Posted inAnalog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

Evaluation Of The Bacterial Diversity In The World’s Deepest Cave—Veryovkina, Arabika Massif, Western Caucasus

Veryovkina Cave is the world’s deepest known cave (2212 m deep). It is located in the Arabika Massif of Gagra Mountain in the Western Caucasus. Its microbiome remains unknown because […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Goldilocks Problem For Detecting Water In Terrestrial Planets: Constraining Water Abundances In The mid-IR With LIFE

We investigate how well the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) mission concept can detect habitable conditions on exoplanets through the presence of atmospheric water vapor as a proxy for surface […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Super-Earth Masses And Stellar Abundances From NIRPS Reveal Tentative Evidence For Water-rich Formation Around M Dwarfs

Tracing the compositional link between terrestrial super-Earths and their host stars provides clues to their dominant formation pathway. By constraining the stellar abundances of refractory elements, we can predict the […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Sample Return, Status Report

Distribution Of Extraterrestrial Nucleobases, Other N-heterocycles, And Their Precursors In A Sample From Asteroid Bennu

The recent discovery of all five canonical nucleobases in samples from Bennu provides compelling evidence that some of life’s ingredients were synthesized abiotically in the parent body of this asteroid […]

Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

The Zhamanshin Impact Event: Potential Implications for Environmental Responses and Biological Linkages on Earth and Beyond

At least one large-body (diameter > 1.1 km) hypervelocity cratering event occurred during ~ 0.8-0.90 Ma (Zhamanshin, Kazakhstan) in the Middle Pleistocene Transition period.

Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Influence Of CO Versus CH4 On Organic Haze Formation In Atmospheres Of Diverse Terrestrial Exoplanets

Context. Terrestrial exoplanets are expected to host secondary, high-metallicity atmospheres derived from outgassing of volatiles such as N2, CO2, H2O, CH4, and CO. Photochemical organic hazes are likely to form […]

Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report

Ichnofossils in Volcanic Glass From Palaeoproterozoic Hydrothermal Vents Were Burrowed By Microorganisms Probably Seeking Phosphate

Ichnofossils in basaltic glass are putative microscopic trace fossils occurring on modern seafloor and throughout Earth history. While their biological origin remains debated, it is unknown why microorganisms thrive in […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

CO and N2 Produced from H2O, CO2, and NH3 Cometary Ice Analogs

Hypervolatile species such as carbon monoxide (CO) and molecular nitrogen (N2) have been detected in comets, and could be used to constrain comet formation temperature conditions if their presence is […]

Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Sample Return, Status Report

Antagonistic Effects Of Amino Acids Support Abiotic Nano-environments In Clay

Prebiotic chemistry in nano-environments confined within catalytic mineral media is emerging as a promising frontier in origins-of-life research. Such confined spaces exhibit physicochemical properties distinct from bulk conditions, enabling out-of-equilibrium […]

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