NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revisited and raised new questions about a mysterious feature buried beneath thousands of feet of ice at the Red Planet’s south pole. In a […]
glacier
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
What A Martian Ice Age Left Behind
Earth isn’t the only planet to go through ice ages. A handful have hit our home planet in the last 2.5 billion years, with the most recent – which peaked […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Ice Planet Research: Antarctic Glacier Retreated Faster Than Any Other In Modern Earth History
A glacier on Antarctica’s Eastern Peninsula experienced the fastest retreat recorded in modern history—in just two months, nearly 50 percent of the glacier disintegrated.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Planetary Analog Sites In The Indian Subcontinent And The Indian Ocean: Underexplored Environments Suited For Astrobiological And Space Research
The central objective of astrobiology is to evaluate the habitability of other planetary bodies and given the high cost and logistical complexity of space missions, preliminary investigations of planetary analog […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Modelling Snow Algal Habitat Suitability And Ecology Under Extreme Weather Events On The Antarctic Peninsula
Snow algae form extensive blooms within Antarctica’s coastal snowpacks and are a crucial contributor to its scarce terrestrial ecosystems.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ice Planet Survey: 85 New Subglacial Lakes Detected Below Antarctica
Hidden beneath the biggest ice mass on Earth, hundreds of subglacial lakes form a crucial part of Antarctica’s icy structure, affecting the movement and stability of glaciers, and consequentially influencing […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Glacier-like Features on Mars
There are many locations in the mid-latitudes of Mars that look like material has flowed. This image shows an example flowing downhill between two ridges.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
Mars Glaciers Are Purer And More Uniform Than Previously Thought
On the slopes of Martian mountains and craters clings what appears to be flowing honey, coated in dust and frozen in time. In reality, these features are incredibly slow-moving glaciers, […]
![Site locations and hypothesized pan-Arctic glaciation. ODP Site 910 and MD99-2277 (red dots) are located in the Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean and central Nordic Seas, respectively. Site 910 lies just beyond the margins of the maximum MIS 2 Eurasian ice sheets [gray dashed line; based on (51)], while MD99-2277 was simultaneously covered by sea ice. However, both sites are hypothesized to have been fully glaciated under the maximum pan-Arctic ice sheet extent (white shaded extent with blue flow lines) proposed by Hughes et al. (75) [modified from Jakobsson et al. (7) and Geibert et al. (3)]. - Science Advances](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Ice-World-Oceanography-The-Arctic.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ice World Oceanography: The Arctic Ocean Remained Open To Life During Ice Ages
For years, scientists have debated whether a giant thick ice shelf once covered the entire Arctic Ocean during the coldest ice ages.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
During Snowball Earth Early Life May Have Sheltered In Meltwater Ponds
When the Earth froze over, where did life shelter? MIT scientists say one refuge may have been pools of melted ice that dotted the planet’s icy surface.