Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes Archives

A schematic representation of the scenario we propose here for clean high-yield production of prebiotic feedstock. Events move around from top left clockwise: first Earth has a neutral atmosphere; this is reduced following giant impact at 4.3 Ga by oxidation of the impactor’s metal core to produce a massive H2 atmosphere with significant methane and ammonia; This atmosphere quickly cools (in < 1 kyr) with photochemistry producing a tholin-rich haze that deposits complex nitrogen-rich organics; these organics become progressively buried and graphitized by interaction with magma, the atmosphere clears as H2 is lost to space and becomes neutral again; finally, magmatic gases interact with the graphite, and are scrubbed to produce high yields of clean HCN, HC3N and isonitriles. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

A Surface Hydrothermal Source of Nitriles and Isonitriles

by Keith CowingMarch 24, 2024March 24, 2024

Giant impacts can generate transient hydrogen-rich atmospheres, reducing atmospheric carbon. The reduced carbon will form hazes that rain out onto the surface and can become incorporated into the crust. Once […]

Astrogeology, Callisto, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report

Large Impact Features on Ganymede and Callisto as Revealed by Geological Mapping and Morphometry

by Keith CowingMarch 22, 2024March 22, 2024

We have performed topographic and geological mapping of 19 large impact features on Ganymede and Callisto in order to gather morphometric and crater age data that allow us to quantify […]

This newly reprocessed image, along with two others along the same longitude (see PIA23872 and PIA23873), were taken by NASA's Galileo spacecraft on Sept. 26, 1998, and reveal details of diverse surface features on Europa. Larger image

Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release

Icy Impacts: Gauging The Thickness Of Ice On Europa

by Keith CowingMarch 21, 2024

Sometimes planetary physics is like being in a snowball fight. Most people, if handed an already-formed snowball, can use their experience and the feel of the ball to guess what […]

Figure 1. Sample locations in the Atacama in Chile. Remodified image from Boy et al., (33) with the inclusion of sampling locations. Image was created with QGIS. (34) Rain distribution is indicated by color grading and corresponds to 0 (brown) to 155 mm p.a. (green). (33) -- J. Proteome Res. 2024, 23, 3, 891-904

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Protein Fragments ID Two New Extremophile Microbes — And May Help Find Alien Life

by Keith CowingMarch 16, 2024March 16, 2024

Perfectly adapted microorganisms live in extreme environments from deep-sea trenches to mountaintops. Learning more about how these extremophiles survive in hostile conditions could inform scientists about life on Earth and […]

A giant volcano hiding in plain sight in one of Mars’ most iconic regions. The newly discovered giant volcano on Mars is located just south of the planet’s equator, in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus, west of Valles Marineris, the planet’s vast canyon system. The volcano sits on the eastern edge of a broad regional topographic rise called Tharsis, home to three other well-known giant volcanoes: Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arsia Mons. Although more eroded and less high than these giants, the newly discovered volcano rivals the others in diameter, which is about 450 km (280 miles) (red dashed circle in this picture). Possible buried glacier ice is also reported under a relatively recent volcanic deposit within the perimeter of the eroded volcano, making the area attractive for the search for life and future robotic and human exploration. (Credit: Background image: NASA/USGS Mars globe. Geologic interpretation and annotations by Pascal Lee and Sourabh Shubham 2024).

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Giant Volcano Discovered On Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 13, 2024March 13, 2024

A deeply eroded giant volcano, active from ancient through recent times and with possible remnants of glacier ice near its base, had been hiding near Mars’ equator in plain sight. […]

ESA Electronic FieldBook associated microscope -- ESA

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: A Closer Look At The ESA Electronic FieldBook Associated Microscope

by Keith CowingFebruary 29, 2024February 29, 2024

A detail of the observation, using the ESA Electronic FieldBook associated microscope, made by astronauts Thomas Pesquet (ESA), Takuya Onishi (JAXA) and Jessica Wittner (NASA) during the traverse in the […]

The Lake Rotorua Map -- GNS Science, Te Pū Ao

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Maps Reveal Lake Rotorua’s Hidden Depths And Hydrothermal Systems

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2024February 25, 2024

Following on from the Lake Rotomahana (2020), Lake Rotoiti (2021), and Lake Tarawera (2022) map releases, this new addition has redefined our understanding of the region’s hidden depths.

