![This artist’s concept depicts a cutaway view showing Europa’s ice shell. Data used to generate a new result on the ice thickness and structure was collected by the microwave radiometer instrument on NASA’s Juno during a close flyby of the Jovian moon on Sept. 29, 2022. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/Koji Kuramura/ Gerald Eichstädt (CC BY) [Enhanced by Grok via Astrobiology.com]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Why-Europa.jpg?resize=1200%2C752&ssl=1)
[Rutgers University] Europa, one of Jupiter’s icy moons, long has fascinated scientists because of what may lie beneath its frozen shell: a global ocean of liquid water.
Exploration Gear & Tech
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers
Astronaut Training For Underground Science Expeditions
ESA CAVES (Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills) is an ESA astronaut training program. The three-week course prepares astronauts to work safely and effectively in […]
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech
A Pressure-Supported Pneumatic Architecture for Robust Deep Drilling on Mars: Performance Modeling, Sizing, and Mission Integration.
[Astrobiology] Accessing the martian deep subsurface is a long-standing scientific priority for astrobiology, climate reconstruction, and planetary evolution, yet robotic drilling missions have historically been limited by wellbore instability, loss […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Mineral Biosignature Identification From Raman Spectroscopy Using Machine Learning
[PNAS] Biosignature detection remains a key challenge in astrobiology, yet robust mineral biosignatures remain limited. Raman spectroscopy is increasingly applied in planetary exploration, but its high-dimensional spectral information has not […]
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Ground Truth For The DAVINCI Venus Mission
Checking the mineral composition of some weathered rocks with the ASD TerraSpec Halo Mineral Identifier which serves as a tricorder in this activity. These samples become the “ground truth” for […]
Posted inMars
NASA Awards STRIDE Contracts For Mars Advanced Surface Mobility Technology
NASA has selected seven companies for contract awards under the Mars Exploration Program’s Science Transport and Robotic Innovation for Deployment and Exploration, or STRIDE, initiative to advance next-generation commercial robotic […]
![(A) Sampling location at the origin of Río Tinto, Spain (modified from García-Moyano et al., 2007). (B) The iron microbialites (white arrow) grew horizontally on a northeast-facing wall. (C) -- [GSA Bulletin]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Iron-microbialites.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAnalog Studies
Iron Microbialites From An Acidic Martian Analog (Río Tinto, Spain)—Implications For Finding Life On Mars
[GSA Bulletin] The search for life on Mars requires identifying suitable biosignatures detectable by rover missions or in returned samples. To support the progressing astrobiological exploration of Mars, we investigated […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
Training For Astrobiology Spelunking On Mars
Editor’s note: Many astrobiologists think that there is a chance that extant life could be found underneath the surface of Mars where conditions could be more favorable than they currently […]
![Effects of filtration method and sequencing platform on microbial abundance and community composition. Comparison of microbial abundance, sequencing performance, and taxonomic composition among Yellowstone hot spring samples processed using Sterivex, Supor, and polycarbonate (PC) filtration devices and analyzed by Illumina and Oxford Nanopore sequencing. Upper panels show absolute microbial abundance estimates (black bars) and sequence read lengths (red symbols). Lower panels depict species-level relative abundances of dominant bacterial and archaeal (red asterisk) taxa recovered from each sample. -- [biorxiv.org]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Differential-efficiency.png?resize=1200%2C708&ssl=1)
Posted inSample Return
Differential Efficiency Of Sampling Devices In The Measurement Of Microbial Diversity Of Yellowstone National Park Hot Springs
[biorxiv.org] Metagenomic characterization of low-biomass Yellowstone National Park (YNP) hot spring waters remains challenging because microbial recovery is influenced by filtration methodology, sample preservation, DNA extraction, and sequencing strategy.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
Offworld Away Team Training: Cave Surveys
A phase of cave surveying in which JAXA astronaut Ayu Yoneda photographs cross-sections of the cave using the Electronic FieldBook, with the assistance of ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan and NASA […]