkish sky, a shiny metal rover stands beside a smaller drone-sized helicopter

NASA’s robotic explorer, the Perseverance rover, took this selfie on Mars in April 2021. In the background stands its robotic helicopter sidekick, Ingenuity.

NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

By Maria Temming

In 2024, researchers turned up possible evidence of ancient life on Mars, hints that Alzheimer’s disease can spread from person-to-person and a slew of other scientific findings that could be a big deal — if they’re the real deal.

Martian microbes, maybe

Alien microbes