Full report Exploration as a scientific endeavor exemplifies great American innovation. The first human steps on Mars will be a watershed moment for humanity and for science. The endeavor to […]
Debris-covered glaciers (DCGs) at the mid latitudes of Mars preserve ice accumulated in multiple episodes of high obliquity during the Amazonian age. The englacial debris layers formed during interglacials are […]
Planetary surface missions currently operate cautiously. On Mars, communication delays between Earth and rovers (typically between four and 22 minutes), as well as data transfer constraints due to uplink and […]
![iss057e000185 (10/8/2018) – Biomolecule Sequencer [a flight certified Nanopore MinIon] for the BEST experiment floating in front of Window 7 in the Cupola module. Earth is in the background. The Biomolecule Sequencer seeks to demonstrate, for the first time, that DNA sequencing is feasible in an orbiting spacecraft. A space-based DNA sequencer could identify microbes, diagnose diseases and understand crew member health, and potentially help detect DNA-based life elsewhere in the solar system. -- NASA](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nanopore-Sequencing.jpg?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
In future years, it seems likely that someone will claim they have discovered a process that allows a mixture of simple molecules to assemble into structures and systems with the […]
Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]
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 […]
Vertical transmission of marine particles brings ocean surface cyanobacteria into the deep ocean, where heterotrophic cyanobacterial lineages probably evolve to adapt to new environments even in oxygen-depleted zones.
Water and methanol are key components of interstellar ices and gas in star- and planet-forming regions, but direct observations of water in low-mass protostars are challenging due to atmospheric absorption.
The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), in collaboration with Chuo University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, and CSIRO, Australia’s national […]
Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]
