[NASA]. Gabrielle Schweitzer performs a ultraviolet light inspection on a Dragonfly Mass spectrometer (DRAMS) transducer at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md., Oct. 20, 2026. Tricorder Tech: Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer […]
Icy Worlds
![Map of surface mass balance in the star-centered frame, averaged over the final synodic day of the simulation, for the 1-year synodic day, 500 m GEL case. Left: Nightside. Right: Dayside. The yellow star represents the substellar point. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/The-Fate-of-Ice.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inIcy Worlds
The Fate of Ice Sheets on Near-Synchronously Rotating Land Planets
[astro-ph.EP] Rocky exoplanets orbiting M dwarf stars are often assumed to be synchronously rotating, such that water-trapping in ice sheets on the permanent nightside may pose a threat to habitability.
Posted inMars
Well-Preserved Polygons In Elysium Planitia on Mars
[NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona]. Polygons are interesting features on Mars, though sometimes only visible in high resolution images like those taken by HiRISE.
![[LEFT] Diagram of a pixel component from a microbolometer array showing the absorbing surface, electrically conducting bridge connecting the absorber to the readout electronics, and the mirrored surface below the absorber. [RIGHT] A digital render of the Enceladus Thermal Mapper instrument. The arrow shows the location of the filter assembly. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Tailoring.png?resize=1200%2C606&ssl=1)
Posted inEnceladus
Tailoring Infra-Red Filters for Global Mapping of Enceladus’ Thermal Environment
[astro-ph.IM]. We present the results of an initial study into the feasibility and design of the Enceladus Thermal Mapper (ETM) instrument, designed to provide detailed temperature data for Enceladus, an […]
Posted inDale Andersen's Field Reports
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 29 October 2026: Preparing For The Overland Traverse To Lake Untersee [UPDATE]
Update: note from Dale at 6:00 pm EDT / 22:00 UTC: “It has been pretty breezy all day with blowing snow. Nevertheless it’s been a productive day, as we continue […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids
Webb Space Telescope Used To Compare Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS With Icy Bodies In Our Solar System
[SwRI] A Southwest Research Institute-led study used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to examine ice grains streaming from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, just the third object from beyond our solar system […]
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A New Database To Track Origins Of Water From Space
[Rice University]. International collaboration makes decades of satellite data more accessible to scientists studying global water cycle.
![Elevation map (km) and 10 m-wind vectors at midday (left) and sunflower wind chart over one Titan Day at the red dot location (right).-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Mesoscale.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inTitan
Mesoscale Modelling Of Titan’s Shangri-La region: The Impact Of Surface Properties On Winds
[astro-ph.EP] The knowledge of Titan’s near-surface atmosphere is sparse. The Huygens descent probe measured winds, and the multiple dune field observations and possible dust storms suggest active near-surface dynamics.
Posted inTitan
The Physical And Chemical Structure Of Titan’s Upper Atmosphere: Energy Balance, Photochemistry And Jeans Escape
[astro-ph.EP] Titan’s upper atmospheric layers provide a unique opportunity to study how photochemistry, photoionisation, haze microphysics and escape processes shape its atmospheric chemical structure, providing a unique benchmark for understanding […]
![Global map of Enceladus with color and contours indicating the estimated heat flux (in mWm−2 ) calculated from maps of shell thickness [Hemingway and Mittal, 2019]. Our results (Table 1) are plotted as lines using the same color scale as the background. Green labeled boxes show other estimates [Giese et al., 2008; Bland et al., 2012, 2007; Leonard et al., 2021] of paleo-heat fluxes using similar methods.-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Paleoheat.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inEnceladus
Paleo-heat Flux Estimates Across Enceladus Derived From Flexural Response Of The Ice Shell
[astro-ph.EP] Saturn’s moon Enceladus has active plumes suggestive of locally high heat fluxes at present, and the present-day heating is reasonably well characterized. However, the moon’s thermal history is not […]