Recently in the Analog Studies Category

Results of multiple and complementary lab analyses of minerals found in samples of material from Antarctica could give scientists a better understanding of the surface and subsurface environment of Mars, and indicate locations of potentially habitable subsurface locations, says a new paper by Planetary Science Institute Research Scientist Elizabeth C. Sklute.

The Atacama Desert has long been established as an excellent site for submillimeter observations. Yet identifying potentially optimal locations for a new facility within this region can require long field campaigns that rely on the construction of weather stations and radiometer facilities to take data over sufficiently long timescales.

If we find life on the Red Planet, we'll have astrobiologists like Dr. Kennda Lynch to thank.

The Special Collection of papers in this issue of Astrobiology provide an overview of the characteristics and potential for future exploration of the Ojos del Salado volcano, located in the Andes Mountains in front of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile.

More than half of the planet's fresh water is in Antarctica. While most of it is frozen in the ice sheets, underneath the ice pools and streams of water flow into one another and into the Southern Ocean surrounding the continent.

A scene that first played out on the Moon in 1972 happened again, years later, in Hawaii. While exploring the lunar surface, Apollo 17 astronaut and geologist Harrison Schmitt spotted some bright orange soil - an important clue about the Moon's volcanic history. You can hear the excitement in his voice in recordings, but mission control in Houston couldn't see what was so remarkable in the video beamed back to Earth.

One of the great attractions of the island of Santorini, in Greece, lies in its spectacular volcanic landscape, which also contains places similar to those of Mars. A team of European and U.S. scientists has discovered it after analysing basaltic rocks collected in one of its coves.

Researchers from the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) have helped discover the first subglacial lakes ever found in the Canadian High Arctic.

Dale Andersen sent this via inReach on December 6, 2017 2:47:47 AM EST "Heading back to Novo in an hour nice sunny day. I'm starting my traverse, follow along at my MapShare! https://share.garmin.com/DaleAndersen " Dale sent this message from: Lat -71.332995 Lon 13.45293.

Received via Iridium 29 November 2017 4:30:03 PM EST: "Hi Keith The earlier weather forecasts were spot on and we have had blowing snow and high winds most of the day forcing us to retreat into our various tents for the day."