[NASA] Pandora, NASA’s newest exoplanet mission and the first satellite to launch through the agency’s Astrophysics Pioneers program, is now making unique observations of worlds beyond our solar system and […]
Missions & Hardware
Posted inEducation and Outreach
NASA ExoExplorers Program: Call For ExoGuide Nominations
This ExoExplorers program, sponsored by NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program Office and the ExoPAG Executive Committee, will focus on the professional development of ~10 graduate student and/or postdoc researchers (“ExoExplorers”) by […]
![Example weighting functions for selected microwave frequencies (logarithmically spaced between 3 mm - 3 m) corresponding to the model atmospheres for Saturn (top) and Uranus (bottom) from Figure 1. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Microwave-Remote-.png?resize=1200%2C715&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
Microwave Remote Sensing Of Giant Planet Atmospheres: Considerations For Saturn And Uranus Orbiter Missions
[astro-ph.EP] Microwave radiometer instruments are uniquely capable of studying volatile element abundances and heat/mass transport within the deep atmospheres of giant planets.
![The four pillars of cross-survey science infrastructure. Each is specified by community studies and demonstrated in prototype; none is currently funded or owned as a shared capability. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-Cross-Survey.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inReports, Roadmaps, & Plans
The Cross-Survey Decade: A Call to Action
[astro-ph.IM] By 2027, three flagship wide-field surveys will be operating simultaneously from ground and space, observing overlapping sky and representing more than $6 billion in US and European public investment.
Posted inMars
Quasi-diurnal Kelvin Wave Observed in the Atmosphere of Mars by the Pressure Sensor on the InSight Lander
[astro-ph.EP]. During the initiation phase of Martian dust storms, a spectral signature of a zonal wavenumber 1 normal mode Kelvin wave (K1) has been observed in several surface pressure records.
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
Human-Related Microbes May Survive At The Moon’s South Pole
[NASA] Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA […]
Posted inImaging & Spectroscopy
ESCAPADE Departure Angle View Of Earth And Luna
[NASA]. On July 3, one of NASA’s two Mars-destined ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft captured photos of Earth and the Moon in visible and thermal infrared […]
Posted inMars
ExoMars Rosalind Franklin Rover Recon: Geological History Of Oxia Planum
[NASA] This crater contains exposures in the rim that can corroborate prevailing hypotheses for Oxia Planum’s geologic history ahead of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover’s landing, currently planned for 2030. […]
Posted inRobotics/Rovers/UAVs
Solid-state Propulsion for Autonomous Reconnaissance of Karst (SPARK)
[NASA/NIAC] While karst terrain and subsurface caves are sites of immense scientific value on bodies like Titan, they are difficult or impossible to safely explore using current methods.
Posted inMars
Mars Curiosity Blog Sols 4968-4974: Rock Climbing Towards the Discontinuity
[NASA] Curiosity has been exploring a large-scale feature in Gale’s sedimentary record suspected to be an “erosional supersurface.” The “supersurface” represents a period in time when a net depositional environment […]