The surface of Mars is sterilized by ionizing radiation and pervasive oxidants; its shallow subsurface, shielded from ultraviolet light and the most reactive oxidation, may instead preserve habitable conditions.
Mars Sample Return
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report
Biocidal Conditions in Low-Mars-Orbit Can Inactivate Bioburden on External Mars Spacecraft Surfaces and Dust Particles Within a Few Sols
Mars Sample Return Program planning includes a series of spacecraft staged both on the Martian surface and in low-Mars-orbit (LMO).
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Novel Chemical Pathways For The Formation Of Nucleobase Precursors Via Benzene π-Bond Addition To HCN
We propose a simple and efficient pathway for the formation of precursors to core nucleobases in DNA and RNA using a suite of computational chemistry methods.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
DNA Fragments Could Survive In Martian Rocks For More Than 100 Million Years
The Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, has led a study published in Communications Earth and Environment, showing that if life had ever emerged on Mars, DNA fragments could be preserved […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Radiation, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Recent Production Rates Of Cosmogenic Nuclides In The Igneous Rocks of Jezero Crater Floor, Mars
The Perseverance rover has collected rock samples from the floor of Jezero crater, Mars, set to be returned to Earth through the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission. These surface rocks […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving
Oxychlorine Species On Mars: A Review
Oxychlorine species (mainly perchlorate and chlorate) have been identified at multiple locations on the surface of Mars by both orbiter and in situ rovers. They have also been found in […]
Posted inMars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
Sample Science Traceability Matrix for Perseverance’s Mars Sample Return Collection
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign aims to retrieve a set of carefully selected and documented samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover in and around Jezero Crater on Mars and […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Mars Sample Return Sample Receiving Project Measurement Definition Team Final Report
The joint ESA-NASA Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign is slated to be one of the most ambitious undertakings in the history of planetary exploration in that analyses in terrestrial laboratories […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
Sample Science Traceability Matrix for Perseverance’s Mars Sample Return Collection
The Mars Sample Return (MSR) Campaign aims to retrieve a set of carefully selected and documented samples collected by NASA’s Perseverance rover in and around Jezero Crater on Mars and […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report
The Abiotic Background as a Central Component of a Sample Safety Assessment Protocol for Sample Return
Martian rock and regolith samples are being collected and cached by NASA’s Perseverance rover, with the goal of returning them to Earth as soon as the mid-2030s.