Cryobiology Archives

Surface electrostatic maps of adenylate kinase (Adk), β-galactosidase (β-Gal), DNA ligase (LigA), glycerol kinase (GlpK), histidinol-phosphate aminotransferase (HisC), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and signal recognition particle 54 (SRP54) are shown for Escherichia coli (mesophile), Psychromonas ingrahamii (psychrophile), Haloferax volcanii (halophile), and Halorubrum lacusprofundi (psychrohalophile). Electrostatic potentials were calculated from predicted structures and mapped onto the molecular surface. Blue indicates positive electrostatic potential and red indicates negative electrostatic potential. -- Frontiers in Microbiology

Coordinated Proteome-scale Remodeling Underlies Polyextremophilic Survival In Antarctic Cryo-hypersaline Brines

by Keith CowingJune 24, 2026June 24, 2026

Introduction – Cryo-hypersaline brines combine sub-zero temperatures with near-saturated salinity, creating one of Earth’s most extreme habitats. Antarctic Deep Lake provides a natural model for studying how proteins remain stable […]

South polar stereographic projection of the Enceladus flybys for the Case 1 trajectory obtained in full fidelity and with all constraints. Numbered markers indicate each flyby and are placed at the point of closest approach, while the altitude evolution through the flyby hyperbola is mapped with a colorbar. -- Acta Astronautica

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Trajectory Design For A Titan-Enceladus Plume Sampling Pseudo-orbiter Mission

by Keith CowingJune 21, 2026June 21, 2026

The exploration of the Saturnian system, and in particular the plumes and subsurface ocean of Enceladus, has been identified as a key science theme for ESA’s Voyage 2050 program.

Previous vs. current microbe-integrated ocean world model setups. Previous models (left) include ambient temperatures, hydroxide effluent, circumneutral pH's, and effluent-bacteria integration (Barge et al., 2015; Hermis et al., 2021; Dickson et al., 2022). This study (right) includes thermal gradients, FeOOH/sulfide rich effluent (brine fluid), acidic reservoir pH, and planktonic lake extremophile integration. -- Frontiers

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Probing The Habitability Of Potential Sulfuric Acid Rich Subsurface Lakes In Europa’s Ice Shell Via Saci/STIV Integrated Models

by Keith CowingJune 21, 2026June 21, 2026

Experimentally modeling the habitability of extreme ocean world conditions, such as those on Jupiter’s moon: Europa, would benefit from integrated microbe-virus model studies to provide both a microbial model and […]

Summary of active metabolisms based on metabolic marker gene transcripts found in White Glacier; phyla performing each metabolism are marked by the pie charts; the size of each of the microorganisms reflects the relative transcript abundance of each metabolism and is not intended to represent quantitative differences in metabolic rates; created in BioRender. O’Connor, B. (2026) https://BioRender.com/vmkmdge -- ISME Communications via PubMed

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

Bipolar Investigation Of Near-surface Glacial Ice Reveals An Active Microbial Ecosystem Driven By Photosynthesis And Chemolithoautotrophy

by Keith CowingJune 15, 2026June 15, 2026

Despite extreme conditions including freezing temperatures, low water activity, and few nutrients, active microorganisms are thought to inhabit glacial ice, yet little is known about their identities and methods of […]

Initial structure of the Impact Plume 60 s post impact. The impactor strikes from the left, at a 60° angle from horizontal, with the sun located to the right.There is a visible asymmetry in the plume due to the direction of impact; the “hole” on the right side of the plume is a bubble in this 2D slice of a fully 3D plume due to the removal of water vapor-rock mixtures from the simulation during the sampling from SOVA into DSMC codes (Prem et al. 2015). (Top) the plume contains a region of high density (~1022 molecules/m3 ) just above the point of impact, which rapidly drops toward the edges of the plume. (Bottom, left) The high plume densities correspond to short mean free paths for the vapor molecules. (Bottom, right) Comparing this mean free path with the length scale of the density gradient reveals very small Knudsen numbers throughout; the entire plume (except for the very outermost edges) is clearly within the continuum flow regime at this time, rather than the slip-flow, Knudsen, or Free Molecular regimes. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Comets and Asteroids, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mercury, Status Report

