Antarctica
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Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 19 February 2026: Return Overland Traverse From Lake Untersee

by Keith Cowing

Dale: Arrived UAL airbase about 2:45 on UTC/GMT after a 5 hr 45 min drive across the polar landscape! Very windy morning but great ride back!

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Draft Genomes Of Three Abundant Bacterial Isolates From Hypersaline Don Juan Pond, Antarctica

by Keith Cowing

Don Juan Pond (DJP) is a hypersaline, CaCl2-rich brine within Wright Valley, Antarctica (77.565 S, 161.174 E; 1). DJP is one of the most saline brines on the planet and […]

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Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 18 February 2026: Eclipse Watching And Base Camp Packing

by Keith Cowing

Dale: A partial eclipse over Lake Untersee yesterday—an ordinary piece of celestial clockwork that felt anything but ordinary from the icy shores of Lake Untersee in the mountains of Antarctica. […]

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Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 15 February 2026: Diving Under The Ice At Lake Untersee

by Keith Cowing

Keith, Sorry for the quiet—our days have been packed, and out here every usable hour feels borrowed. Since my last report the weather has changed its mind a few times. […]

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Survival Limits Of Psychrotolerant Microorganisms With Relevance For Planetary Protection Of The Icy Moons

by Keith Cowing

Investigating the survival limits of extremophilic microorganisms exposed to simulated space conditions can shed light on the ability of terrestrial microorganisms to survive and propagate on other planetary bodies.

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Crossovers In Ice Planet Exploration – Earth, Europa, And Beyond

by Keith Cowing

Keith’s note: On 11 February 2026 NOVA PBS Host / NewsHour reporter Miles O’Brien conducted a live broadcast from a ship in the southern ocean around Antarctica where Thwaites glacier […]

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Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 1 February 2026: Drilling Diving Holes

by Keith Cowing

Dale: Hi Keith, We’ve had a productive few days since I last checked in. Yesterday and today we worked on the eastern slopes adjacent to the Anuchin Glacier – Denis […]

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Setting A Polyphasic Approach To Study Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Communities As A Toolkit For Astrobiology

by Keith Cowing

The present study has set up a pilot experiment to optimise the most promising assays for investigating the survival of Antarctic microbial cryptoendolithic communities – a natural astrobiological benchmark – […]

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Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 24 January 2026: Lake Untersee Base Camp Weather Conditions and Forecast

by Keith Cowing

Keith’s note: A quick snapshot of the weather at Lake Untersee and A forecast for the coming week. Dale’s team has a small Ambient WS-4000 weather station set up near […]

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, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 21 January 2026: Lake Untersee Base Camp Weather

by Keith Cowing

Hi Keith, The past couple of days brought low clouds, some drifting snow, and steady winds that peaked around 30 m/s (~67 mph).

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