Life originated as a result of natural processes that exploited early Earth’s raw materials. Scientific models of life’s origins almost always look to minerals for such essential tasks as the […]
astrobiology
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Icy Worlds, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report
Dale Andersen's Antarctic Field Report 24 November 2013
My research team and I are now camped on the shores of Lake Obersee, a few km NE of Lake Untersee in the mountains of Queen Maud Land. It was […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Rare New Microbe Found in Two Distant Clean Rooms
A rare, recently discovered microbe that survives on very little to eat has been found in two places on Earth: spacecraft clean rooms in Florida and South America. Image: This […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
New Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology
Please join us in welcoming science historian Steven J. Dick as he begins his term today as the second Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology in the […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), NASA Astrobiology Program
Astrobiology Program Strategy Process Update
Betcha didn’t know that the unofficial motto of NASA’s Astrobiology Program was “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of Congressional paralysis stays these scientists from the swift completion […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life
Oxygen Does Not Necessarily Lead to Evolution of Advanced Life
Any textbook will tell you that oxygen is essential for advanced life to evolve. But why did life not explode when oxygen levels rose dramatically 2.1 billion years ago? This […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
Sustainability and the Astrobiological Perspective: Framing Human Futures in a Planetary Context
We explore how questions related to developing a sustainable human civilization can be cast in terms of astrobiology. In particular we show how ongoing astrobiological studies of the coupled relationship […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Origin & Evolution of Life
Life May Be Harder to Identify on Some Exoplanets
Finding life on exoplanets may be more difficult than people thought, said Feng Tian, a professor at the Center for Earth System Science at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. The […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life
Climate Puzzle Over The Origin of Life on Earth
The mystery of why life on Earth evolved when it did has deepened with the publication of a new study in the latest edition of the journal Science. Scientists at […]
Posted inMars
Martian Chemical Complicates Hunt for Life's Clues
The quest for evidence of life on Mars could be more difficult than scientists previously thought. A scientific paper published today details the investigation of a chemical in the Martian […]