icy world
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice World Expedition: Drilling Through Thwaites Glacier In West Antarctica

by Keith Cowing

A team of researchers from the UK and Korea has reached the most inaccessible and least-understood part of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica where they will drill through the glacier […]

Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Researchers Uncover Hidden Genetic World in Antarctic Waters

by Keith Cowing

The researchers analyzed DNA from water samples collected throughout the Southern Ocean during a three-month expedition in late 2016 and early 2017. After sequencing the DNA, they cross-referenced their results […]

Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microgravity, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Erosion Of Iceberg A-23A Sparks A Surge Of Microscopic Life

by Keith Cowing

Iceberg A-23A has had a more eventful run than most of the large Antarctic icebergs that have calved from the continent’s ice shelves in recent decades. Over its winding, forty-plus-year […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Worlds Working Group (OWWG) Draft Traceability Available For Community Comment

by Keith Cowing

The Ocean Worlds Working Group (OWWG) has released a draft traceability matrix that defines the OWWG’s driving science questions for future Ocean Worlds exploration, and the science investigations, measurements, instruments, […]

Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Exploring The Habitability Of The Outer Solar System Icy Moons For The Extremotolerant Yeast Rhodotorula frigidalcoholis

by Keith Cowing

Psychrophilic and psychrotolerant microorganisms have the unique ability to grow below 0°C, which makes them ideal candidates for studying how life could survive on the icy moons of the solar […]

Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report, Titan

Planetary Protection For Sustainable Space Exploration – Philosophical Transactions A Theme Issue: (open access)

by Keith Cowing

Royal Society Publishing has recently published an OPEN ACCESS theme issue of Philosophical Transactions A: Planetary Protection for sustainable space exploration compiled and edited by Karen Olsson-Francis, Athena Coustenis, Peter […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Ice Planet Recon: Glacier Surface Lowering And Subglacial Outflow Coincide With Blood Falls Discharge In The McMurdo Dry Valleys

by Keith Cowing

Blood Falls is a unique feature that appears at the snout of the Taylor Glacier in the upper Taylor Valley, East Antarctica.

Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Status Report

Delivery Of Complex Organic Molecules To The System Of Jupiter

by Keith Cowing

Complex organic molecules are key markers of molecular diversity, and their formation conditions in protoplanetary disks remain an active area of research. These molecules have been detected on a variety […]

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