Tricorders & Sensors Archives

Three astronauts from three space agencies are at work looking for interesting rocks at the rim of a volcanic crater in Lanzarote, Spain. From left to right, NASA astronaut candidate Jessica Wittner, Takuya Onishi from Japan’s space agency JAXA and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet document samples during a simulated expedition on another planetary body.

Analog Studies, Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Away Team Practice By ESA’s Geology Course PANGEA (Planetary ANalogue Geological and Astrobiological Exercise for Astronauts)

by Keith CowingOctober 8, 2023July 30, 2025

Three astronauts from three space agencies are at work looking for interesting rocks at the rim of a volcanic crater in Lanzarote, Spain. NASA astronaut candidate Jessica Wittner, Takuya Onishi […]

a Sigmatropic Cope rearrangements make bullvalene a fluxional molecule in solution. b Diaryl substituted (Ar = para (C6H4)‒SCH3) bullvalenes bind as bent isomers at short tip-tip distances in STMBJ experiments. c At specific tip extensions, bullvalene isomers with different conductances appear in equilibrium, allowing oscillating single-molecule reactions, occurring on the ms timescale, to be followed. d Tip retraction induces bullvalene isomerisation that controls conductance, manifesting piezoresistance. e Bullvalene isomerisation at short tip distances drives tip reconstruction. Blue colour in (b‒e) represents possible electron pathways.

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Electronic Sensor The Size Of A Single Molecule A Potential Game-changer

by Keith CowingOctober 7, 2023October 7, 2023

Australian researchers have developed a molecular-sized, more efficient version of a widely used electronic sensor, in a breakthrough that could bring widespread benefits.

This is the device that detects DNA with a 100-fold greater sensitivity than traditional methods using an alternating electrical current. CREDIT Xiaoyu Zhang, Xiao Fan, Huilu Bao, and Jinglei Ping

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release, Space Life Science, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Breakthrough Increases DNA Detection Sensitivity By 100 Times

by Keith CowingOctober 3, 2023October 3, 2023

UMass Amherst researchers have pushed forward the boundaries of biomedical engineering one hundredfold with a new method for DNA detection with unprecedented sensitivity.

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

Developing An AI Method Of Identifying Life On Other Worlds

by Keith CowingSeptember 27, 2023September 27, 2023

Humankind is looking for life on other planets, but how will we recognise it when we see it? Now a group of US scientists have developed an artificial-intelligence-based system which […]

This image taken by NASA's Perseverance rover on Aug. 6, 2021, shows the hole drilled in a Martian rock in preparation for the rover's first attempt to collect a sample. It was taken by one of the rover’s hazard cameras in what the rover's science team has nicknamed a "paver rock" in the "Crater Floor Fractured Rough" area of Jezero Crater. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Tricorders & Sensors

Did Life Exist On Mars? Other Planets? With AI’s Help, We May Know Soon

by Keith CowingSeptember 25, 2023September 25, 2023

Scientists have discovered a simple and reliable test for signs of past or present life on other planets – “the holy grail of astrobiology.”

An example STELLA is shown here during a summer 2023 field-testing session outside the lab in a meadow on the campus of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Sophia Rentschler

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Citizen Science / Open Science, Education and Outreach, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Life Support Systems, Missions & Hardware, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: STELLA: NASA’s DIY Educational Gadget For Measuring Plant Health

by Keith CowingSeptember 15, 2023September 15, 2023

On her morning walk to school, a high schooler notices a patch of greenery in her neighbor’s yard. But the plants don’t look quite as green and healthy as she […]

This hand-held spectrometer gives NASA scientists like Alexandra on-the-spot information about the minerals each rock is made of. Mineral info, together with subsurface data from the Ground-Penetrating Radar and Seismic Teams, helps us interpret Long Valley Caldera's geologic history.

Press Release

Tricorder Tech: Away Teams Are Using A “Pre-Tricorder” Spectrometer In The Field – Today

by Keith CowingSeptember 15, 2023July 19, 2026

When we start to roam around other worlds we’re going to need the sort of things that a Star Trek “Tricorder” does. Indeed, we need these tools now as we […]

Jialing Zhang demonstrates using the MasSpec Pen on a human tissue sample. Photo credit: Vivian Abagiu/Univ. of Texas at Austin.

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Physiology & Medicine, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: MasSpec Pen Offers Real-time Tissue Identification During Surgery

by Keith CowingSeptember 9, 2023September 9, 2023

Editor’s note: A common sight in Sci FI is for a doctor to pull out a device that automatically identifies a substance or someone’s injury. In Star Trek they have […]

Types of biosignatures categorized by scale, showing that different instruments and different types of analyses are required to analyze the entire range of potential biosignatures. Reprinted with permission from [4] under a Creative Commons License.

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Applying Novel Techniques From Physical And Biological Sciences To Life Detection

by Keith CowingAugust 30, 2023August 30, 2023

One of the primary goals of the space exploration community is to unambiguously detect past or present life outside of Earth. As such, a number of so-called life detection technologies, […]

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Away Team Gas Detection With A Smartphone

by Keith CowingAugust 22, 2023August 22, 2023

Editor’s note: A key aspect to understanding a new location during an Away Team Mission is understanding the local atmosphere and how it is affected by – and influences – […]

Tricorders & Sensors

Away Team Practice By ESA’s Geology Course PANGEA (Planetary ANalogue Geological and Astrobiological Exercise for Astronauts)

Tricorder Tech: Electronic Sensor The Size Of A Single Molecule A Potential Game-changer

Tricorder Tech: Breakthrough Increases DNA Detection Sensitivity By 100 Times

Developing An AI Method Of Identifying Life On Other Worlds

Did Life Exist On Mars? Other Planets? With AI’s Help, We May Know Soon

Tricorder Tech: STELLA: NASA’s DIY Educational Gadget For Measuring Plant Health

Tricorder Tech: Away Teams Are Using A “Pre-Tricorder” Spectrometer In The Field – Today

Tricorder Tech: MasSpec Pen Offers Real-time Tissue Identification During Surgery

Applying Novel Techniques From Physical And Biological Sciences To Life Detection

Tricorder Tech: Away Team Gas Detection With A Smartphone

Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: 29 October 2026: Preparing For The Overland Traverse To Lake Untersee [UPDATE]

Preparing To Drill At ‘Nazca’ On Mars

Estimates For The Prebiotic Reaction Volume Necessary For The Origin Of Life

Research Suggests Earth May Have Formed Much Of Its Water As The Planet Grew

How Strong Is the Case For The RNA World?