Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Titan, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dragonfly Astrobiology Mission Begins Rotorcraft Integration, Testing Stage

by Keith Cowing

NASA Dragonfly’s integration and testing – the activities involved in assembling the mission’s rotorcraft lander and testing it for the rigors of launch and extreme conditions of space – is […]

Posted inAstrogeology, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Motional Induction In Ganymede’s Ocean

by Keith Cowing

We investigate the magnetic signature of oceanic circulation in Ganymede’s subsurface ocean using kinematic induction modeling. Our approach couples zonal jet flows from rotating thermal convection simulations with magnetic field […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice World Expedition: Drilling Through Thwaites Glacier In West Antarctica

by Keith Cowing

A team of researchers from the UK and Korea has reached the most inaccessible and least-understood part of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica where they will drill through the glacier […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Life Support Systems, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Antarctica’s Untersee – A Most Unusual Lake

by Keith Cowing

Scientists estimate that Earth is home to more than 100 million lakes. Among the most unusual is Lake Untersee, one of Antarctica’s largest and deepest surface lakes, known for its […]

Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Japan’s Deep Ocean Reveals Dozens of New Species from Landmark 2025 Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census – JAMSTEC Expedition

by Keith Cowing

Japan has led a major international effort to explore and document new life in the deep ocean. Following the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census Expedition in June 2025, partnering with the […]

Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Dione, Enceladus, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mimas, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Rhea, Saturn, Tethys, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Low-Energy and Low-Thrust Exploration Tour of Saturnian Moons with Full Lunar Surface Coverage

by Keith Cowing

This study presents the trajectory design for a mission touring Saturn’s Inner Large Moons (Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas) engineered to meet observational requirements, including full surface coverage, while […]

Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Methanothermococcus jasoni sp. nov., A Novel Thermophilic Methanogen From Subseafloor Hydrothermal Vent Fluids Of Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge

by Keith Cowing

Low-temperature (34 °C) hydrothermal fluid was collected from Axial Seamount along the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Active Learning For Planet Habitability Classification Under Extreme Class Imbalance

by Keith Cowing

The increasing size and heterogeneity of exoplanet catalogs have made systematic habitability assessment challenging, particularly given the extreme scarcity of potentially habitable planets and the evolving nature of their labels.

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report

Hydration Features on Near-Earth Objects: Integrating New Data with Prior Results

by Keith Cowing

Near-Earth objects (NEOs) are excellent laboratories for testing processes that affect airless bodies, as well as informing us about solar system history.

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