[Science Direct] The Rocket Lab Mission to Venus (RLMV) will carry a single primary instrument, the Autofluorescence Nephelometer (AFN), to interpret atmospheric particle properties from light-scattering measurements. This process is […]
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) 🖖🏻
![Scan of the density µ (order parameter), with constant resource abundance r as control parameter. Standard deviation around the mean (coloured area) over independent simulations for a given volume |Ω|. Edges of growth and droplet stability (dotted and dashed lines). Scale ratio λ = 3, initial state with 2 seeds, cutoff time tmax = 5000. -- [physics.bio-ph]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Continuous-Game.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Continuous Game of Life: Cell Emergence And Self-organization At The Edge Of Growth
[physics.bio-ph] Conway’s Game of Life shows that simple rules can generate a rich diversity of emerging structures. This cellular automaton has been translated to continuous space by Rafler (2011) in […]
Posted inCareer Opportunities
How Does Someone Become An Astrobiologist?
Editor’s note (Keith Cowing): I get a lot of inquiries asking where someone can get a degree in Astrobiology. There are many places to do that around the world. I […]
Posted inNASA Astrobiology Program
Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) 2026
The Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) is an annual, student-led conference to highlight and promote the scientific research of early career astrobiologists. Attendees of this conference are graduate students and post-doctoral […]
Posted inUncategorized
NASA Viking Mission: A Perspective of the Labeled Release Biological Experiment on Mars
[Astrobiology (Journal)] The NASA Viking mission successfully landed three separate biological experiments on Mars in 1976 with a goal to detect microbial processes or materials in samples of the planet’s […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids
Gelato: A Mission Concept for Comet Surface Sample Return
[The Planetary Science Journal] Understanding the role of comets in solar system formation and evolution has continued to be a driving question in planetary science. It is believed that comets […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology
Offworld Biotechnology: Brain Organoid Research
[NASA]. A preflight image of a brain organoid immunostained for different neural-specific markers.
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Liquid–liquid Phase Separation As A Driver Of Abiogenesis And Evolution
[Academia Molecular Biology and Genomics] The origin of life may have emerged through physical mechanisms that enable molecular organization and self-assembly.
Posted inConferences and Meetings
2026 LIFE NASA RCN Seminar Series
Time: August 11th, 9 AM PDT/12 PM EDT
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Flavin Cycling Under Prebiotic Conditions: Bidirectional Electron Transfer And Versatility In Nickel and Iron Containing Environments
[biorxiv.org] Flavins are organic redox cofactors central to metabolism and uniquely capable of acting as extracellular electron shuttles. For life to have emerged, it must have disengaged itself from its […]