The “NASA definition” enjoys broad popularity among scientists, particularly in the astrobiology community: life is “a self-sustained chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution.”
Astrobiology via PubMed
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
The Microbial Inhabitants of the Corona Lava Tube: Astrobiological Insights from a Mars Analog Environment
Lava tubes are recognized as strategic targets in the search for life on Mars. The Corona Lava Tube System in Lanzarote serves as a terrestrial analog for martian subsurface environments […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Status Report
Planetary Impacts: Friend Or Foe?
Planetary impact events have profoundly influenced the origin of life and the habitability of Earth in both constructive and destructive ways.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Radiation, Status Report
Modeling Photoprotection of Ultraviolet C Radiation by Ferric Ions and Implications for the Habitability of Ancient Martian Lakes
On Mars, the amount of ultraviolet C (UVC) radiation that reaches the surface is sufficiently deleterious for life as we know it.
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Toward Process-Driven Research in Astrobiology: Stepping Away from the Binary Biogenicity Versus Abiogenicity Approach
Biological activity has shaped environments across Earth with varying degrees of impact throughout geological time, which complicates efforts to distinguish signs of life in preserved structures.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Geochemical Mobility of Elements in Antarctic Environments Affected by CO2-Rich Hydrothermal Fluids: Astrobiological Implications
Hydrothermal systems are widespread in our solar system. Identification of alteration mineral assemblages on Mars and potentially in ocean worlds such as Enceladus suggests the existence of extensive hydrothermal fluid-igneous […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Kerogen Detection in Neoarchean and Eocene Microbialites via Deep UV Raman and Fluorescence Spectroscopy Using a SHERLOC Analog Instrument
To date, the Mars 2020 mission’s deep-UV Raman and fluorescence instrument (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals [SHERLOC]) has reported potential Raman detections of macromolecular […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Mars Sample Return Sample Receiving Project Measurement Definition Team Final Report
The joint ESA-NASA Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign is slated to be one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of planetary exploration in that analyses in terrestrial laboratories […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Sample Science Traceability Matrix for Perseverance’s Mars Sample Return Collection
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign aims to retrieve a set of carefully selected and documented samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover in and around Jezero Crater on Mars and […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
The Abiotic Background as a Central Component of a Sample Safety Assessment Protocol for Sample Return
Martian rock and regolith samples are being collected and cached by NASA’s Perseverance rover, with the goal of returning them to Earth as soon as the mid-2030s.