Desert Worlds
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report

Living Microbes Discovered In Earth’s Driest Desert

by Keith Cowing

The Atacama Desert, which runs along the Pacific Coast in Chile, is the driest place on the planet and, largely because of that aridity, hostile to most living things. Not […]

Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Away Team Droid Tech: ReachBot Field Tests in a Mojave Desert Lava Tube as a Martian Analog

by Keith Cowing

ReachBot is a robot concept for the planetary exploration of caves and lava tubes, which are often inaccessible with traditional robot locomotion methods.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gravitational Biology, Life Support Systems, Mars, Plant Biology, Radiation, Space Agriculture, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering

The Extremotolerant Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis Is A Promising Pioneer Plant For Colonizing Extraterrestrial Environments

by Keith Cowing

Many plans to establish human settlements on other planets focus on adapting crops to growth in controlled environments. However, these settlements will also require pioneer plants that can grow in […]

Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture

How Soil Microbes Survive In Harsh Desert Environments

by Keith Cowing

Prolonged droughts followed by sudden bursts of rainfall – how do desert soil bacteria manage to survive such harsh conditions?

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Novel Endolithic Bacteria Of phylum Chloroflexota Reveal A Myriad Of Potential Survival Strategies In The Antarctic Desert

by Keith Cowing

The ice-free McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica are dominated by nutrient-poor mineral soil and rocky outcrops. The principal habitat for microorganisms is within rocks (endolithic).

Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Deep Within An Inhospitable Desert Is A Window To The First Life On Earth

by Keith Cowing

CU Boulder geologist Brian Hynek has helped to document what may be a unique kind of ecosystem on Earth—and a possible window into the earliest stages of life on this […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

Life Detection and Microbial Biomarker Profiling with Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip During a Mars Drilling Simulation Campaign in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

by Keith Cowing

The low organic matter content in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, together with abrupt temperature shifts and high ultraviolet radiation at its surface, makes this region one of […]

Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

Bacteria Found In The Desert Pave The Way For Paint That Produces Oxygen Whilst Capturing Carbon

by Keith Cowing

Biocoatings are a type of water-based paint that encase live bacteria within layers. Besides capturing carbon, they can also serve as bioreactors or as biosensors.

Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Plant Biology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

How Desert Dust Nourishes The Growth Of Phytoplankton In Earth’s Oceans

by Keith Cowing

For the past few decades, scientists have been observing natural ocean fertilization events — episodes when plumes of volcanic ash, glacial flour, wildfire soot, and desert dust blow out onto […]

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