Today, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta mission is attempting one of the most ambitious maneuvers in space exploration: to soft-land a robotic probe on a comet for the first […]
Comet
Posted inComets and Asteroids
Philae Lander Could Provide Insights into Origins of Earth's Water
After 10 years and four billion miles NASA’s Rosetta satellite is poised make space science history tomorrow when it launches its Philae lander onto the surface of the ancient comet, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Comets and Asteroids
3-D Study of Comets Reveals Chemical Factory at Work
A NASA-led team of scientists has created detailed 3-D maps of the atmospheres surrounding comets, identifying several gases and mapping their spread at the highest resolution ever achieved. “We achieved […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Hydrothermal Vents Could Explain Chemical Precursors to Life
Roy Price first heard about the hydrothermal vents in New Caledonia’s Bay of Prony a decade ago. Being a scuba diver and a geologist, he was fascinated by the pictures […]
Posted inImpact events
Exploring the Role of the Sun's Motion in Terrestrial Comet Impacts
The cratering record on the Earth and Moon shows that our planet has been exposed to high velocity impacts for much or all of its existence. Some of these craters […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Meteorites & Asteroids
Complex Organic Molecules in Comets C/2012 F6 and C/2013 R1
A spectral survey in the 1 mm wavelength range was undertaken in the long-period comets C/2012 F6 (Lemmon) and C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) using the 30 m telescope of the Institut […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
NASA Research Shows DNA Building Blocks Can Be Made in Space
NASA-funded researchers have found more evidence meteorites can carry DNA components created in space.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return
3/29 NAI Director’s Seminar: Don Brownlee, "Comets and the Early Solar System – Results from the Stardust Comet Sample Return Mission"
Stardust Comet Sample Return Mission” Join us for the next NAI Director’s Seminar! Date/Time: Monday, March 29, 2010 11:00AM PacificSpeaker: Don Brownlee (University of Washington), PI of Stardust MissionTitle: “Comets […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return
Stardust Preliminary Findings: NASA Astrophysicist Scott Sandford (Transcript and Podcast)
Jesse Carpenter: NASA study finds new kind of organics in Stardust mission samples. Hi, I’m Jesse Carpenter and you’re listening to a podcast presented in three parts from the NASA […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Press Release
New Analysis of Meteorite Shows Key Ingredients for Life on Earth May Have Been Delivered by Comets
An object that fell to Earth more than 136 years ago has revealed new clues about the origin of meteorites in space and new information about how life may have […]