![(A) Sampling location at the origin of Río Tinto, Spain (modified from García-Moyano et al., 2007). (B) The iron microbialites (white arrow) grew horizontally on a northeast-facing wall. (C) -- [GSA Bulletin]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iron-microbialites.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
[GSA Bulletin] The search for life on Mars requires identifying suitable biosignatures detectable by rover missions or in returned samples. To support the progressing astrobiological exploration of Mars, we investigated […]
Analog Studies
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
Offworld Away Team Training: Cave Surveys
A phase of cave surveying in which JAXA astronaut Ayu Yoneda photographs cross-sections of the cave using the Electronic FieldBook, with the assistance of ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan and NASA […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine
Could Lake Joyce Have Acted As A Long-lived Proglacial Refugium In Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys?
[Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research] Lake Joyce of the McMurdo Dry Valleys (MDV), Antarctica, contains an endemic copepod population (Diacyclops joycei) that has not been identified from apparently suitable habitats […]
![NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s observations of what is thought to be the first ever recorded planetary engulfment event revealed a hot accretion disk surrounding the star, with an expanding cloud of cooler dust enveloping the scene. Webb also revealed that the star did not swell to swallow the planet, but the planet’s orbit actually slowly decayed over time. This illustration depicts the sequence of events that took place over millions of years, based on observations from Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) and NIRSpec (NIR-Infrared Spectrograph). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/A-Bayesian-Search.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
A Bayesian Search for Planet Engulfment Signatures in Solar Analogs
[astro-ph.EP] We present a systematic Bayesian search for chemical fingerprints of planet engulfment in 113 solar twins and analogs with high-precision abundance measurements, 45 of which host known or candidate […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Sample Return From Earth’s Deep Biosphere
[Northwestern University] By studying life deep inside a former gold mine, a Northwestern University-led team of scientists uncovered evidence that Earth’s hidden biosphere operates less like a random collection of […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
Expedition Led By MBARI Researchers Reveals A Remarkable, And Rare, Form Of Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vents
[MBARI] An international team of researchers, led by MBARI Senior Scientist Aaron Micallef and Schmidt Ocean Institute, has discovered two remarkable fields of hydrothermal vents in the Doldrums Megatransform and […]
Posted inROVs/Submersibles/Diving
Ocean Planet Expeditions: Alvin Submersible Certified To Return To Service
Editor’s note: Submersibles and oceanic exploration have a long history of intersection and collaboration. NASA Astronaut Loral O’Hara was a research engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution working with deep-ocean […]
Posted inUncategorized
Bioleaching Of Critical Trace Metals By Sphingomonas Desiccabilis: Substrate-driven Selectivity In Earth And Space Analogues
Background – Biotechnological advances are transforming the potential for sustainable resource utilization in space exploration. Biomining, using microorganisms to extract valuable metals, has emerged as a viable strategy for in […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return
Lipid Biomarkers In Microbialites From A Maar Lake: An Astrobiological Study Of Biomarker Preservation under Mars Analog Conditions
Lipids constitute resistant biomarkers that have been proposed as pacemakers in the search for possible microbial life-forms in Mars’ past.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Analog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Water Planet Recon: New AI Approach Reveals Earth’s Ocean Currents In Unprecedented Detail
Editor’s note: when our first missions – human or robotic – arrive at a new world we’ll want to do glean as much information from space – via fly by […]