Writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, astrobiologists Alberto Fairen of Cornell University and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University say the NASA Office of Planetary Protection’s “detailed and expensive” efforts […]
astrobiology
Posted inNews Summary Archives
Astrobiology News 27 June 2013
– Overprotection may be hampering hunt for Mars life, new Scientist– Manganese-oxidizing photosynthesis before the rise of cyanobacteria, PNAS– The overprotection of Mars, Nature Geoscience– Travelogue from Young Researchers in […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets
How to Distinguish between Cloudy Mini-Neptunes and Water/Volatile-Dominated Super-Earths
One of the most profound questions about the newly discovered class of low-density super-Earths is whether these exoplanets are predominately H2-dominated mini-Neptunes or volatile-rich worlds with gas envelopes dominated by […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
How close is Earth to a runaway greenhouse?
Recent calculations suggest that the inner edge of the habitable zone around the Sun could be as far out as 0.99 astronomical units (AU)- much closer to the orbit of […]
Posted inNews Summary Archives
Astrobiology News 26 June 2013
– Luminosity of young Jupiters revisited. Massive cores make hot planets, astro-ph– A dynamically-packed planetary system around GJ667C with three super-Earths in its habitable zone, astro-ph– How close is Earth […]
Posted inMars
Volcanism on Mars controlled by early oxidation of the upper mantle
The compositions of the 3.7-billion-year-old surface rocks on Mars — as observed by the Spirit rover at Gusev crater — are shown to be consistent with early mixing of oxidized […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Zoe Robot Searches for Subsurface 'Martian' Life in Chilean Desert
The autonomous, solar-powered Zoe, which became the first robot to map microbial life during a 2005 field expedition in Chile’s Atacama Desert, is heading back to the world’s driest desert […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Scientists Find Possible Solution to an Ancient Enigma
The widespread disappearance of stromatolites, the earliest visible manifestation of life on Earth, may have been driven by single-celled organisms called foraminifera. Image: Stromatolites, once widespread in coastal areas, now […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general)
Brazilian Network of Astrobiology Created
Recently the Brazilian Network of Astrobiology (Rede Brasileira de Astrobiologia – RBA) was created. Linked to the Research Unit in Astrobiology (NAP-Astrobio) of the Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP). NAP-Astrobio […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Astrochemistry: the issue of molecular complexity in astrophysical environments
Astrochemistry aims at studying chemical processes in astronomical environments. This discipline — located at the crossroad between astrophysics and chemistry — is rapidly evolving and explores the issue of the […]