Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed robotics, healthcare, industry, and scientific discovery, yet a major frontier may lie beyond Earth. Space exploration and settlement offer vast environments and resources, but impose […]
Terraforming & Geoengineering
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microgravity, Plant Biology, Sample Return, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Extreme Environmental Tolerance And Space Survivability Of The Moss, Physcomitrium patens
Climate change highlights the importance of understanding life’s survival limits for addressing global challenges and supporting future human habitation beyond Earth. Plants, as photosynthetic organisms, play a vital role in […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, TRAPPIST-1
Dearth of Photosynthetically Active Radiation Suggests No Complex Life on Late M-Star Exoplanets
The rise of oxygen in the Earth’s atmosphere during the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) occurred about 2.3 billion years ago. There is considerably greater uncertainty for the origin of oxygenic […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Microbial Diversity and Metabolic Adaptations in Mars‐Analog Lava Tubes
Lunar and Martian lava tubes will offer stable temperatures and radiation protection, making them potential habitats for extraterrestrial life. The Martian atmosphere, containing gases like H2, CO, and CH4, could […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Slash Across Layered Deposits At Mars’ North Pole
Here, a straight-line feature cuts across many layers, seemingly changing their brightness and presumably indicating a major change in the layer properties.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Oxygen Valve on Hydrogen Escape Since the Great Oxidation Event
The Great Oxidation Event (GOE) was a 200 Myr transition circa 2.4 billion years ago that converted the Earth’s anoxic atmosphere to one where molecular oxygen (O2) was abundant (volume […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Mapping Mars’ Large River Drainage Systems For The First Time
Billions of years ago, it rained on Mars. The water collected in valleys and rivers, filled and spilled over the rims of craters, and was funneled into canyons, perhaps even […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
The Role Of Extremophile Microbiomes In Terraforming Mars
Terraforming Mars toward sustainable life-supporting ecosystems poses unprecedented challenges. Extremophilic microbes, which thrive in Earth’s most extreme environments, offer promising biological strategies for initial Mars colonization providing tools for resource […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Icy Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Mars South Pole: Suspected Underground Lake Is Probably A Layer Of Rock And Dust
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revisited and raised new questions about a mysterious feature buried beneath thousands of feet of ice at the Red Planet’s south pole. In a […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Mars, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
An Introduction To Mars Terraforming – 2025 Workshop Summary
Terraforming Mars is an age old science fiction concept now worth revisiting through the lens of modern science and technology. This document serves as a summary of contemporary ideas about […]