Astronauts Thomas Pesquet (ESA), Takuya Onishi (JAXA) and Jessica Wittner (NASA), trainees of the ESA PANGAEA course as they proceed along the main gallery of the Corona lava tube in Lanzarote, Spain. Larger image

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mercury, Microgravity, Status Report

Connecting Molecular Biomarkers, Mineralogical Composition, And Microbial Diversity From Mars Analog Lava Tubes

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2024February 25, 2024

Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain) is one of the best terrestrial analogs to Martian volcanology. Particularly, Lanzarote lava tubes may offer access to recognizably preserved chemical and morphological biosignatures valuable for […]

Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemistry (SHERLOC) and Planetary Instrument for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) sulfate mineral compositions from the Quartier abrasion (SHERLOC sol 293). (a) Colorized ACI image of the analyzed region. The cyan boxes indicate the SHERLOC scan points where sulfate phases were detected at SNR ≥10. Cyan circles within each box indicate the position and size of the SHERLOC laser spot. The yellow polygon indicates the area of the PIXL scan on sol 294. (b) PIXL maps of SO3 abundance (left) and MgO, CaO, and FeO abundances (right). (c) Heat maps of sulfate ν1 peak positions and of hydration quotients (HQ, see text for how this was calculated). The heat maps for all abrasions have the same color scale (cf. Figures 3-6). The analysis spot with a fluorescence signal is indicated by a black star in the HQ map (the solid star indicates high fluorescence >5,000 counts). (d) Representative SHERLOC Raman spectra from Ca-, and Mg-rich areas in the PIXL elemental map. Points 15 and 34 are indicated by the bold black and gray outlines, respectively, in panel (c). The regions where sulfate ν1 and hydration features can be found are indicated by gray shading. Insets show details of the main sulfate peaks of each spectrum, which have here been normalized to the same sulfate ν1 peak height for ease of comparison, and of the hydration bands, which are not normalized. The vertical dashed lines indicate the fitted center for the ν1 peak of each spectrum. Other important peak centers are indicated. -- University of Cincinnati

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Evidence Of Hydrothermal Systems Discovered On Mars Using Perseverance

by Keith CowingFebruary 23, 2024February 23, 2024

In the three years since NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down on Mars, the NASA science team has made the daily task of investigating the red planet seem almost mundane.

Chinguetti meteorite fragment -- Wikipedia

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release

Away Team Idea: New Evidence On The Lost Giant Chinguetti Meteorite

by Keith CowingFebruary 23, 2024February 23, 2024

The giant Chinguetti meteorite that Gaston Ripert reported seeing in 1916 has never been found. A radionuclide analysis by Welten et al (2001) of the 4.5kg mesosiderite that Ripert recovered, […]

Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes

A Surface Hydrothermal Source of Nitriles and Isonitriles

Large Impact Features on Ganymede and Callisto as Revealed by Geological Mapping and Morphometry

Icy Impacts: Gauging The Thickness Of Ice On Europa

Protein Fragments ID Two New Extremophile Microbes — And May Help Find Alien Life

Giant Volcano Discovered On Mars

Tricorder Tech: A Closer Look At The ESA Electronic FieldBook Associated Microscope

New Maps Reveal Lake Rotorua’s Hidden Depths And Hydrothermal Systems

Connecting Molecular Biomarkers, Mineralogical Composition, And Microbial Diversity From Mars Analog Lava Tubes

Evidence Of Hydrothermal Systems Discovered On Mars Using Perseverance

Away Team Idea: New Evidence On The Lost Giant Chinguetti Meteorite

Rethinking The Origin Of Life At Seafloor Hydrothermal Vents

Proto-Biosignatures and Planetary Geochemical Metabolism: A Thermodynamic Screening Model of Prebiotic Geochemical Organization

Cultivation Of Halophilic Archaea In Shallow Subsurface Martian Conditions Has Implications For Extant Life On Mars

Roman Space Telescope Leaves Earth

Atmospheric Retrieval of Combined JWST, HST, and Ground-Based Observations Reveals a Featureless Transmission Spectrum for GJ 1132 b