What happens when a solar superstorm hits Mars? Thanks to the European Space Agency’s Mars orbiters, we now know: glitching spacecraft and a supercharged upper atmosphere.
habitability
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Water Enrichment Of Forming Sub-Neptune Envelopes Limited By Oxygen Exhaustion
The interaction between a magma ocean and a primordial atmosphere is increasingly recognized as a key process in shaping planetary envelope compositions.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Long-term Activity Cycles In Planetary M Stars Observed With SOPHIE
M dwarfs are prime targets for exoplanet searches due to their low masses and radii, which enable the detection of small planets in their habitable zones (HZs).
![[LEFT] Occurrence of bd-type oxygen reductase in a dated tree of life. Branches in the dated tree of life obtained from Mahendrarajah et al. [81] are colored according to the presence (turquoise) or absence (gray) of bd-type oxygen reductase. Eukaryotes were not included in the analysis and are therefore colored in higher gray tones, as are taxa that were not present in the comparative dataset. Dark blue dots at nodes represent possible origins of bd-type oxygen reductase. Purple bars represent the percentage of strains within the taxa that have reductases. [RIGHT] Occurrence of HCO oxygen reductase in a dated tree of life. Branches in the dated tree of life obtained from Mahendrarajah et al. [81] are colored according to the presence (yellow) or absence (gray) of HCO oxygen reductase. Eukaryotes were not included in the analysis and are therefore colored in higher gray tones, as are taxa that were not present in the comparative dataset. Brown dots at nodes represent possible origins of HCO oxygen reductase. Purple bars represent the percentage of strains within the taxa that have reductases. -- Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Oxygen-Reductase-Origin-Followed.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Oxygen Reductase Origin Followed The Great Oxidation Event And Terminated The Lomagundi Excursion
The history of Earth’s atmospheric oxygen is a cornerstone of evolutionary biology. While unequivocal evidence for an increase in atmospheric O2 marks the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) roughly 2.4 billion […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Ancient Rocks Reveal Evidence Of The First Continents And Crust Recycling Processes On Earth
New research led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has uncovered chemical signatures in zircons, the planet’s oldest minerals, that are consistent with subduction and extensive continental crust during […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Molecular Clock Evidence For An Archean Diversification Of Heme-copper Oxygen Reductase Enzymes
Age estimates for the emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis derived from molecular clock analyses reach back to the Archean, substantially predating geochemical evidence of persistent, irreversible atmospheric oxygenation following the Great […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report
Energy Deposition By Galactic Cosmic Rays And Implications For Ozone Chemistry
We present a Monte Carlo study of galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) energy deposition and its implications for stratospheric chemistry, performed with the Geant4 toolkit.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Life Support Systems, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Short-term Survival Of Tardigrades In Martian Regolith Simulants
With future intended human missions to Mars, it is crucial to understand the potential habitability of martian regolith both to support plant growth and to mitigate accidental release of organisms […]
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Ultraviolet Observations Of Atmospheric Escape In Exoplanets With The Habitable Worlds Observatory
Among the many recommendations of the Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysics 2020, we found that a priority area of research is to pave the pathways towards finding and characterizing […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Plant Biology, Status Report
Photosynthetic Exergy I. Thermodynamic Limits For Habitable-zone Planets
Photosynthesis is central to Earth’s biosphere and a prime candidate for sustaining complex life on habitable exoplanets, yet a thermodynamically consistent treatment of the work potential of stellar radiation at […]