The cosmic shoreline concept was introduced to separate planets with atmospheres from those without, by relating the cumulative X-ray and extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) instellation (integrated over the planet’s lifetime) to the […]
habitability
Posted inIcy Worlds
Dynamic Controls On Subsurface Water Chemistry And Habitability On Icy Moons
Icy moons are natural satellites whose surfaces contain a substantial fraction of frozen materials, most notably water ice.
Posted inTerraforming & Geoengineering
Conceptual Thermal Constraints On The Growth Of The First Tree On A Terraformed Mars
The environmental conditions on present‑day Mars are far outside the range tolerated by known complex terrestrial life.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Probing The Habitability Of Potential Sulfuric Acid Rich Subsurface Lakes In Europa’s Ice Shell Via Saci/STIV Integrated Models
Experimentally modeling the habitability of extreme ocean world conditions, such as those on Jupiter’s moon: Europa, would benefit from integrated microbe-virus model studies to provide both a microbial model and […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Mars Mission: A Stress Test For The Search For Life
Billions of years ago, environmental conditions on Mars were significantly more hospitable than they are today. Our neighbouring planet was likely warm, humid, and surrounded by a dense atmosphere.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
ThousandWorlds: A Benchmark For Climate Emulation Of Potentially Habitable Exoplanets
The search for life beyond Earth will depend on detecting faint signatures in the atmospheres of potentially habitable exoplanets.
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Journal articles, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Radar Echoes From Europa Reveal Secrets Beneath the Ice
A team of scientists has used NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar and the U.S. National Science Foundation Green Bank Telescope (NSF GBT) to carry out the most extensive radar study […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Status Report
Coupling Dynamical Accretion And Chemical Differentiation: A Unified Framework For Earth-Mars Diversity
The distinct physical and geochemical differences between Earth and Mars provide fundamental constraints on terrestrial planet formation, yet a self-consistent framework linking dynamical and chemical aspects remains elusive.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Reflections of Life: Distinguishing Living from Nonliving Worlds with Complexity Metrics
Detecting life beyond Earth is the primary goal of astrobiology. In this study, we showcase the effectiveness of information and complexity-based metrics for detecting signs of life on exoplanets.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Summary Of The First Year Of The Space Weather Around Young Suns Program: 900 Hours Of Low-frequency Radio And Optical Data Dedicated To Young, Solar-type Stars
The Space Weather Around Young Suns (SWAYS) program was introduced in Davis2025 as a multi-wavelength monitoring program for studying the activity and particle environments of nearby, young, solar-type stars.