lava fields Archives - Astrobiology

Montage of three images taken by Mars Perseverance on Sol 1697 Nov. 28, 2025 by the WATSON Camera - NASA

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Conferences and Meetings, Desert Worlds, Education and Outreach, Mars, People Of Astrobiology, Status Report

Summer School: “Biosignatures and the Search For Life on Mars”

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2026March 26, 2026

“Biosignatures and the Search For Life on Mars”, will be held in Iceland from 18 to 26 July 2026

ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan and ESA astronaut reserve Arnaud Prost compare images of a sample in the NASA Artemis HULC Camera and the Electronic FieldBook. -- ESA

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

ESA Away Team Training: Cameras And Tricorders At Lanzarote’s Lava Fields

by Keith CowingOctober 16, 2024July 30, 2025

ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan and ESA astronaut reserve Arnaud Prost compare images of a sample in the NASA Artemis HULC Camera and the Electronic FieldBook.

Scientists put on “bunny suits” before they collect samples at one of the selected sites. The suits protect the area and collected samples from contamination when investigating biological processes. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Lora Bleacher larger image

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Career Opportunities, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors

Away Team Practice: Sample Collection On A Hawaiian Volcano

by Keith CowingJuly 10, 2024July 7, 2024

In June 2017, five student journalists from Stony Brook University packed their hiking boots and hydration packs and joined a NASA-funded science team for 10 days on the lava fields […]

This image taken by the European Space Agency's Mars Express orbiter shows an oblique view focusing on one of the vast lava flows in Elysium Planitia.ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Recent Volcanism On Mars Reveals A Planet More Active Than Previously Thought

by Keith CowingDecember 20, 2023December 20, 2023

A vast, flat, “featureless” plain on Mars surprised researchers by revealing a much more tumultuous geologic past than expected, according to a study led by researchers at the University of […]

The two major field sites: Eldfell, a decade-old eruption site on the island of Heimaey, and Fimmvörðuháls, a region between glaciers with access to both very recent and much older lava fields. At each major site, triplicate samples were taken at each point in a 1 m triangle; this pattern was repeated at 2–3 locations 10 m apart, and then that nested pattern was repeated 2–3 times at locations 100 m apart. -- Astrobiology via PubMed

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Correlations Between Life-Detection Techniques and Implications for Sampling Site Selection in Planetary Analog Missions

by Keith CowingDecember 20, 2023December 20, 2023

We conducted an analog sampling expedition under simulated mission constraints to areas dominated by basaltic tephra of the Eldfell and Fimmvörðuháls lava fields (Iceland).