Finding water on the Moon could be easier with a Goddard technology that uses an effect called quantum tunneling to generate a high-powered terahertz laser, filling a gap in existing […]
Tricorders & Sensors
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Tiny Chip-based Device Performs Ultrafast X-ray Manipulation
The Science Optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are tiny microchip-size devices that control light and communications. Separately, time-resolved X-ray probes are devices that help scientists study highly transient phenomena. These phenomena […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
The UV-SCOPE Mission: Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Characterization Of Planets and their Environments
UV-SCOPE is a mission concept to determine the causes of atmospheric mass loss in exoplanets, investigate the mechanisms driving aerosol formation in hot Jupiters, and study the influence of the […]
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
Spectropolarimetry Of Life: Airborne Measurements From A Hot Air Balloon
Does life exist outside our Solar System? A first step towards searching for life outside our Solar System is detecting life on Earth by using remote sensing applications. Does life […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Life Support Systems, Missions & Hardware, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Human-occupied Submersible Alvin Makes A Historic Dive
Today, the human-occupied submersible Alvin made history when it successfully reached a depth of 6,453 meters (nearly 4 miles) in the Puerto Rico Trench, north of San Juan, P.R. This […]
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
A Tool That Can Detect Ancient Life On Earth And Beyond
An innovative scientific instrument developed by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers is expected to be a game changer in the search for life–existing or extinct–on Earth and other planets. […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors
Curiosity Takes Inventory of Key Life Ingredient on Mars
Scientists using data from NASA’s Curiosity rover measured the total organic carbon – a key component in the molecules of life – in Martian rocks for the first time.
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
NASA Biofinder Detects Biological Remains In Green River Fish Fossils From Eocene Epoch At Video Speed
The “Search for life”, which may be extinct or extant on other planetary bodies is one of the major goals of NASA planetary exploration missions. Finding such evidence of biological […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
New Color Catalog Aids Hunt For Life On Frozen Worlds
Aided by microbes found in the subarctic conditions of Canada’s Hudson Bay, an international team of scientists has created the first color catalog of icy planet surface signatures to uncover […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Assessing Planetary Complexity and Potential Agnostic Biosignatures Using Epsilon Machines
We present a new approach to exoplanet characterisation using techniques from complexity science, with potential applications to biosignature detection.