[Dale Andersen]: The 787 Dreamliner rolled to a stop far out on the apron, as the big jets often do here, and I climbed down into a gray afternoon and […]
Mars
Posted inMars
Microbial Methanogenesis on Mars: A Life Detection Target For An MLE-Type Mission And Future Human Exploration
[astro-ph.IM] Methane (CH4) is one of the most enigmatic and potentially consequential trace gases detected on Mars, having demonstrated apparent seasonality, localized plumes, or, depending on who you ask, never […]
Posted inRobotics/Rovers/UAVs
Rosalind Franklin Rover Stand-In Tackles A Tilted Descent
[ESA]. A full-size model of the rover tackled slopes, boulders and Mars-like gravity as it stepped onto a simulated martian terrain during a two-month test campaign on Earth.
![Schematic depicting how each topic interacts with one another and the key processes responsible for this interaction. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/The-Atmospheric.png?resize=1200%2C725&ssl=1)
Posted inMars
The Atmospheric Chemistry and Surface Interactions on Mars (ACSIOM) Workshop 2025
[astro-ph.IM] The ACSIOM workshop was held in Cambridge from 10th-12th November 2025. Its primary aims were twofold: 1) to gather UK researchers involved in Mars atmospheric science to identify current […]
Posted inMars
Ancient Endorheic Lake Basins: Promising Sampling Sites for the Tianwen-3 Mars Sample Return Mission
[Astrobiology (Journal) via PubMed]. The China National Space Administration has announced its Mars Sample Return mission Tianwen-3 to search for life on Mars.
Posted inMars
Ancient Clays Near The Hellas Basin On Mars
[NASA]. Ancient clay-rich sediments (orangish color and polygonal fractures in our enhanced color cutout) exposed between wind-blown dunes and patches of sand northwest of the giant Hellas impact basin.
Posted inDale Andersen's Field Reports
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen’s Antarctic Field Report: Preview: Fall 2026 Lake Untersee Field Season
Keith’s note: Dale Andersen is preparing for his second expedition to Lake Untersee, Antarctica for 2026. The first 2026 Field season at Lake Untersee was conducted from January – March […]
![Radiogenic dose and the benefit of drilling. (a) GCR dose versus depth for constant-depth and steadily exhuming horizons, compared with the depth-independent radiogenic dose. Shading spans the radiogenic dose of the baseline composition at 3 Ga (0.9 MGy) and that of the regional GRS abundances at 3.9 Ga (5.6 MGy). Where a curve crosses the radiogenic level, the two doses are equal. (b) Total-dose reduction at 100–101 and 199–200 cm versus exposure age; dashed lines are the GCR-only shielding factors. Dotted lines mark effective ages for 10 and 100 nm yr−1 exhumation. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Radiation.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inMars
Radiation Limits On Amino Acid Preservation And Chiral Measurement At Oxia Planum
[astro-ph.EP] Amino acid enantiomeric excess (EE) is a potential biosignature, but its measurement requires sufficient surviving material as well as preserved chirality.
![[LEFT] Extended Seasonal evolution of total atmospheric optical depth across 669 Sol (a) Total atmospheric optical depth for the control simulation (b) Total atmospheric optical depth under singleinjection aluminium nanoparticle substitution (c) Total optical-depth anomaly between the seeded and control simulations, showing the temporal evolution of the radiative effect associated with the aerosol substitution Extended [RIGHT]] Seasonal evolution of aerosol optical depth across 669 Sol (a) Aerosol optical depth for the control simulation, showing the spatial and temporal distribution of the background aerosol (b) Aerosol optical depth under single-injection aluminium nanoparticle substitution (c) Aerosol optical-depth anomaly between the seeded and control simulations, showing the evolution and decay of the aerosol optical signal in the absence of continuous replenishment. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/3D-Global.png?resize=1200%2C714&ssl=1)
Posted inTerraforming & Geoengineering
3D Global Climate Simulations of Synthetic Mars Warming
[astro-ph.EP] Artificial warming via engineered aerosols presents a novel pathway to bypass volatile scarcity on modern Mars.
Posted inMars
A Proposal To Make Mars Sample Return A Collaborative NASA, ESA, And CNSA Effort
[Astrobiology (Journal) via PubMed] Humanity’s self-awareness drives the quest to understand the origins of life. Although Earth history has erased much of our planet’s early biological evidence, Mars preserves ancient […]