NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft is cruising back to Earth with a sample it collected from the rocky surface of asteroid Bennu. When its sample capsule parachutes down into the Utah desert […]
Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release
Away Team Issues: Humans Are Leaving Behind A Frozen Signature Of Microbes On Mount Everest
Almost 5 miles above sea level in the Himalayan mountains, the rocky dip between Mount Everest and its sister peak, Lhotse, lies windswept, free of snow. It is here at […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Away Team Update: DLR TRIPLE-IceCraft Expedition To Antarctica Part 3
The seventh day of our Antarctic expedition to test the TRIPLE-IceCraft melting probe begins for me and all the new arrivals in our segregated living area: our joint COVID-19 test […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Away Team Update: DLR TRIPLE-IceCraft Expedition To Antarctica Part 2
At the time of our arrival at Neumayer Station III. Technically it is morning, but the long journey has messed up my internal clock.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Away Team Update: DLR TRIPLE-IceCraft Expedition To Antarctica Part 1
Some regions on Earth are as mysterious as distant celestial bodies – but equally explored. These include subglacial lakes in Antarctica. These lakes lie under a permanent layer of ice, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
Removing Traces of Life in Lab Helps NASA Scientists Study Its Origins
In the Origins and Habitability Lab at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, you can find a world in a test tube – specifically, a simplified simulation of early Earth.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Away Team Tech: The BASALT Research Program
The articles associated with this Special Collection focus on the NASA BASALT (Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains) Research Program, which aims at answering the question, “How do we […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
Surface Microbial Diversity at the Detection Limit within the Vicinity of the Concordia Station, Antarctica
The Concordia Research Station provides a unique location for preparatory activities for future human journey to Mars, to explore microbial diversity at subzero temperatures, and monitor the dissemination of human-associated […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Perseverance Completes Its Mars Sample Depot
Ten sample tubes, capturing an amazing variety of Martian geology, have been deposited on Mars’ surface so they could be studied on Earth in the future.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
New Mars Sample Receiving Project Office Opening At NASA Johnson
NASA announced Thursday its new Mars Sample Receiving Project office, responsible for receiving and curating the first samples returned from the Red Planet, will be located at the agency’s Johnson […]