Today, a team of NASA scientists is announcing that they have determined that small magnetite crystals in the now-famous ALH84001 Martian meteorite were almost certainly produced by living organisms – […]
Astrogeology
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release
New Analysis of Meteorite Shows Key Ingredients for Life on Earth May Have Been Delivered by Comets
An object that fell to Earth more than 136 years ago has revealed new clues about the origin of meteorites in space and new information about how life may have […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Astrogeology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return
A Year of Mars News: It was the worst of times; it was the best of times.
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 […]
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 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 inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
New Studies Of Martian Meteorite Launched
The National Science Foundation has awarded grants for seven new projects to study Martian meteorite ALH84001 in greater depth. The grants are part of a coordinated program with NASA to […]