Terrestrial algae play a critical, yet often overlooked, role in the functioning of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), which are considered microecosystems, particularly in extreme environments.
Away Teams & Field Reports
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers
Cavenauts Begin ESA CAVES 2026 Training
NASA astronaut candidate Ben Bailey takes a photo of John McFall, a member of ESA’s astronaut reserve and the Fly! Project, whilst measurements are being taken of the water parameters […]
Posted inCryobiology
Coordinated Proteome-scale Remodeling Underlies Polyextremophilic Survival In Antarctic Cryo-hypersaline Brines
Introduction – Cryo-hypersaline brines combine sub-zero temperatures with near-saturated salinity, creating one of Earth’s most extreme habitats. Antarctic Deep Lake provides a natural model for studying how proteins remain stable […]
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
How To Actually Build Your Own Working Tricorder
Editor’s note: Hamzah Abugosh has built a functional tricorder. I share the same fascination he has with the notion of a Tricorder as seen on Star Trek since I was […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Sample Return, Status Report
Away Team Training: ESA CAVES 2025 Underground Campsite At Abel Cave
A view of the kitchen area at the Abel Cave campsite, where the ESA CAVES 2025 course crew and support team are staying.
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Away Team Mission: NASA, USGS Scientists Go Rock Hounding in California’s High Desert
Editor’s note: when it comes to conducting field trips – sorties – Away Team missions – on another world, astrogeology and astrobiology and astrochemistry overlap with one another all the […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release, Sample Return, Space Life Science, Tricorders & Sensors
Planetary Genomics: Basecamp Research Launches The Trillion Gene Atlas
Editor’s note: If we aspire to mount expeditions to new worlds and then embrace the task of characterizing and quantifying whatever life forms we find, the ability to map and […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Deep Sea Is An Untapped Evolutionary Engine Says New Study
Editor’s note: As we expand outward from Earth to other worlds we are almost certainly going to encounter things we did not expect to find – things that are unlikely […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Meteorites & Asteroids, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
Freo Doctor: Atmospheric Modelling for Meteorite Falls and Spacecraft Re-Entries
How much does the wind affect the path of meteorite falls? We finely model the lower ~30 km of the atmosphere using Weather Research and Forecasting open source tools at […]
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return
Protecting Earth From Extraterrestrial Contamination: The Case For A Lunar Biocontainment Facility
The advancement of space exploration into an era of sample return missions from Mars, asteroids, and icy moons raises the potential for biological contamination either to or from Earth.