The quest for evidence of life on Mars could be more difficult than scientists previously thought. A scientific paper published today details the investigation of a chemical in the Martian […]
Mars
Posted inMars
ExoMars Can Detect Life That Survives Simulated Environment on Mars
An instrument similar to those used on Earth by art detectives and to sense explosives at airports will be taken into space for the first time by ExoMars, the European […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life
New Research Supports Theory That Life Started on Mars
Professor Steven Benner will tell geochemists gathering today (Thursday, 29 August) at the annual Goldschmidt conference that an oxidized mineral form of the element molybdenum, which may have been crucial […]
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Water-Rock Reactions Could Be 'Food' for Life on Mars
A new study has shown how low temperature chemical reactions between iron-containing minerals and water could produce hydrogen ‘food’ for microorganisms that inhabit pores and cracks in rocks below the […]
Posted inMars
Ancient Snowfall on Mars?
Valley networks branching across the Martian surface leave little doubt that water once flowed on the Red Planet. But where that ancient water came from — whether it bubbled up […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors
Reports Detail Mars Rover Clues to Atmosphere’s Past
A pair of new papers report measurements of the Martian atmosphere’s composition by NASA’s Curiosity rover, providing evidence about loss of much of Mars’ original atmosphere.
Posted inMars, Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Sterilized Mars Spacecraft Largely a Waste of Money
Writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, astrobiologists Alberto Fairen of Cornell University and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University say the NASA Office of Planetary Protection’s “detailed and expensive” efforts […]
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Volcanism on Mars controlled by early oxidation of the upper mantle
The compositions of the 3.7-billion-year-old surface rocks on Mars — as observed by the Spirit rover at Gusev crater — are shown to be consistent with early mixing of oxidized […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life
Martian Clay Contains Chemical Implicated in the Origin of Life
Researchers from the University of Hawaii at Manoa NASA Astrobiology Institute (UHNAI) have discovered high concentrations of boron in a Martian meteorite. When present in its oxidized form (borate), boron […]
Posted inMars
Strong Evidence for Flowing Water on Mars
Despite satellite images that show vast networks of channels, past Mars rover missions have shown limited evidence for flowing water on Mars. Now, rocks analyzed by NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover […]