Detection of extraterrestrial life would be an incredible discovery, revolutionizing humanity’s perception of life and providing us insight into how life begins and persists in various environments.
Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Whispers From The Deep Sea: The Subtle Sounds Of Hydrothermal Vents
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents host unique life that survives without sunlight, and they play a significant role in the cycle of heat, water, and chemicals within the ocean.
Posted inAstrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Do Rocky Planets Really Form?
A new theory for how rocky planets form could explain the origin of so-called “super-Earths”—a class of exoplanets a few times more massive than the Earth that are the most […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Conclusive Evidence For A Population Of Water Worlds Around M-dwarfs Remains Elusive
The population of small, close-in exoplanets is bifurcated into super-Earths and sub-Neptunes. We calculate physically motivated mass-radius relations for sub-Neptunes, with rocky cores and H/He dominated atmospheres, accounting for their […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Redox State And Interior Structure Control On The Long-term Habitability Of Stagnant-lid Planets
A major goal in the search for extraterrestrial life is the detection of liquid water on the surface of exoplanets.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Diverse Carbonates In Exoplanet Oceans Promote The Carbon Cycle
Carbonate precipitation in oceans is essential for the carbonate-silicate cycle (inorganic carbon cycle) to maintain temperate climates.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Enabling Ice Core Science On Mars And Ocean Worlds
Ice deposits on Earth provide an extended record of volcanism, planetary climate, and life.
Posted inEuropa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Juno Mission Captures Images of Europa
This view of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa was captured by JunoCam, the public engagement camera aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft, during the mission’s close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Earth Can Regulate Its Own Temperature Over Millennia
The Earth’s climate has undergone some big changes, from global volcanism to planet-cooling ice ages and dramatic shifts in solar radiation. And yet life, for the last 3.7 billion years, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Europa, Icy Worlds, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Comet Impacts Could Bring The Ingredients For Life To Europa’s Ocean
Comet strikes on Jupiter’s moon Europa could help transport critical ingredients for life found on the moon’s surface to its hidden ocean of liquid water — even if the impacts […]