[Icarus] Saturn’s moon Enceladus has active plumes suggestive of locally high heat fluxes at present, and the present-day heating is reasonably well characterized. However, the moon’s thermal history is not […]
Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry
Posted inMars
European Rover Trains For Mars In The Desert
[ESA] The exercise was an important rehearsal for what the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover might encounter when it lands on the Red Planet in 2030. It brought together a rover […]
Posted inFossils & Paleontology
Protocells Reproduce Morphological And Chemical Signatures Of Early Microfossils
[biorxiv.org] Identification of early microfossils relies on morphological and chemical criteria assumed to be unique to life, but whether abiotic microstructures can satisfy these criteria has not been rigorously tested.
Posted inMars
A Journey To The Depths Of Ancient Mars?
[NASA/Alex Jones] After spending the last six months exploring “Lac de Charmes,” a region of ancient rock beyond Jezero crater’s western rim, Perseverance has stumbled upon a vast field of […]
Posted inMars
Curiosity Rover Catches A Stunning Martian Dawn
[NASA] A newly released panorama captured by NASA’s Curiosity rover offers the most detailed view yet of distant, wind-carved Martian cliffs, highlighting features the mission’s scientists have long been waiting […]
Posted inMars
Sulfate Deposits On Iani Chaos On Mars
[NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona] This HiRISE image shows light-toned layered deposits within Iani Chaos. Many of the same deposits occur within the depressions of Iani Chaos, as well as several nearby similar regions […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
NASA Scientists Search For Clues About Mars’ Past In Scotland
[NASA] This summer, NASA scientists headed to the Scottish Highlands to follow up on last year’s announcement of potential biosignatures on Mars and prepare for future research.
Posted inImaging & Spectroscopy
A Missing Continental Impact Melt Sheet Signal In The Early Earth Detrital Zircon Record
[Nature Communications] Impact-derived melting has been proposed as a significant process in the formation of Earth’s early crust which could mean that impact melts are a source for Earth’s oldest […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Whole-Genome Metagenomics Insights Revealed a Uranium Bio-remediating Cross-Domain Microbiome in the Dhala Impact Structure, India
[biorxiv.org] Meteorite impact structures on earth represent unique terrestrial analogues of extreme planetary environments where fractured lithologies, hydrothermal alteration, elevated concentrations of radionuclides, and prolonged water-rock interactions create ecological niches […]
Posted inAnalog Studies
Offworld Expedition Training: Astronauts Explore An Ancient Earth Volcano
[ESA]. From its rim, remnants of recent eruptions lie open for this crew of astronauts learning geology for planetary exploration. Participants of PANGAEA’s 10th edition are ESA astronaut Pablo Álvarez Fernández, […]