[NASA]. Gabrielle Schweitzer performs a ultraviolet light inspection on a Dragonfly Mass spectrometer (DRAMS) transducer at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt Md., Oct. 20, 2026. Tricorder Tech: Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer […]
icy world
![Map of surface mass balance in the star-centered frame, averaged over the final synodic day of the simulation, for the 1-year synodic day, 500 m GEL case. Left: Nightside. Right: Dayside. The yellow star represents the substellar point. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/The-Fate-of-Ice.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inIcy Worlds
The Fate of Ice Sheets on Near-Synchronously Rotating Land Planets
[astro-ph.EP] Rocky exoplanets orbiting M dwarf stars are often assumed to be synchronously rotating, such that water-trapping in ice sheets on the permanent nightside may pose a threat to habitability.
![[LEFT] Diagram of a pixel component from a microbolometer array showing the absorbing surface, electrically conducting bridge connecting the absorber to the readout electronics, and the mirrored surface below the absorber. [RIGHT] A digital render of the Enceladus Thermal Mapper instrument. The arrow shows the location of the filter assembly. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Tailoring.png?resize=1200%2C606&ssl=1)
Posted inEnceladus
Tailoring Infra-Red Filters for Global Mapping of Enceladus’ Thermal Environment
[astro-ph.IM]. We present the results of an initial study into the feasibility and design of the Enceladus Thermal Mapper (ETM) instrument, designed to provide detailed temperature data for Enceladus, an […]
Posted inComets and Asteroids
Webb Space Telescope Used To Compare Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS With Icy Bodies In Our Solar System
[SwRI] A Southwest Research Institute-led study used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to examine ice grains streaming from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, just the third object from beyond our solar system […]
![Global map of Enceladus with color and contours indicating the estimated heat flux (in mWm−2 ) calculated from maps of shell thickness [Hemingway and Mittal, 2019]. Our results (Table 1) are plotted as lines using the same color scale as the background. Green labeled boxes show other estimates [Giese et al., 2008; Bland et al., 2012, 2007; Leonard et al., 2021] of paleo-heat fluxes using similar methods.-- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Paleoheat.png?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inEnceladus
Paleo-heat Flux Estimates Across Enceladus Derived From Flexural Response Of The Ice Shell
[astro-ph.EP] Saturn’s moon Enceladus has active plumes suggestive of locally high heat fluxes at present, and the present-day heating is reasonably well characterized. However, the moon’s thermal history is not […]
Posted inIcy Worlds
Isobaric Crystallization of Aqueous Magnesium Chloride Solutions at Icy Moon Conditions
[ACS] Subsurface oceans inside icy moons are expected to contain dissolved salts whose crystallization controls the mineralogy of their hydrospheres and potentially their surfaces.
![Meridional overturning streamfunction (Ψ). Meridional sections of zonally–integrated streamfunction (Sverdrups, 1 Sv ≡ 10 6 m 3 s−1 ) in the (a) IG_Ctrl, (b) Glac_Ref, (c) IG_N50, and (d) IG_N100 simulations. Positive (red) values denote clockwise overturning, while negative (blue) values denote counterclockwise overturning. The apparent diapycnal transport at ~60°S in (a) IG_Ctrl and (c) IG_N50 may be related to the effect of standing meanders [see Jansen (2017)] but does not impinge upon our results. -- Journal of Climate](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/New-discovery.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inIcy Worlds
New Discovery Links Hemispheres In The Mystery Of Earth’s Past Ice Ages
[University of St. Andrews] New research from the University of St Andrews has uncovered a thus unknown process which may have helped drive the Earth in to past ice ages.
Posted inCryobiology
How High-pressure Ices On Large Ocean Worlds Can Support Habitability: The Compatibility Of Amino Acids Into Ice VI And VII
[Science Advances] Water oceans in large icy moons and exoplanets are isolated from the rocky interior by thick layers of high-pressure ice, which hinder the direct release of nutrients and […]
Posted inCryobiology
Ice Drives The Emergence Of Functional Protocells
[biorxiv.org] A defining feature of living systems is the high local concentration of diverse molecular components within membrane-bounded compartments.
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icy Ocean Planet Recon: Saildrone Research Fleet To Circle Antarctica For 5 Years
Editor’s note: As we plan to use robotic probes such as Saildrone to explore worlds in our solar system with oceans, missions that explore Earth’s oceans can serve as important […]