[astro-ph.EP]. Most lunar surface conditions are incredibly harsh for microbial survival. High ultraviolet radiation, temperatures, and energetic particle radiation limit survival over most unprotected lunar surfaces, particularly in equatorial regions […]
Biosignatures
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Proto-Biosignatures and Planetary Geochemical Metabolism: A Thermodynamic Screening Model of Prebiotic Geochemical Organization
[Life (Basel)] Astrobiological observations usually return atmospheric, mineralogical, molecular, isotopic, or textural states rather than organisms.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes
Roman Space Telescope Leaves Earth
[NASA]. Now on a three-month, million-mile journey to its final orbit, NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will soon reveal the universe’s darkest secrets. The mission launched at 7:26 a.m. […]
![[LEFT] The MIRI F2100W observation of the HD 107146 system, shown in logarithmic scaling with the corresponding intensity levels indicated in the colorbar. [RIGHT] Contours from the ALMA observations obtained within the ARKS program (S. Marino et al. 2026), overlaid on the combined F182M and F210M JWST/NIRCam observations for HD 107146. -- [astro-ph.SR]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-JWSTNIRCam.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology
The JWST/NIRCam Scattered Light Disks GTO 2780 program: Panchromatic coronagraphic imaging of the HD 10647, HD 32297, HD 61005, HD 107146, and HD 181327 debris disk systems
[astro-ph.SR]. Debris disks, composed of rocks, boulders, planetesimals, and the dust produced in their collisions, present the most readily observable components of mature planetary systems.
![Three-dimensional layout of the four-aperture SELF optical model implemented in Ansys Zemax OpticStudio (Ansys, Inc. 2024), showing the arrangement of the primary and secondary mirrors, together with the optical path used for focalplane image generation. The inset provides a magnified view of the secondary mirrors. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Deep-Learning.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Deep Learning-Based Coarse Alignment and Cophasing of a Distributed-Aperture Telescope. Application to the Small ExoLife Finder (SELF)
[astro-ph.IM] The ExoLife Finder (ELF), a 35–50-meter-class Fizeau interferometric telescope, was designed to detect biosignatures on exoplanets through direct imaging. The Small ExoLife Finder (SELF), a 3.5-meter prototype, serves as […]
![Global maps of predicted pigment concentrations (left column) and pigment-to-chlorophyll-a ratios (right column) for May 2010 generated using the Random Forest model. Panels (a–f) show fucoxanthin, peridinin and zeaxanthin.-- [q-bio.OT]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/beyond.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Beyond Chlorophyll: Machine Learning Estimates Of Diagnostic Phytoplankton Pigments From Multispectral Ocean Colour Data
[q-bio.OT] Phytoplankton play a central role in marine ecosystems and the global carbon cycle, with different groups contributing differently to ocean biogeochemical processes.
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
New UC Riverside Lab Focuses on Cutting Edge Astrobiology Tools
[UC Riverside] The Planetary Geochemistry and Astrobiology Laboratory is led by Assistant Professor Fabian Klenner, a new faculty member in UCR’s Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. His research focuses […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
RNA Droplets May Have Helped Start life on Earth
[University at Buffalo] It’s one of the origins of life’s chicken-or-the-egg problems: How could RNA have helped give rise to the first cells before there were cells to contain them?
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Metagenomics Deciphers Diagenetic Processes Of Ferruginous Mineralization In The Deep Biosphere
[Nature Communications Earth & Environment] Ferruginous conditions in the Precambrian oceans gave rise to ancient iron formations that contain the oldest recognized traces of life in the form of mineral […]
Life And Space 2026
Three days. Six major topics. One question connecting them all: what can science tell us about life in the Universe? From 4–6 December 2026, the Polish Astrobiology Society invites you […]