In August 2012, the Mars Science Laboratory’s rover Curiosity landed at the base of Gale crater, a 5-kilometer-high mountain that formed when a meteor hit Mars billions of years ago. Using its 2-meter-long arm to drill into the planet’s surface, Curiosity scooped up and analyzed rock and soil samples, including some light-colored, crystal-studded rocks surprisingly similar to the ancient granitic rock that forms much of Earth’s continental crust.

Scientists say they have found a large helium gas field in Tanzania, amid concerns global supplies are running out.

The early Earth was mixed with a baby planet called Theia following a head on collision 4.5 billion years ago, scientists have found. By Sarah Knapton.

Looking back through the eons at a revolution that shaped Earth’s history. By Marcia Bjornerud.

The discovery of helium leaking from the Earth from oil wells along a fault in Southern California reveals that the Newport-Inglewood fault is deeper and more complicated than previously believed.