Notional image of a "BSL-5" facility (one step up from a current terrestrial BSL-4 facility) on the Moon. Grok via Astrobiology.com

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return

Protecting Earth From Extraterrestrial Contamination: The Case For A Lunar Biocontainment Facility

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2026June 4, 2026

The advancement of space exploration into an era of sample return missions from Mars, asteroids, and icy moons raises the potential for biological contamination either to or from Earth.

Graphical Abstract -- Current Microbiology

Biophysics, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Radiation, Space Life Science

Radiation-Resistant Microbes: Pioneers for Life Beyond Earth

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2026May 20, 2026

Radiation is one of the most pervasive environmental stressors that has profoundly influenced microbial evolution, driving the development of intricate survival strategies in extreme environments.

A piece of Mars ejecta in space -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report

Could Life Have Been Transferred From Mars To Earth? Laboratory And Computational Simulations Of Martian Ejecta

by Keith CowingMay 18, 2026May 18, 2026

The study of the origin of life on Earth has been broadened due to panspermia models that suggest that early life may have been transferred between planets.

The path of a fragment ejected from Earth to the clouds of Venus. (a) A life-containing bolide is ejected from Earth's subsurface by an impact event.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report, Venus

A Panspermia Origin For Venus Cloud Life

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Decades of study have hinted at the astrobiological potential of Venus’s cloud layers. This potential is often cast as stemming from the idea that the Venusian surface was clement in […]

The POLARIS experiment undergoes ground-based testing ahead of integration with the MISSE Flight Facility outside the ISS. Credit: Aegis Aerospace and the U.S. Government

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Gravitational Biology, Microgravity, Panspermia, Radiation, Sample Return, Space Life Science, Status Report

Antarctic Microbe Survival Tests Aboard The International Space Station

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2026May 14, 2026

An international team is sending microbes from Antarctica and Chile to the International Space Station (ISS) to study how they withstand radiation and other spaceflight stressors.

Cyanobacterial crusts in the stratosphere during light exposure -- Microorganisms via PubMed

Analog Studies, Cryobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Panspermia, Press Release, Radiation, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors

Responses of Cyanobacterial Crusts and Microbial Communities to Extreme Environments of the Stratosphere

by Keith CowingMay 1, 2026May 1, 2026

How microbial communities respond to extreme conditions in the stratosphere remains unclear.

Calculated total spin vector and its direction. Spin polarization illustrated by S (blue arrow) for a spin-orbit perturbed p-like excited state in the molecule studied in (8). A weak magnetic field along the x axis is applied to resolve the states. Here, the z axis points at the viewer. Reproduced from (19).-- Science Advances

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Panspermia, Status Report

Understanding Life And Homochirality

by Keith CowingApril 29, 2026April 29, 2026

Two fundamental questions have puzzled scientists for more than 150 years. “How did life become homochiral?” and “why was this specific handedness selected?”

The concept behind the model is simple: life can travel to and terraform planets around other stars. In doing so, the planet that life travels to becomes more similar to the planet it came from. In this example, life from a planet resembling Earth travels to a red planet. The process plays out again and again. Each time, after being terraformed, a planet becomes more "Earth-like" than would be expected from random chance, given the locations of the planets. However, the focus is not on identifying Earth-like planets. Instead, the aim is to identify any group of planets that are more similar to each other than would be expected by chance, and are localised in space. This technique is agnostic: it does not require making assumptions about habitability or passing judgment on the "kinds of planets" that are amenable to life. -- Institute of Science Tokyo

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering

Terraforming/Panspermia: A New Way To Detect Life Beyond Earth Without Knowing What Life Looks Like

by Keith CowingApril 16, 2026

A research team of Specially Appointed Associate Professor Harrison B. Smith of Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo and Specially Appointed Associate Professor Lana Sinapayen of National […]

Chemical processes in molecular clouds, such as grain-surface reactions and reactions in the gas phase, yield fundamental molecules, such as water, methanol, and ammonia. After experiencing further processes induced by energetic particles such as vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photons and cosmic rays in the pre- or protosolar nebula stage, as well as (hydro)thermal events occurring on Solar System bodies after their formation, further complex organic molecules, such as those found in Bennu, Ryugu, and carbonaceous meteorites, may have been synthesized. (Image credit: NAOJ, NASA).

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Sample Return, Status Report

Distribution Of Extraterrestrial Nucleobases, Other N-heterocycles, And Their Precursors In A Sample From Asteroid Bennu

by Keith CowingApril 8, 2026April 8, 2026

The recent discovery of all five canonical nucleobases in samples from Bennu provides compelling evidence that some of life’s ingredients were synthesized abiotically in the parent body of this asteroid […]

Taking the last sample from the interior of Schiaparelli in the clean tent at the launch site to make sure that the entry, descent and landing module meets the strict limits for microbiological contamination that are set for planetary protection. — ESA

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report

Seminar: The Rare Microbiome, Contamination and Planetary Protection

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2026March 28, 2026

Pushing back the detection limits, technological advances are now allowing the detection and analysis of very low content DNA samples. A so far unseen diversity of microbes emerges sometimes filling […]

Panspermia

Protecting Earth From Extraterrestrial Contamination: The Case For A Lunar Biocontainment Facility

Radiation-Resistant Microbes: Pioneers for Life Beyond Earth

Could Life Have Been Transferred From Mars To Earth? Laboratory And Computational Simulations Of Martian Ejecta

A Panspermia Origin For Venus Cloud Life

Antarctic Microbe Survival Tests Aboard The International Space Station

Responses of Cyanobacterial Crusts and Microbial Communities to Extreme Environments of the Stratosphere

Understanding Life And Homochirality

Terraforming/Panspermia: A New Way To Detect Life Beyond Earth Without Knowing What Life Looks Like

Distribution Of Extraterrestrial Nucleobases, Other N-heterocycles, And Their Precursors In A Sample From Asteroid Bennu

Seminar: The Rare Microbiome, Contamination and Planetary Protection

NASA Establishes Mars Forward Operational Risk and Contamination Evaluation (M-FORCE) Tiger Team to Shape Mars Planetary Protection Protocols

Opportunity to Contribute to NASA DARES Community White Paper on Phototrophic Biosignatures

The Search For Life Elsewhere: Avoiding Hype and Fostering Public Understanding

Panchromatic Spectra of Nearby Low-mass and Sun-like Stars with Directly Imageable Habitable Zones

Alfred: A Flexible, User-Friendly Python Package for Exoplanet Confirmation

Europlanet Early-Career (EPEC) Committee Meeting

The Science of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Women of Astrobiology: Intelligence on and off Earth with Dr. Lori Marino

Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) 2026

Machine Learning in Solar and Planetary Research Summer school