Governments and private entities are currently developing plans to send humans to the surface of Mars. Transporting humans to Mars, sustaining them, and enabling their activities on the surface will […]
Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, NASA Astrobiology Program, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Policy, Sample Return, Status Report
NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection Has A New Logo
Editor’s note: According to a LinkedIn post by James Benardini, Planetary Protection Officer at NASA: “NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection just released it’s new logo today! Excited to share this […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
Rapid Colonization of a Space‐returned Ryugu Sample by Terrestrial Microorganisms
The presence of microorganisms within meteorites has been used as evidence for extraterrestrial life, however, the potential for terrestrial contamination makes their interpretation highly controversial.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return
Illuminating The Journey Of A 4-billion-year-old Asteroid
The Science Researchers at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) joined an international effort to study tiny fragments of a nearby asteroid. The APS, a Department of Energy Office of Science […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
Living Microbes Discovered In Earth’s Driest Desert
The Atacama Desert, which runs along the Pacific Coast in Chile, is the driest place on the planet and, largely because of that aridity, hostile to most living things. Not […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG) Call for Applications for 2025 Membership
The Extraterrestrial Materials Analysis Group (ExMAG) is seeking applications for open volunteer service positions starting in 2025.
Posted inEuropa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Radiation, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa Clipper Planetary Protection Probabilistic Risk Assessment Summary
Protecting Jupiter’s Icy Moons from the Earth’s biological contamination is a key consideration for the Europa Clipper mission. The mission’s goal is to explore Jupiter’s moon, Europa, and investigate its […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Conferences and Meetings, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Life Support Systems, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Sample Return, Space Life Science, Space Physiology & Medicine, Status Report
Planetary Protection Metagenomics in Spaceflight Workshop
The Planetary Protection Metagenomics in Spaceflight Workshop is scheduled for November 19-22, 2024, at NASA Ames in Mountain View, California.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
New Team to Assess NASA’s Mars Sample Return Architecture Proposals
NASA announced Wednesday a new strategy review team will assess potential architecture adjustments for the agency’s Mars Sample Return Program, which aims to bring back scientifically selected samples from Mars, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
Astromaterials Data Archiving Announcement from the Astromaterials Data System
The Astromaterials Data System (Astromat) is the primary NASA-sponsored archive for laboratory analyses of returned samples (see NASA’s Planetary Science Division’s Information and Data Management Policy Supplement to SPD-41A).