[Frontiers in Robotics and AI]. As part of TU Delft Rhizome 2.0 and Moonshot projects, focusing on the development of extraterrestrial habitats in lava tubes, the robotic mapping of an […]
Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes
Posted inMars
Gullies At The Start Of Martian Spring
HiRISE regularly takes repeat images of gullies to look for changes. This site is one of the most frequent monitoring sites, with more than 70 images to date. It is […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
Human-Related Microbes May Survive At The Moon’s South Pole
[NASA] Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA […]
Posted inMars
A Mars Impact Crater Surrounded By Chunks Of Water Ice
[NASA] Boulder-size blocks of water ice can be seen around the rim of this giant meteoroid impact crater on Mars, as viewed by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE camera) […]
Posted inEnceladus
The Enceladian Crater Production Function
[astro-ph.EP]. Interpreting Enceladus’s past and present surface history and interior state remains challenging, owing to uncertain prescription of its impact bombardment history and limited interpretation of its crater statistics. Further […]
Posted inRobotics/Rovers/UAVs
Solid-state Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of Karst (SPARK)
[NASA/NIAC] While karst terrain and subsurface caves are sites of immense scientific value on bodies like Titan, they are difficult or impossible to safely explore using current methods.
Posted inMars
Cracks In A Martian Crater’s Ice
[NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA] Many impact craters on Mars were filled with ice in past climates. Sometimes this ice flows or slumps down the crater walls into the center and acquires concentric wrinkles […]
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 inMars
Martian Geology: Possible Evidence Of Glacial Processes
At the southern section of the floor of an impact crater is this stunning lobate (tongue-shaped) debris apron with surface banding showing high sinuosity.
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Could Earthquakes Sustain Yellowstone’s Underground Life?
[USGS] When you think of earthquakes, “life-sustaining” might not be the phrase that immediately jumps to mind. If you haven’t experienced the destruction of an earthquake yourself, you’ve certainly seen […]