Transport of Water In A Transient, Impact-Generated Atmosphere On Mercury

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 26, 2026

Mercury’s polar cold traps host water ice deposits that are likely populated with impact-delivered water via Mercury’s exosphere.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images of Ligeia Mare and Ontario Lacus obtained by the Cassini Spacecraft (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/Cornell) and corresponding lake bathymetry. (a) Ontario Lacus: SAR image collected on 12 Jan. 2010 centered at 72°S 183°W. Image ID: PIA13172. Red circled region indicates potential smooth wave-modified coast (Palermo et al., 2024; Wall et al., 2010); (b) Ligeia Mare: a mosaic of SAR images collected between February 2006 and April 2007 and combined to create image PIA17031 centered at 79°N 248°W. Locations of a potential straight wave-modified coast (Wall et al., 2010) and the location of the magic island observations (Hofgartner et al., 2014, 2016) are annotated; SAR-based bathymetric maps of (c) Ontario Lacus and (d) Ligeia Mare (Hayes, 2016) were used as inputs to our wave model. -- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Modeling the Seasonality of Wind-Driven Hydrocarbon Waves in Titan’s Polar Lakes

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2026June 5, 2026

Titan, the only body in the solar system aside from Earth with standing liquids on its surface, has high-latitude hydrocarbon lakes and seas. As Titan’s atmosphere generates light winds, there […]

Mars vast clay region - View showing the transition between clay units in the Oxia Planum and Mawrth Vallis regions on Mars, taken by the HiRISE camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. -- ESA Larger image

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Astrobiology Rover Targets A Vast Bed Of Clay In Its Search For Life

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2026June 26, 2026

In the region where the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will search for signs of life, clay deposits extend beyond previous estimates, a new study finds. One hypothesis even suggests a […]

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Probing The Habitability Of Potential Sulfuric Acid Rich Subsurface Lakes In Europa’s Ice Shell Via Saci/STIV Integrated Models

by Keith CowingJune 2, 2026June 2, 2026

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Electrical Properties of Icy World Oceans from Laboratory Measurements

by Keith CowingMay 25, 2026May 25, 2026

Many icy bodies in the Solar System are hypothesized to harbor subsurface liquid-water oceans, with Jupiter’s moon Europa among the most promising for astrobiology research. NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will […]

Illustration of the thermal structure of Titan’s atmosphere and its atmospheric processes. It illustrates the high-altitude photochemistry of N2 and CH4, leading to the formation of more complex organic molecules, aerosols, and cloud systems. It also depicts surface–atmosphere interactions and highlights the methane cycle (evaporation, condensation, and precipitation). -- Nature via PubMed

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Saturn, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Titan’s Organic World

by Keith CowingMay 24, 2026May 24, 2026

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, possesses a dense N2–CH4 atmosphere driving complex organic chemistry. The interplay among photochemistry, aerosol formation, organic cloud condensation, and surface deposition makes Titan a natural laboratory […]

Cryobiology

Coordinated Proteome-scale Remodeling Underlies Polyextremophilic Survival In Antarctic Cryo-hypersaline Brines

Trajectory Design For A Titan-Enceladus Plume Sampling Pseudo-orbiter Mission

Probing The Habitability Of Potential Sulfuric Acid Rich Subsurface Lakes In Europa’s Ice Shell Via Saci/STIV Integrated Models

Bipolar Investigation Of Near-surface Glacial Ice Reveals An Active Microbial Ecosystem Driven By Photosynthesis And Chemolithoautotrophy

Transport of Water In A Transient, Impact-Generated Atmosphere On Mercury

Modeling the Seasonality of Wind-Driven Hydrocarbon Waves in Titan’s Polar Lakes

ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Astrobiology Rover Targets A Vast Bed Of Clay In Its Search For Life

Probing The Habitability Of Potential Sulfuric Acid Rich Subsurface Lakes In Europa’s Ice Shell Via Saci/STIV Integrated Models

Electrical Properties of Icy World Oceans from Laboratory Measurements

Perseverance Astrobiology Droid Has Completed A Martian Marathon

Machine Learning And Deep Learning For Exoplanet Detection And Atmospheric Characterization With JWST And The Upcoming Ariel Mission

Bioleaching Of Critical Trace Metals By Sphingomonas Desiccabilis: Substrate-driven Selectivity In Earth And Space Analogues

TESS Reveals The Puffiest Exoplanets Ever Found

An Agnostic Machine Learning Model of Photosynthetic Habitability