One key objective of astrobiology is to investigate and discover if other planetary bodies are habitable.
Away Teams & Field Reports
Experimental Diagenesis Reveals Preservation Of Biosignatures In Filamentous Sulfur Mats Under Hydrothermal Conditions
Filamentous microbial biosignatures associated with iron sulfides are among the prime targets in early life studies, but their formation and preservation are insufficiently understood.
New Analytical Methodology to Reveal Biosignatures on Mars and Ocean Worlds
Terrestrial analog environments and their microbial communities are key elements to prepare for the exploration of extraterrestrial planetary environments that potentially sustained, or even may still sustain, the (bio)chemistry necessary […]
Ice Planet Research: British Antarctic Survey Discovery Building Comes To Life
The 2025 – 2026 Antarctic season is a landmark for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and its Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation Project (AIMP), as the new Discovery Building begins to take […]
Microbes At Red Sea Vents Show How Life And Geology Shape Each Other
A new study led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; Saudi Arabia) Professor Alexandre Rosado has revealed an unusual microbial world in the Hatiba Mons hydrothermal vent […]
Unusual Red Rocks In Australia Are Rewriting The Rules On Exceptional Fossil Sites
Highly detailed fossils are typically found in shale or other fine-grained sedimentary rocks. These ones? They’re made of iron.
ESA Astronauts Complete Helicopter Training In Preparation For Future Offworld Missions
ESA astronauts Alexander Gerst, Matthias Maurer, Samantha Cristoforetti and Thomas Pesquet completed a helicopter training course with the German Bundeswehr, Germany’s federal defence forces.
The Microbiology and Geochemistry of The Shallow-water Hydrothermal Vents of the Gulf of Naples, Italy
Shallow-water hydrothermal vents are dynamic ecosystems that occur below 200 m in tectonically active regions of the planet.
Astrogeology and Astrochemistry: Apollo Samples From 1972 Reveal Exotic Sulfur Hidden In The Moon’s Mantle
When astronauts returned from NASA’s final Apollo Moon mission in 1972, some of the samples they collected were sealed and carefully stored away in the hope that future researchers using […]
Production and Preservation of Lipid Biosignatures in SO4-Rich Hypersaline Lakes of the Cariboo Plateau
Modern and ancient hypersaline lakes and oceans have been identified across the solar system, but the habitability and potential of these environments to preserve organic matter remain unknown.
