While Io, the most volcanically active moon in the solar system, appears completely dry and devoid of water ice, its neighbor Europa is thought to harbor a vast global ocean […]
JUICE
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
XMM-Newton Sees Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS in X-ray Light
The European Space Agency’s X-ray space observatory XMM-Newton observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS on 3 December for around 20 hours. During that time, the comet was about 282–285 million km from […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa’s Spider-like Features And The Potential For Life
From Europa to other icy moons, scientists are studying how surface features form and what they might reveal about the potential for life.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Missions & Hardware, Status Report
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Shows Activity In ESA Juice Navigation Camera Image
During November 2025, ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) used five of its science instruments to observe 3I/ATLAS. The instruments collected information about how the comet is behaving and what […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Selected By NASA To Investigate Ocean Worlds And Their Organic Carbon Cycles
Ocean worlds such as Jupiter’s icy moon Europa and Saturn’s counterpart, Enceladus, could be among the most favorable places to discover life beyond Earth—and perhaps even a second, independent origin […]
Posted inAriel, Astrogeology, Callisto, Ceres, Charon, Dione, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Iapetus, Ice Giant, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Mimas, Miranda, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Oberon, Phoebe, Pluto, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Rhea, Status Report, Tethys, Titan, Titania, Triton, Umbriel, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icy Worlds: Moons And Dwarf Planets
In the outer solar system beyond Jupiter, water ice is a dominant component of planetary bodies, and most solid objects in this region are classified as icy bodies.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Status Report
Global Distribution Of The Key Species on the Surface of Europa
The icy surface of Europa is continuously bombarded by ions and electrons from Jupiter’s magnetosphere.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
ExoMars And Mars Express Observe Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
Between 1 and 7 October, ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) and Mars Express spacecraft turned their eyes towards interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, as it passed close to Mars.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Exomorphic Catalysis: A Discipline Dedicated to Energetic Disequilibria and the Activation of Life-Potential in Non-Terrestrial Environments
The search for life beyond Earth has long been guided by two dominant paradigms: astrobiology, which seeks environments capable of supporting life as we know it, and planetary engineering, which […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
New Constraint On Europa’s Ice Shell: Magnetic Signature From The Ocean
Jupiter’s icy moons are believed to host subsurface liquid oceans, and among them, Europa stands out as one of the most promising candidates for extraterrestrial life.