![Chemical clock relations for planet-hosting solar analogs, showing abundance ratios as a function of stellar age for [Y/Mg], [Y/Al], [Ba/Mg], [Ba/Al], [Sr/Mg], and [Y/(Mg+Al)/2]. Data points are color-coded by metallicity ([Fe/H]). Black lines show best-fit linear relations derived using Deming regression, accounting for uncertainties in both variables, and shaded regions indicate 1σ confidence intervals. All abundance ratios show statistically significant correlations with stellar age. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Planets-Around.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] Context. Abundance ratios between elements synthesized on different nucleosynthetic timescales provide empirical chemical clocks for estimating stellar ages, but robust calibrations require homogeneous samples with precise stellar parameters and […]
Astronauts and Explorers
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
COSPAR Panel On Planetary Protection Endorses Proposed Update To The Mars Planetary Protection Policy
Source: LinkedIn [COSPAR]. Yesterday, 29 September, the COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection (PPP) at its Executive meeting endorsed a proposed update to the Mars planetary protection policy, following a year-long […]
Posted inAnalog Studies
Offworld Expedition Training: Astronauts Explore An Ancient Earth Volcano
[ESA]. From its rim, remnants of recent eruptions lie open for this crew of astronauts learning geology for planetary exploration. Participants of PANGAEA’s 10th edition are ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández, […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
JWST Color Sequence Of Transiting Exoplanets And Directly Imaged Substellar Objects
[astro-ph.EP] Color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) have been foundational across astrophysics, from galaxies and stars to brown dwarfs, and JWST now extends them to transiting exoplanets and self-luminous substellar objects at overlapping […]
Posted inEducation and Outreach
NASA ExoExplorers Program: Call For ExoGuide Nominations
This ExoExplorers program, sponsored by NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Office and the ExoPAG Executive Committee, will focus on the professional development of ~10 graduate student and/or postdoc researchers (“ExoExplorers”) by […]
Posted inAnalog Studies
Offworld Astrogeology Training In Iceland
Iceland’s diverse volcanic terrain is an excellent stand-in for lunar and planetary processes and provides an ideal environment in which to simulate surface science operations. Editor’s note: when it comes […]
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology
Methane Production On Mars-Relevant Clay Minerals And Simulant Regolith
[Microorganisms]. Over the course of Martian history, the presence of atmospheric carbon dioxide and potential subsurface molecular hydrogen (H2), in addition to potential surface and subsurface liquid water, suggests that […]
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers
Astronaut Training For Underground Science Expeditions
ESA CAVES (Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills) is an ESA astronaut training program. The three-week course prepares astronauts to work safely and effectively in […]
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 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 […]