How do living bacteria survive on the surface of dust particles carried by desert storms from the Sahara and Egypt to Israel?
Desert Worlds
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Idiomarina aminovorans sp. nov., A Halophilic Bacterium Isolated From The Llamara Salt Pan In The Atacama Desert Of Northern Chile
The Atacama Desert, one of the most extreme environments on our planet, harbors a plethora of unique microbial communities adapted to the harsh conditions of the habitat.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
Was Mars Doomed To Be A Desert? Study Proposes A New Explanation
One of the great unsolved problems in modern planetary science is written on the surface of Mars.
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
UVC-Intense Exoplanets May Not Be Uninhabitable: Evidence from a Desert Lichen
Many of the recently discovered Earth-like exoplanets are hosted by M and F stars, stars that emit intense UVC, especially during a flare.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Desert Lichen Offers New Evidence For The Possibility Of Life On Other Planets
Lichen from the Mojave Desert can survive, and replicate, under levels of extreme solar radiation found on Earth-like planets in other solar systems.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
When A Desert Planet And Ocean Planet Mix: A Saharan Dust Plume
Sandstorms, which are common over the Sahara, occur when large amounts of dust particles from the desert are swept up by strong winds. They can float for days or even […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
Resilience of Metabolically Active Biofilms of a Desert Cyanobacterium Capable of Far-Red Photosynthesis Under Mars-like Conditions
The response of the desert cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 010 was tested in Mars simulations to investigate the possibility of photosynthesis in near-surface protected niches.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Desert Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report
BASEPROD: The Bardenas Semi-Desert Planetary Rover Dataset
Dataset acquisitions devised specifically for robotic planetary exploration are key for the advancement, evaluation, and validation of novel perception, localization, and navigation methods in representative environments.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Press Release
Prospecting the First Chilean Martian Simulants From the Atacama Desert for ISRU and Potential Applications
Martian simulants are an essential part of in situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology development and testing, and aid in providing new astrobiology insights regarding Mars’s past habitability.
Posted inAstrogeology, Desert Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Desert Planet Orbital Recon: MRO Images Mars InSight Lander to Study Dust Movement
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) caught a glimpse of the agency’s retired InSight lander recently, documenting the accumulation of dust on the spacecraft’s solar panels. In the new image taken […]