We explore ocean circulation on a rotating icy moon driven by temperature gradients imposed at its upper surface due to the suppression of the freezing point of water with pressure, […]
Enceladus
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Enceladus, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Dale Andersen’s Astrobiology Antarctic Status Report: 14 November 2024: The Plumes of Enceladus
Keith’s note: Astrobiologist Dale Andersen is back in Antarctica at Lake Untersee in October-December 2024 for another field season of research (preview). Dale’s work is coordinated through the SETI Institute. We’ll be posting […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Microbial Ecology of Serpentinites
Serpentinization, the collective set of geochemical reactions initiated by the hydration of ultramafic rock, has occurred throughout Earth history and is inferred to occur on several planets and moons in […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Distinguishing Potential Organic Biosignatures on Ocean Worlds from Abiotic Geochemical Products using Thermodynamic Calculations
The search for life in our solar system often involves efforts to detect organic molecules, which have been found on many extraterrestrial bodies, including planets, moons, meteorites, comets, and asteroids. […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Modifications Of SPH Towards Three-dimensional Simulations Of An Icy Moon With Internal Ocean
There are some traces of the existence of internal ocean in some icy moons, such as the vapor plumes of Europa and Enceladus. This implies a region of liquid water […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Simulated View of Thermal Emissions from Europa
Scientists based this image on a model of data from NASA’s Galileo mission and data from an instrument on NASA’s Cassini mission that studied warm regions of Saturn’s moon Enceladus […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Neptune, Saturn, Status Report, Titan, Uranus
Sulfur in the Giant Planets, their Moons, and Extrasolar Gas Giant Planets
We review sulfur chemistry of the gas giant planets and their moons where sulfur compounds are observed. The major S-bearing gas in the upper atmospheres of the giant planets is […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Oxygen Produced In The Deep Sea Raises Questions About Extraterrestrial Life
Over 12,000 feet below the surface of the sea, in a region of the Pacific Ocean known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), million-year-old rocks cover the seafloor. These rocks may […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mimas, Saturn, Status Report, Tethys, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Evolution Of A Young Ocean Within Mimas
The fractured, young surfaces on confirmed ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus suggest that ocean-bearing moons with relatively thin overlying ice shells should be easy to identify. Hence, the […]
Posted inEnceladus, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
NIAC 2020 Phase II Selection: Enceladus Vent Explorer
Enceladus Vent Explorer (EVE) is a robotic mission to enter an Enceladus. Her mission objective is to collect samples of ocean water that could contain intact organisms (i.e., cells) to […]