Polar / Alpine Expeditions Archives

a, Sub-ice topography, corrected for isostatic rebound due to ice removal3, with sharp topographic features enhanced by nonlinear filtering (Methods). The light grey lines are detected topographic lineaments interpreted as longitudinal normal faults forming the structural edges of the basins. The magenta and cyan lines represent detected topographic lineaments interpreted as either transverse strike–slip faults or associated normal faults that characterize the two circular shear belts shown in b (that is, the southern and northern TSCBs).

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Recon: Giant Fan-shaped Geological Structure Discovered Beneath East Antarctica

by Keith CowingJune 9, 2026June 26, 2026

Editor’s note: there are currently two advanced missions heading for the jovian system – Europa Clipper and ESA Juice – to study icy Europa and the other icy worlds orbiting […]

The Investigating Mars at Three Sites Campaign would visit three different locations on Mars. Source NASEM, A Science Strategy for the Human Exploration of Mars (The National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2025), https://doi.org/10.17226/28594.

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Space Physiology & Medicine, Status Report

Highlighting A Science Strategy For Human Exploration Of Mars

by Keith CowingMay 26, 2026May 26, 2026

A Science Strategy for Human Exploration of Mars, charts a bold, scientifically based blueprint for humanity’s greatest cosmic adventure—sending explorers to Mars to answer the universe’s most profound questions: Is […]

Part of the rugged and deeply indented coast of northeastern Greenland is featured in this radar image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-1. CREDIT contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2026), processed by ESA LICENCE CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO or ESA Standard Licence (content can be used under either licence) Larger image

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release

Ice Planet Orbital Recon: Greenland’s Changing Ice

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

Greenland is the world’s largest island and about 80% of its surface is covered by the Greenland Ice Sheet, the second largest ice mass on Earth after the Antarctic Ice […]

Snowball Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

A New Explanation For Snowball Earth

by Keith CowingMay 11, 2026May 11, 2026

A new study by Earth scientists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) offers an explanation for one of Earth’s great climate puzzles: how […]

(A) Schematic of the ice growth apparatus. (B) Image of the ice growth apparatus shortly after the onset of an experiment. (C) The ~50-cm-thick Europa 2 ice column immediately after extraction. The column is placed upside down to reduce brine loss from the highly porous basal region of the ice. (D) Ice columns subsectioned into smaller, more easily workable pieces and scored at 2-cm intervals in preparation for vertical partitioning. (E) The scored subsections in (D) were cut using an electric band saw, and the 2-cm layers were placed into 500-ml high-density polyethylene amber Nalgene sample bottles. These samples were subsequently melted, filtered, and processed via IC, ICP-OES, and NDIR spectroscopy to acquire our ionic composition and ionic fractionation profiles. -- Science Advances via PubMed

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As Above, Not So Below: Ion Fractionation In Planetary Analog Ices

by Keith CowingApril 25, 2026April 25, 2026

The geophysical evolution and astrobiological potential of ocean worlds are indelibly linked to the chemical compositions of their oceans and ice shells.

NASA scientist Mary Beth Wilhelm collects soil samples from Chile's Atacama Desert. Studying ancient life in the driest places on Earth helps us to understand conditions on Mars. -- NASA

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Community Survey: Field-Based Studies And Sample Processing Facility

by Keith CowingApril 20, 2026April 20, 2026

Scientists at Northern Arizona University are conducting a research study gathering views from members of the planetary science community on field-based studies and the interest in a potential centralized facility […]

A European Space Agency-funded study used information from satellites to show that Antarctica is experiencing dramatic changes in sea-ice coverage, with profound consequences for key plankton species that underpin the region’s marine food web. About 10 years ago, the amount of sea ice around Antarctica suddenly declined, which resulted in of the Southern Ocean shifting from extremely low phytoplankton levels to more moderate productivity. This image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 in 2021 shows a phytoplankton bloom in the Ross Sea. Larger image

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Orbital Biosignature Assay: Antarctica’s Vanishing Sea Ice Transforms Marine Life

by Keith CowingApril 18, 2026April 18, 2026

Editor’s note: when our first missions – human or robotic – arrive at a new world we’ll want to do glean as much information from space – via fly by […]

The buoyancy adjustment made on the first day of Totten Photo: JARE67 Miho Ikeda (March 6, 2026)

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Ocean Planet Exploration: Recovery Of NIPR AUV MONACA

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2026March 26, 2026

Editor’s note: When we start to mount Astrobiology missions to explore ocean worlds we’ll need ways for our robotic submersibles to observe and interact with whatever life forms they may […]

Dale Andersen in an ice hole preparing to dive in Lake Untersee, Antarctica in February 2026 -- Alessandro Cuzzeri

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Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report 16 March 2026: Spring Field Season Completed; Preparing The Fall Field Season

by Keith CowingMarch 16, 2026March 16, 2026

Hi Keith, The team and I have been home for about two weeks now, settling back into the familiar rhythms of home and work after our time in Antarctica. Our […]

Drilling Base Camp, Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica -- BAS

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Ice World Expedition: Drilling Through Thwaites Glacier In West Antarctica

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2026March 12, 2026

A team of researchers from the UK and Korea has reached the most inaccessible and least-understood part of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica where they will drill through the glacier […]