[Nature] The Zhurong rover has identified a layer consisting of platy rocks enriched in hydrous minerals on a ~0.76-Ga surface in southern Utopia Planitia, indicating unexpected recent aqueous activity on […]
Atmospheres, Climate, Weather
Posted inSpace Weather & Heliophysics
Intense but Harmless: Exo-Space Weather Around an M Dwarf with a Single-Hemisphere Dynamo
[astro-ph.SR] M dwarfs are among the most promising host stars in the search for habitable exoplanets. However, their active atmospheres drive intense magnetic activity, including energetic flares and possibly coronal […]
Posted inVenus
The Lost Oceans Of Venus
[Earth and Planetary Science Letters] Whether Venus once had oceans and, if so, when it lost them are critical issues in the understanding of habitability on exoplanets, as well as […]
Posted inMars
Crustal Water Reservoir On Early Mars
[Geophysical Research Letters]. The next great leap in Martian exploration is the return of samples to Earth. Maximizing their scientific value requires non-destructive analytical techniques for early three-dimensional characterization.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Emergence Of Biosignatures On Earth And Implications For Life Detection
[PNAS] Earth’s organic chemical evolution (OCE) from abiotic to prebiotic to biotic provides critical insights that may have implications for how we interpret observations made by life-detection planetary missions.
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 inPress Release
Habitable Worlds Observatory’s Concept and Technology Maturation: Initial Feasibility and Trade Space Exploration
[astro-ph.IM] The Habitable Worlds Observatory is the first telescope ever designed to search for life and will be a powerhouse of discovery across topics in astrophysics.
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology
Microbial Dispersion Via Aerosolization As An Evolutionary Trait
[Frontiers] Airborne dispersion of microorganisms is a constant ecologically significant global process.
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Strict Limits On Helium Absorption From LHS 1140 b From Four JWST NIRISS Transits
[astro-ph.EP] Orbiting in the habitable zone of its host star, the 1.7 R⊕, 5.6 M⊕ planet LHS 1140 b is a target of great interest.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
NASA ROSES-25 Amendment 69: New Opportunity: D.9 Habitable Worlds Observatory Instrument Concept Assessments
[NASA] Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) Instrument Concept Assessments (HWO-ICA) program element D.9 of ROSES-25, solicits proposals to support maturation of the HWO mission concept. The objective of HWO-ICA is to […]