As NASA continues its exploration of the solar system, including future crewed missions to Mars, experts in the agency’s Office of Planetary Protection are developing advanced tactics to prevent NASA […]
Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Radiation, Space Stations, Status Report
DNA Damage And Survival Time Course Of Deinococcal Cell Pellets During 3 Years Of Exposure To Outer Space
The hypothesis called “panspermia” proposes an interplanetary transfer of life. Experiments have exposed extremophilic organisms to outer space to test microbe survivability and the panspermia hypothesis. Microbes inside shielding material […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report
OSIRIS-REx Team Clears A Hurdle To Access Remaining Sample From Asteroid Bennu
Curation team members at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have successfully removed the two fasteners from the sampler head that had prevented the remainder of OSIRIS-REx’s asteroid Bennu sample […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report
The Implications Of ‘Oumuamua On Panspermia
Panspermia is the hypothesis that life originated on Earth from the bombardment of foreign interstellar ejecta harboring polyextremophile microorganisms.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Biosignature Detection And MinION Sequencing Of Antarctic Cryptoendoliths After Exposure To Mars Simulation Conditions
In the search for life in our Solar System, Mars remains a promising target based on its proximity and similarity to Earth. When Mars transitioned from a warmer, wetter climate […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Away Team Tech: In Situ Real-Time Monitoring for Aseptic Drilling
Lessons Learned from the Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies Contamination Control Strategy and Implementation and Application to the Icebreaker Mars Life Detection Mission
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Space Life Science, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Air Monitoring By Nanopore Sequencing
Editor’s note: Upon entering a spacecraft or arriving on a new, inhabited world, you would probably like to have your tricorder to have the ability to do a quick assay […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
A Map of Astrobiology Rover Perseverance’s Depot Samples
A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life.
Posted inMissions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
Astrobiology/Astrogeology Sample Return Update: Likely Cause of OSIRIS-REx Parachute Issue
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return capsule landed under parachute in the Utah desert on Sept. 24, 2023, and safely delivered a cannister of rocks and dust collected from near-Earth asteroid Bennu. […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report
Mars Rock Samples: What Will We Learn?
What secrets could we unravel by studying Mars samples in state-of-the-art labs on Earth? Scientists around the globe are eager to find out.