A novel, hybrid part-human, part-machine visual system that uses a simple mobile phone camera has been developed to search for evidence of past or present life in planetary analogue sites […]
astrobiology
Posted inMars
ExoMars Can Detect Life That Survives Simulated Environment on Mars
An instrument similar to those used on Earth by art detectives and to sense explosives at airports will be taken into space for the first time by ExoMars, the European […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
Habitable Worlds With No Signs of Life
‘Most habitable worlds in the cosmos will have no remotely detectable signs of life’ is proposed as a biological hypothesis to be tested in studies of exoplanets. Habitable planets could […]
Posted inIcy Worlds
Potential for Life on Dwarf Planet Ceres
Ceres, which orbits the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, is a unique body in the Solar System, bearing many similarities to Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Away Teams & Field Reports
Lewis and Clark Program Scholars: Reports From the Field
For an astrobiologist, going into the field doesn’t have to mean going to another planet. There’s plenty to learn about life in the cosmos by studying what our planet has […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets
Virtual Planetary Laboratory Biological Pigments Database
The NAI team, Virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL), is interested in how to determine if planets orbiting others stars exhibit signs of life, “biosignatures.” To foster further research into planetary biosignatures, […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Call for Nominations – Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group
The Astrophysics Division of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate is pleased to issue this open call for nominations to serve on the Executive Committee of NASA’s Cosmic Origins Program Analysis Group, […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), NASA Astrobiology Program
NASA Astrobiology Strategic Plan Update
The 2014 Astrobiology Strategic Plan is now under construction. It has involved the community in online and face-to-face discussions. Twenty-one working documents have been generated that encompassed research themes as […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life
Natural Affinities May Have Set Stage for Life to Ignite
The chemical components crucial to the start of life on Earth may have primed and protected each other in never-before-realized ways, according to new research led by University of Washington […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Origin & Evolution of Life
Purple Bacteria on Earth Could Survive Alien Light
Purple bacteria contain pigments that allow them to use sunlight as their source of energy, hence their color. Small as they are, these microbes can teach us a lot about […]