Mars Disappoints A little over a year ago NASA was poised on the cusp of a new phase in its exploration of Mars. A new sophisticated orbiter was ready to […]
Keith Cowing
Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na’Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he/him) 🖖🏻
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
More Evidence of an Ice Covered Ocean on Europa
NASA researchers have the strongest evidence yet that one of Jupiter’s most mysterious moons hides a fermenting ocean of water underneath its icy coat. This evidence comes from magnetic readings […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars
Arctic and Antarctic Analogs for Liquid Water on Mars
In June 2000 the world got another dose of Mars hysteria similar, but more limited in amplitude, to the attention that accompanied the ALH84001 Mars meteorite announcement in 1996. The […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia
British Researchers Try to Challenge Evidence of Mars Meteorite Fossils – But Don’t Make Their Case
In 1996 the world held its breath for a moment as David McKay and Everett Gibson from NASA’s Johnson Space Center revealed evidence which they felt pointed to the distinct […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Press Release
Doubt cast on life on Mars – University of Greenwich Reproduces Chemical Structures Found In Meteorites
The complex chemical structures found in a meteorite from Mars, which scientists in 1996 hailed as possible evidence of past life on the planet, can be reproduced quite simply in […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Habitable Zones, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids
Mars May Be Even Wetter Than It Was Last Week
In less than a week, our collective understanding of the amount of water on Mars has been totally revamped. First there was the announcement that liquid water is apparently at […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Mars Once Had Salty Oceans – Just Like Earth
On the same day that NASA was announcing the apparent presence of liquid water near the surface of Mars, another research team announced that Mars once had salty oceans like […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
New Images Suggest Present-Day Sources of Liquid Water on Mars
In what could turn out to be a landmark discovery in the history of Mars exploration, imaging scientists using data from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft have recently observed features […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware
Mars, Like Earth, is not a Simple Planet to Understand
(Editor’s note: originally published on NASAWatch.com) Today, a group of scientists sat before the world on TV and said “I don’t know”; “I am confused”; and “I laid awake at […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
“What The Hell Is Astrobiology?” Asks The Secret Service
Day One at the Astrobiology Science Conference Last Sunday evening, President Clinton’s airplane landed at Moffett Field adjacent to NASA’s Ames Research Center. This is a standard procedure each time […]