ALH84001 Archives

MARS-1 Humvee Rover at HMP Base Camp on Devon Island - Mars Institute

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

MARS-1 Humvee Rover Reaches Devon Island After Successful Crossing of Frozen Arctic Sea

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2003June 11, 2026

The Mars Institute today announced that its MARS-1 Humvee rover has reached Devon Island in the Canadian high Arctic after successfully crossing the Wellington Channel, a 23 mile (37 km) […]

ALH84001 was found in 1984 in Allan Hills ice field, Antarctica -- NASA

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release

Researchers Publish Latest Results in Continuing Search for Ancient Martian Life

by Keith CowingAugust 2, 2002April 13, 2024

In the latest study of a 4.5 billion-year-old Martian meteorite, researchers have presented new evidence confirming that 25 percent of the magnetic material in the meteorite was produced by ancient […]

Astrobiology (general), NASA Astrobiology Program, People Of Astrobiology

Astrobiology at T+5 Years

by Keith CowingMay 9, 2002January 26, 2025

By Baruch S. Blumberg, Nobel Laureate and Director, NASA Astrobiology InstituteKeith Cowing, editor Astrobiology.com Note: this article first appeared in Ad Astra Magazine, National Space Society, Jan/Feb 2002.

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia, Status Report

Doubts About ALH84001: The JSC Mars Meteorite Team Responds

by Keith CowingNovember 27, 2001April 12, 2024

Editor’s note: the following is a response provided to SpaceRef by the JSC Mars Meteorite Team (David McKay, Kathie Thomas-Keptra, and Everett Gibson) regarding a paper “Magnetite morphology and life […]

Mars, Press Release

Mars Revisted

by Keith CowingApril 23, 2001April 13, 2024

To Bruce Jakosky, life’s demonstrated ability to weather almost anything Earth can dish out makes a strong argument that life probably does exist elsewhere in the universe. One likely spot, […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Commentary by NASA ARC’s Chris McKay on Magnetotactic Bacteria on Mars

by Keith CowingFebruary 28, 2001April 13, 2024

The recent paper by Imre Friedmann and co-authors in PNAS (PNAS vol 98 page 2176, 2001) reports finding chains of magnetite that are consistent with a biological origin.

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

NASA JSC Background Information on PNAS Mars Meteorite ALH84001 Magnetite Paper

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2001April 12, 2024

Researchers have found small particles of a magnetic mineral called magnetite in a Martian meteorite that could only have been produced by bacteria.

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia

4 Years Later … The Case For Life On Mars Withstands Criticism, Gains Support

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2001April 12, 2024

The editors of Precambrian Research and the team that startled the scientific world in August 1996 with evidence they had found in a Martian meteorite indicating that life once existed […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release

New Evidence Strengthens Claims of Ancient Life on Mars – Study of Martian Meteorite Reveals Magentic Fossils

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2001April 13, 2024

Researchers have found magnetic material in a 4.5-billion-year-old Martian meteorite that could only have been produced by bacteria. This new data strongly supports the primitive life on Mars hypothesis of […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release

New Report Offers Evidence of Primitive Life on Mars

by Keith CowingDecember 13, 2000April 12, 2024

A new scientific report offers compelling evidence that primitive life existed on Mars. Tiny magnetite crystals, identical to those used by aqueous bacteria on Earth as compasses to find food […]