Away Teams & Field Reports
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Commercial & Private Sector, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, NASA Astrobiology Program, Origin & Evolution of Life, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Science Fiction, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Searching For Extraterrestrial Life Advances Terrestrial Sustainability

by Keith Cowing

Astrobiology, while traditionally focused on understanding the origin of life on Earth and the potential for life elsewhere, offers powerful tools and insights for addressing urgent challenges on our planet.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

HKUST Launches World’s First Deep-sea Multi-omics Resource Platform Empowering Global Research Into Biological Adaptation In Extreme Environments

by Keith Cowing

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), in collaboration with the Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), has launched the world’s first Deep Ocean Omics (DOO) […]

Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Radiation, Sample Return, Status Report

Fungi From Chernobyl: Mycobiota Of The Inner Regions Of The Containment Structures Of The Damaged Nuclear Reactor

by Keith Cowing

Extensive fungal growth has been detected on the walls and other building constructions in the inner parts of the Shelter of the damaged fourth Unit of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Sample Return, Status Report

Subsurface Life On Earth As A Key To Unlock Extraterrestrial Mysteries

by Keith Cowing

The first forms of life on Earth were microbial, preceding the evolution of multicellular life by more than two billion years.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: NASA Goddard Instrument Away Team On Hawaii

by Keith Cowing

Editor’s note: This story is adapted from content originally published on NASA social media accounts in September 2022.

Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

Detection Of The Deep Biosphere In Metamorphic Rocks From The Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling

by Keith Cowing

It is generally accepted that there is a vast, well-populated biosphere in the subsurface, but the depth limit of the terrestrial biosphere has yet to be determined, largely because of […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return

Study Showcases Resilience and Rapid Growth of “Living Rocks”

by Keith Cowing

South Africa is home to some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth, contained in rocky, often layered outcroppings called microbialites. Like coral reefs, these complex “living rocks” are […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extinction events, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return

Life On Lava: How Microbes Colonize New Habitats

by Keith Cowing

Life has a way of bouncing back, even after catastrophic events like forest fires or volcanic eruptions. While nature’s resilience to natural disasters has long been recognized, not much is […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Icy Worlds, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Sample Return

Ice Planet Research: Six-million-year-old Antarctic Ice Offers Glimpse Into Warmer Era Of Earth’s Past

by Keith Cowing

A team of scientists from several U.S. institutions, including the University of Minnesota, discovered six million year old ice in Antarctica — the oldest dated ice on the planet.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

Cytoplasmic Fluidity And The Cold Life: Proteome Stability Is Decoupled From Viability In Psychrophiles

by Keith Cowing

Protein diffusion, critical for cellular metabolism, occurs in the highly crowded cytoplasm. Understanding how this dynamics changes when organisms are adapted to different thermal niches is a fundamental challenge in […]

Gift this article