Tricorders & Sensors
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

New Deep-sea Species Discovered During Mining Test At 4,000 Meters

by Keith Cowing

There is a high demand globally of critical metals, and many countries want to try extracting these sought-after metals from the seabed. An international study, which has discovered large numbers […]

Posted inAstronauts and Explorers, Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microgravity, Nanotechnology & SynBio, People Of Astrobiology, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Offworld Genomics Research: DNA Decryption Experiment On ISS

by Keith Cowing

NASA astronaut and Expedition 73 Flight Engineer Jonny Kim shows off research hardware from the Noblis / Voyager DNA Decryption experiment taking place inside the International Space Station’s Harmony module.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, People Of Astrobiology, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Away Team Training: Tricorder Use During Cave Microbiology Assay

by Keith Cowing

MBRSC astronaut Mohammad AlMulla took pictures of NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli while she was conducting a microbiological investigation close to the underground base camp in Abel Cave.

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Life Support Systems, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors

A Science Strategy For The Human Exploration of Mars: Report Release Event

by Keith Cowing

December 9, 2025 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (ET) Register https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DEPS-SSB-23-02/event/46072

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: Preview: 2026 Lake Untersee Field Season

by Keith Cowing

Keith’s note: Astrobiologist Dale Andersen will be back in Antarctica at Lake Untersee from early January through the end of February 2026 for another field season of research, leading an […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Prebiotic Organic Compounds In Samples Of Asteroid Bennu Indicate Heterogeneous Aqueous Alteration

by Keith Cowing

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission characterized the asteroid Bennu and delivered pristine samples of its regolith to Earth.

Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Organic Geochemical Evidence For Life In Archean Rocks Identified By Pyrolysis–GC–MS and Supervised Machine Learning

by Keith Cowing

Significance Teasing out biochemical information from ancient organic-rich sediments, notably the timing of the emergence of photosynthesis relative to the inferred oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere, remains a challenging opportunity. To […]

Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Machine Learning To Scan For Signs Of Extraterrestrial Life

by Keith Cowing

A machine learning framework can distinguish molecules made by biological processes from those formed through non-biological processes and could be used to analyze samples returned by current and future planetary […]

Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Sample Preparation for MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry of Model Prebiotic Reactions in Simulated Ocean World Environments

by Keith Cowing

The prebiotic potential of ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus, while not well constrained, is vital in the search for potential life elsewhere.

Gift this article