LIFE mission Archives - Astrobiology

Surface temperature maps of our GCM simulations for different surface-atmosphere scenarios (Table 1) with 1 bar (top two rows) and 10 bar (bottom row) atmospheres. The substellar point is located at the center. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Probing Thermal Gradients Of Habitable-zone Rocky Planets Using Direct Imaging As An Anti-indicator Of A Global Surface Ocean

by Keith CowingDecember 22, 2025December 22, 2025

Future direct-imaging missions, such as the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE), aim to observe thermal emission from potentially habitable planets to characterize their surface environments and search for signs of […]

Observed hemispheric distributions as a function of θ(t) for the 1:1 SOR (LEFT) and the 3:2 SOR with an eccentricity of 0.3

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release

Observing Spatial And Temporal Variations In The Atmospheric Chemistry Of Rocky Exoplanets: Prospects For Mid-infrared Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingDecember 22, 2025December 22, 2025

Future telescopes such as the Large Interferometer For Exoplanets (LIFE) will enable mid-infrared characterisation of the atmospheres of nearby rocky exoplanets.

A possible architecture for HWO under study by the HWO Technology Maturation Project Office. This design has an 8-meter inscribed diameter filled by 37 hexagonal segments — larger than JWST. Unlike JWST, this telescope is an off-axis format with a secondary mirror on a single strut structure at top and a multilayer deployable barrel for micrometeorite protection and thermal stability. -- STSCI

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Stellar Cartography

The Next Frontier In Exoplanet Science: Imaging Our Neighbouring Planetary Systems

by Keith CowingDecember 19, 2025December 19, 2025

Transmission and eclipse spectroscopy have been invaluable tools for the characterisation of extrasolar planet atmospheres. While they will continue to provide many new insights and discoveries in the decade(s) to […]

Matrix plot summarizing the main differences between the 22 model scenarios. The x and y-axes show the scenario numbers. Values in the blue-shaded boxes show the absolute mean difference () of the spectral radiance (W m-2 sr-1 micron-1) taken from the calculated emission spectra (Figure 8). Darker blue shading corresponds to larger  values. The upper right triangle (above the central diagonal, denoted by empty white boxes) shows  values for the CO2 fundamental absorption band at 15 microns. The lower left triangle shows the same but for the O3 fundamental absorption band at 9.6 microns. Colored boxes (red, yellow, green, orange) represent large emission differences (deeper blue shading) -- MNRAS

Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Status Report

Detectability of Atmospheric Climate and Biosignatures with the Large Interferometer for Exoplanets (LIFE) for Terrestrial-type Exoplanets

by Keith CowingNovember 10, 2025November 10, 2025

We investigate the detectability of atmospheric biosignatures with the LIFE mission.

TESS target pixel file (TFP) of KOBE-1 for sectors 17 (upper panel) and 57 (bottom panel) using the tpfplotter algorithm. The white cross represents the position of the target, while the red dots are objects in the field detected by Gaia with delta G < 8 mag. SPOC aperture is shown as red squares. See Sect. 2.3. -- astro-ph.EP

Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

KOBE 1: The First Planetary System From the KOBE survey. Two Planets Likely Residing in the sub-Neptune Mass Regime Around a Late K-dwarf

by Keith CowingFebruary 10, 2025February 10, 2025

K-dwarf stars are promising targets in the exploration of potentially habitable planets. Their properties, falling between G and M dwarfs, provide an optimal trade-off between the prospect of habitability and […]

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Terraforming & Geoengineering, TRAPPIST-1

Telltale Greenhouse Gases Could Signal Alien Terraforming Activity

by Keith CowingJune 26, 2024June 26, 2024

If aliens modified a planet in their solar system to make it warmer, we’d be able to tell. A new UC Riverside study identifies the artificial greenhouse gases that would […]