![Schematic of the coupled interior-atmosphere evolutionary framework PROTEUS, showing the links between interior, surface, atmosphere, and stellar modules. Core components include SPIDER (mantle dynamics), CALLIOPE (surface in-/outgassing), AGNI/JANUS (radiativeand prescribed-convective atmospheres), ZEPHYRUS (atmospheric escape), and MORS (XUV stellar evolution). Modules exchange energy fluxes at each planetary interfaces—including core cooling, volatile outgassing, heat transport, heat loss to space, escape and stellar irradiation—while C–H–O–N–S volatiles are tracked throughout the mantle and atmosphere. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Atmospheric-evolution.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] The earliest rocky planet atmospheres are shaped by competition between initial volatile inventories and atmospheric escape. On young magma ocean planets, outgassing competes with atmospheric escape, controlling volatile retention […]
Astrogeology
![Planet growth and migration tracks for the formation of WASP-19 b starting from different initial orbital locations. Solid parts of the tracks indicate the pebble-accretion phase before the planet reached pebble isolation mass, while dotted parts indicate the subsequent gas-accretion phase. Different symbols indicate different disc viscosities (α = 10−3 , 5 × 10−4 , and 10−4 ). The colour of each track represents the resulting atmospheric C/O ratio of the planet. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/The-majority.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
The Majority Of Hot Jupiters Formed Beyond The Water Ice Line
[astro-ph.EP] Atmospheric compositions of giant exoplanets can retain information about their formation environments, as volatile species condense at different temperatures in protoplanetary discs.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Sulfur Photochemistry Observationally Traces Mantle Redox States Of Rocky Planets
[astro-ph.EP] Volatile outgassing from planetary interiors controls the composition of rocky exoplanets’ secondary atmospheres. However, observations indicate that disequilibrium processes, such as photochemistry and vertical transport, can strongly alter the […]
Posted inIcy Worlds
Tracing The Source Of Carbon Oxides On The Large Moons Of Uranus
[astro-ph.EP] The Uranian moons Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon are enriched in CO2 mixed with CO, but the origin(s) of these carbon oxides, be they primarily native or radiolytic, remains […]
![Reflation events (red) occur across a range of ages and with different magnitudes across the evolution of irradiated super-Earths. The plot shows the normalised bulk density evolution of individual simulations, versus the time elapsed since planet formation. The red lines indicate cases where a reflation event occurs, while blue lines indicate those where it does not occur. The evolution tracks that end with a dot indicate the planet has reached an airless state and complete atmospheric erosion by hydrodynamic escape has taken place. The evolution of the two select cases for Figure 1 are highlighted and denoted with a R and D. These cases illustrate in more detail a representative reflation (red) and deflation case (blue). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Reflation.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology
Reflation: Redox-driven Atmospheric Inflation As Tracer Of Super-Earth Geochemistry
[astro-ph.EP] We demonstrate that the redox-sensitivity of mantle outgassing can trigger transient episodes of atmospheric re-inflation in highly irradiated and geochemically-reduced super-Earths, a mechanism we term reflation.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
Training For Astrobiology Spelunking On Mars
Editor’s note: Many astrobiologists think that there is a chance that extant life could be found underneath the surface of Mars where conditions could be more favorable than they currently […]
Posted inMars
Mars Perseverance Rover’s Panoramic View of Broom Point
[NASA] The bright-colored rocks exposed across the slope, running from middle left to middle right of the image, belong to a formation the science team calls the “Broom Point member,” […]
Posted inMars
Perseverance Rover Provides A Record of Ancient Mars Impacts
[NASA] Old rocks exposed on the rim of Jezero Crater preserve a roughly 4-billion-year-old cosmic “weather report” from the solar system’s most dynamic era.
![The New jersey meteorite -- [SETI Institute]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ALien-World.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Alien World Chemistry Found Inside A Meteorite that Struck A New Jersey Home
[SETI Institute] On July 16, 2024 a daytime meteor shook New York City with a sonic boom as it passed just south of the Statue of Liberty. Now, an international […]
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Water Planet Ecosystems: How An Underwater Volcano Is Fertilizing The South Pacific
[Paige Wise USC] There is a volcano beneath the surface of the South Pacific that most people will never see, never hear about, and never think about. But it is […]