SwRI-led Ultraviolet Spectrograph viewed 3I/ATLAS both when and where most other assets could not.
Europa
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa’s Spider-like Features And The Potential For Life
From Europa to other icy moons, scientists are studying how surface features form and what they might reveal about the potential for life.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Selected By NASA To Investigate Ocean Worlds And Their Organic Carbon Cycles
Ocean worlds such as Jupiter’s icy moon Europa and Saturn’s counterpart, Enceladus, could be among the most favorable places to discover life beyond Earth—and perhaps even a second, independent origin […]
Posted inAriel, Astrogeology, Callisto, Ceres, Charon, Dione, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Iapetus, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Mimas, Miranda, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Oberon, Phoebe, Pluto, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Rhea, Status Report, Tethys, Titan, Titania, Triton, Umbriel, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icy Worlds: Moons And Dwarf Planets
In the outer solar system beyond Jupiter, water ice is a dominant component of planetary bodies, and most solid objects in this region are classified as icy bodies.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Sample Preparation for MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry of Model Prebiotic Reactions in Simulated Ocean World Environments
The prebiotic potential of ocean worlds such as Europa and Enceladus, while not well constrained, is vital in the search for potential life elsewhere.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Status Report
Global Distribution Of The Key Species on the Surface of Europa
The icy surface of Europa is continuously bombarded by ions and electrons from Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Does Ice Shell Geometry Shape Ocean Dynamics On Icy Moons?
A poleward-thinning ice shell can drive circulation in the subsurface oceans of icy moons by imposing a meridional temperature gradient–colder at the equator than the pole–through the freezing point suppression […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Ceres, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Microstructure Controls Sublimation Timescales of Exposed Salt-Rich Ices on Icy Worlds
Salt-rich water ice at the surfaces of icy worlds, for example, Europa, Enceladus, and Ceres, is of particular interest for Solar System exploration as it can represent a record of […]
Posted inEuropa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Titan
Growth, Physiology, And Metabolism Of Halomonas Meridiana In Aqueous Ammonium Sulfate With Implications For Icy Moon Astrobiology
The discovery of extraterrestrial reservoirs of liquid water has motivated missions to icy moons Europa and Titan.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
Are There Living Microbes On Mars? Check The Ice.
Frozen in time, ancient microbes or their remains could be found in Martian ice deposits during future missions to the Red Planet.