The Cassini spacecraft orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, performing over a hundred flybys of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon.
icy world
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Status Report
A Roadmap For The Exploration Of Enceladus
This paper provides key hypotheses to guide future missions to Enceladus for the current decadal cycle and beyond. Enceladus is a high priority target for the fields of astrobiology and […]
Posted inCallisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Status Report
Not Just Gas: How Solid-Driven Torques Shaped the Migration of the Galilean Moons
The primary aim of this study is to investigate the orbital migration of the Galilean moons by incorporating self-consistent solid dynamics in circumjovian disk models. We perform two-fluid simulations using […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Considerations On The Process Of Target Selection For The Comet Interceptor Mission
Comet Interceptor is an ESA science mission with payload contributions from ESA Member States and with an international participation by JAXA. It is the first mission that is being designed, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
From Emission To Absorption: The FAST Observation Of The OH 18-cm Lines From The Comet C2025/A6
We observed comet C/2025 A6 with FAST telescope equipped with the ultra-wideband receiver from 23rd October to 8th November 2025 and detected the OH 18-cm lines for the first time.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Titan’s Strong Tidal Dissipation Precludes A Subsurface Ocean
The Cassini mission provided unprecedented insights into Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, from its atmosphere to the deep interior.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Raman Spectroscopy Of Salt Deposits From The Simulated Subsurface Ocean Of Enceladus
Saturn’s ice-covered moon Enceladus may host a subsurface ocean with biologically relevant chemistry.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
A Search For Radio Technosignatures From Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS With The Allen Telescope Array
In 2025 July, the third-ever interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, was discovered on its ingress into the Solar System. Similar to the NASA Voyager missions sent in 1977, science probes by extraterrestrial […]
![[RIGHT Io [LEFT] Europa -- NASA JPL source](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/On-The-Divergent-Evolution-of.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Io, Jupiter, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
On The Divergent Evolution Of Io And Europa As Primordial Ocean Worlds
Galilean moons exhibit a decrease in bulk density with distance from Jupiter, which may reflect differences in evolutionary paths and water loss.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures
South African Telescope Detects Natural Radio Emission – And No Signal Of Technological Origin – From Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS
Since its discovery on 1 July 2025 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), the object known as 3I/ATLAS has captured the popular imagination, being only the third known […]