![An artist’s depiction of our world when the Earthshine measurements were taken, enhanced to show the “red edge” from vegetation. A distant astronomer on another planet would see the spectral signatures of our oxygen atmosphere, water, and chlorophyll from land plants. [enlarge] Credit: John Walker’s “Earth Viewer,” Christine Lafon, (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics).](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2002/10/Astronomers-Find-Life-on-Earth.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Now that the discovery of extrasolar planets, or planets around distant stars, has become relatively routine, scientists are now tackling the next step: finding life-bearing worlds. To do this, observers […]
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Researchers Publish Latest Results in Continuing Search for Ancient Martian Life
In the latest study of a 4.5 billion-year-old Martian meteorite, researchers have presented new evidence confirming that 25 percent of the magnetic material in the meteorite was produced by ancient […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Policy, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Status Report
NASA Astrobiology Roadmap April 8, 2002 Draft
Goals and Objectives
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia, Status Report
Doubts About ALH84001: The JSC Mars Meteorite Team Responds
Editor’s note: the following is a response provided to SpaceRef by the JSC Mars Meteorite Team (David McKay, Kathie Thomas-Keptra, and Everett Gibson) regarding a paper “Magnetite morphology and life […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Diversa Completes of Sequencing of Pyrolobus fumarii Genome – the World’s Highest Temperature Organism
[Diversa] Diversa Corporation today announced the completion of the sequencing of the Pyrolobus fumarii genome. The work was completed with Celera Genomics, an Applera Corporation business. The sequence of P. […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Commentary by NASA ARC’s Chris McKay on Magnetotactic Bacteria on Mars
The recent paper by Imre Friedmann and co-authors in PNAS (PNAS vol 98 page 2176, 2001) reports finding chains of magnetite that are consistent with a biological origin.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids
NASA Announces New Evidence Regarding Past Life on Mars
Today, a team of NASA scientists is announcing that they have determined that small magnetite crystals in the now-famous ALH84001 Martian meteorite were almost certainly produced by living organisms – […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
NASA JSC Background Information on PNAS Mars Meteorite ALH84001 Magnetite Paper
Researchers have found small particles of a magnetic mineral called magnetite in a Martian meteorite that could only have been produced by bacteria.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia
4 Years Later … The Case For Life On Mars Withstands Criticism, Gains Support
The editors of Precambrian Research and the team that startled the scientific world in August 1996 with evidence they had found in a Martian meteorite indicating that life once existed […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
New Evidence Strengthens Claims of Ancient Life on Mars – Study of Martian Meteorite Reveals Magentic Fossils
Researchers have found magnetic material in a 4.5-billion-year-old Martian meteorite that could only have been produced by bacteria. This new data strongly supports the primitive life on Mars hypothesis of […]