Astrogeology
BioAsteroid Payload On Orbit 
Inside one of the containers of this 40-cm-across miniature laboratory in orbit, a battle is set to start between asteroid-like fragments and rock-hungry microbes, to probe their use for space mining in the future.
Astrochemistry
Sulfur Ice Astrochemistry: A Review of Laboratory Studies
Sulfur is the tenth most abundant element in the universe and is known to play a significant role in biological systems. Accordingly, in recent years there has been increased interest in the role of sulfur in astrochemical reactions and planetary geology and geochemistry.
Astrochemistry
Constraining Chemical Networks In Astrochemistry
Databases of gas and surface chemical reactions are a key tool for scientists working in a wide range of physical sciences. In Astrochemistry, databases of chemical reactions are used as inputs to chemical models to determine the abundances of the interstellar medium.
Astrogeology
New study of Earth's Crust Shows Global Growth Spurt Three Billion Years Ago
Curtin University researchers have used ancient crystals from eroded rocks found in stream sediments in Greenland to successfully test the theory that portions of Earth's ancient crust acted as 'seeds' from which later generations of crust grew.
Geobiology
Non-classical Photosynthesis By Earth's Inorganic Semiconducting Minerals
Photosynthesis, the process by which plants and other organisms convert sunlight into chemical energy, has been a major player during the evolution of life and our planet's atmosphere.
Extrasolar Planets
Characterizing Atmospheres of Transiting Earth-like Exoplanets Orbiting M Dwarfs with James Webb Space Telescope
A number of transiting, potentially habitable Earth-sized exoplanets have recently been detected around several nearby M dwarf stars. These worlds represent important targets for atmospheric characterization for the upcoming NASA James Webb Space Telescope.
SETI
The Copernican Principle Rules Out BLC1 as a Technological Radio Signal from the Alpha Centauri System
Without evidence for occupying a special time or location, we should not assume that we inhabit privileged circumstances in the Universe. As a result, within the context of all Earth-like planets orbiting Sun-like stars, the origin of a technological civilization on Earth should be considered a single outcome of a random process.
Astrochemistry
Discovery Of The Acetyl Cation, CH3CO+, In Space And In The Laboratory
Using the Yebes 40m and IRAM 30m radiotelescopes, we detected two series of harmonically related lines in space that can be fitted to a symmetric rotor. The lines have been seen towards the cold dense cores TMC-1, L483, L1527, and L1544.
Habitable Zones & Global Climate
Persistence of Flare-Driven Atmospheric Chemistry on Rocky Habitable Zone Worlds
Low-mass stars show evidence of vigorous magnetic activity in the form of large flares and coronal mass ejections. Such space weather events may have important ramifications for the habitability and observational fingerprints of exoplanetary atmospheres.
Habitable Zones & Global Climate
Super-Earths, M Dwarfs, And Photosynthetic Organisms: Habitability In The Lab
In a few years, space telescopes will investigate our Galaxy to detect evidence of life, mainly by observing rocky planets. In the last decade, the observation of exoplanet atmospheres and the theoretical works on biosignature gasses have experienced a considerable acceleration.
Extrasolar Planets
Searching for Small Circumbinary Planets I. The STANLEY Automated Algorithm and No New Planets in Existing Systems
No circumbinary planets have been discovered smaller than 3 Earth radii, yet planets of this small size comprise over 75% of the discoveries around single stars.
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- 18 Jan: 2021 AIAA SciTech Forum
- 18 Jan: AIAA: A Tribute to Service: Community, Country, and Humanity,
- 19 Jan: NFOLD Workshop Announcement: The Life Detection Knowledge Base
- 20 Jan: Lunar Surface Science Workshop: Space Biology Session
- 20 Jan: Lunar Surface Science Workshop: Space Biology Session
- 21 Jan: Planetary Science Division Virtual Townhall Meeting - NoDD And Other Topics
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