The James Webb Space Telescope and the future Habitable Worlds Observatory aim to discover exoplanet atmospheric spectra that detect life. Currently, most existing spectral “retrieval” algorithms focus on inferring the […]
Earth
![Maps of GEOCLIM simulation (two time slices). “0” maps (left column) are the initial condition, “1” maps (right column) are at the perturbation peak (3 Myr of run time, cf Fig. 4a). (a0–1) Topography and oceanic O2 concentration at bottom of water column, (b0–1) physical erosion rate, showing enhanced physical erosion around the Variscan orogeny, and (c0– 1) regolith depletion quantified by the proportion of unweathered mineral at top of regolith. The uplifted area is contoured in magenta on each map. The boundaries of oceanic boxes, and their corresponding continental drainage basins are drawn on each map (white solid and blue dotted lines). GEOCLIM computes one mean O2 concentration for each of the 21 boxes. The maps panels (a0–1) show the mean concentrations of GEOCLIM bottom boxes drawn on the full geographic extent of these boxes at the oceanic resolution of the FOAM ocean-atmosphere general circulation model [90] simulations, which were used as GEOCLIM forcing. -- Science China Press](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/What-triggered-Earths.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release
What Triggered Earth’s Shift From A Greenhouse To An Icehouse Climate And The Onset Of The Late Paleozoic Ice Age?
Scientists have debated for decades what caused the Late Paleozoic climate transition from a greenhouse to an icehouse state ~350 million years ago. Some invoke a pronounced increase in continental […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Mars, Mercury, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report, Venus
Homogeneous Accretion Of The Earth In The Inner Solar System
Meteorites are classified as either non-carbonaceous- (NC) or carbonaceous (CC), representing bodies that likely formed in the inner- or outer solar system, respectively. Despite its location in the inner solar […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrochemistry, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
Deep Microbial Colonization in 2-Billion-Year-Old Ultramafic Rock from the Bushveld Complex
Archean cratons may provide stable microbial habitats in the deep subsurface, as evidenced by the discovery of billion-year-old crustal fluids.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
From Early Earth to Enceladus – Mineral Electrochemistry Could Drive Organic Synthesis
At some point in Earth’s history, chemistry transitioned from abiotic organic synthesis—the building of more complicated organic molecules from smaller ones by nonbiological means—to biochemistry.
![[L] NASA ID: art002e000192 art002e000192 (April 3, 2026) -- NASA [R] art002e000193 (April 3, 2026) -- NASA](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Our-Home-World-As-Seen.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Astronauts and Explorers, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, People Of Astrobiology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Our Home World As Seen From Spaceship Integrity During Artemis II
Left: A view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from one of the Orion spacecraft’s window after completing the translunar injection burn on April […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Mars, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Venus
Habitability Study of Terrestrial Planets: Application to Venus-like Worlds
The study of planetary habitability beyond Earth remains a central and challenging project in planetary science. Analysis of large volumes of planetary data from space missions such as CoRoT, Kepler, […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Press Release
Earth Formed From Local Building Blocks
Planetary scientists have long debated where the material that formed our Earth comes from. Despite its location in the inner Solar System, they consider it likely that 6–40 per cent […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Interaction Between Vegetation And Snowball Phases In The Late Proterozoic Earth
Between 2.4 and 0.6 Gy ago, our planet underwent several episodes of global glaciations, including the Snowball Earth case that ended 635 My ago.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icelandic Hot Springs as a Prebiotic Analog: Wet-Dry Cycling Effects on the Stability of Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids
The hot spring hypothesis for the origin of life proposes that naturally occurring wet-dry cycles in small bodies of water could have driven condensation reactions on prebiotic Earth.