Molecules are ubiquitous in space. They are necessary components in the creation of habitable planetary systems and can provide the basic building blocks of life.
dust
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Press Release, Science Fiction
Desert Storm Dust Transport Of Bacteria (Implications For Arrakis and Mars)
How do living bacteria survive on the surface of dust particles carried by desert storms from the Sahara and Egypt to Israel?
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
The SWAN View Of Dense Gas In the Whirlpool — A Cloud-scale Comparison Of N2H+, HCO+, HNC And HCN Emission In M51
Tracing dense molecular gas, the fuel for star formation, is essential for the understanding of the evolution of molecular clouds and star formation processes.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
CO2 Infrared Spectra On Silicate Dust Grain Analogs: Implications For JWST Observations
Carbon dioxide is one of the three most abundant species within the ice mantles around dust grains inside molecular clouds.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Interstellar Dust Measured In Situ by Ulysses
Impacts of interstellar dust (ISD) grains on the Ulysses spacecraft allowed for the first successful in situ measurement of ISD (Grün et al. 1993).
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, Status Report
Binding Energies Of Small Interstellar Molecules On Neutral And Charged Amorphous Solid Water Surfaces
The interstellar medium (ISM) is all but empty. To date, more than 300 molecules have already been discovered. Because of the extremely low temperature, the gas-phase chemistry is dominated by […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Dust-void Evolution Driven by Turbulent Dust Flux can Induce Runaway Migration of Earth-mass Planets
Torques from asymmetric dust structures (so-called dust-void and filamentary structures) formed around low-mass planets embedded in a non turbulent dust-gas disk can exceed the torques produced by the gas disk […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
The Potential of the SPHEREx Mission for Characterizing PAH 3.3 μm Emission in Nearby Galaxies
Dust is a key galaxy component together with gas, stars, and central supermassive black holes, playing a crucial role in stellar and galaxy evolution.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Three Dimensional Map Of Our Galaxy’s Interstellar Dust
When we observe distant celestial objects, there is a possible catch: Is that star I am observing really as reddish as it appears? Or does the star merely look reddish, […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Space Physiology & Medicine, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Utilizing Martian Samples For Future Planetary Exploration: Characterizing Hazards And Resources
One of the most surprising and important findings of the first human landings on the Moon was the discovery of a very fine layer of lunar dust covering the entire […]