Abstract Background Human-designed oligotrophic environments, such as cleanrooms, harbor unique microbial communities shaped by selective pressures like temperature, humidity, nutrient availability, cleaning reagents, and radiation. Maintaining the biological cleanliness of […]
Sample Return
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Sample Return
Studying Microbes On Mt. Erebus, Antarctica
Earth Sciences Ph.D. student, Caleb Rosen, traveled to Mt. Erebus, Antarctica in Nov ’23 and Nov ’24 with an international research team based at the Thermophile Research Unit at the […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report, Venus
Noble Gas Fractionation Predictions for High Speed Sampling in the Upper Atmosphere of Venus
Venus, our neighboring planet, is an open-air laboratory that can be used to study why Earth and Venus evolved in such different ways.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Planet Exploration: Maiden Dive Of The New ROV MARUM-QUEST 5000 Submersible
The hydrothermal field Menez Gwen was the target location of the first dive of the ROV MARUM-QUEST 5000 at a water depth of about 830 meters. During the dive, which […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrobiology (general), Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Career Opportunities, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Conferences and Meetings, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, NASA Astrobiology Program, Origin & Evolution of Life, Policy, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
NASA-DARES RFI Findings Workshop – A Community Workshop to Shape the Future of NASA’s Astrobiology Strategy
May 29–30, 2025 | Fairmont Hotel, Washington, D.C. – Georgetown
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Dethiothermospora halolimnae gen. nov., sp. nov., A Novel Moderately Halophilic, Thermotolerant, Bacterium Isolated From A Brine Lake
A novel, strictly anaerobic, slightly alkaliphilic, halotolerant, peptide- and amino acid-utilizing bacterial strain, SD1T, was isolated from a hypersaline lake in Western Australia.
![[L to R] Sangay Tshering, Pema Namgay, Passang Balu, and Jut Wynne (center) processing a captured Great Himalayan Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros armiger), Rangtse Ney Cave, Gakiling Gewog.](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Bhutans-cave-biology.jpg?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Sample Return
Away Team Visits Bhutan’s Unexplored Caves
Famous for its breathtaking mountain landscapes and cliffside Buddhist monasteries, the small South Asian kingdom of Bhutan is also home to miles upon miles of caves that have been shrouded […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Life on the Edge: Using Planetary Context to Enhance Biosignatures and Avoid False Positives
We use a probability theory framework to discuss the search for biosignatures.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
Resilience of Metabolically Active Biofilms of a Desert Cyanobacterium Capable of Far-Red Photosynthesis Under Mars-like Conditions
The response of the desert cyanobacterium Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 010 was tested in Mars simulations to investigate the possibility of photosynthesis in near-surface protected niches.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Sample Return
Evidence Blasted Into Space: Mystery Why Some Meteorites Look Less Shocked Solved
Carbon-containing meteorites look like they had less severe impacts than those without carbon because the evidence was blasted into space by gases produced during the impact. The Kobe University discovery […]