[NASA/JPL/UA] This image covers a pie-like feature that thought to be the result of subsurface sediment mobilization.
Mars
Mars and the Earthlings: Can we, and should we, go to Mars?
This training school stemmed from the European Astrobiology Institute’s Project Team “Mars and the Earthlings”, whose goal is to provide reliable information and foster healthy, evidence-based discussions on human Mars […]
Posted inMars
Preparing ExoMars For Rosalind Franklin Astrobiology Rover Delivery
[ESA] The footage shows the simultaneous deployment of two landing legs from the ExoMars landing platform, in two sequential pairs.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
MarsCast: Transfer Learning Of AI Weather Foundation Models To Planetary Atmospheres
[astro-ph.EP] We investigate the transferability of Earth weather foundation models to planetary atmospheres by adapting the GraphCast graph neural weather forecasting model to Mars. While GraphCast achieves state-of-the-art performance for […]
![Average ion velocity and magnetic field distributions near the ICB. (A) The center-of-mass velocity of heavy ions in the XZMSE plane, averaged over −1 RM < YMSE < 1 RM. (B) Proton velocity. (C) Velocity shear between protons and heavy ions. (D) Magnetic field strength. (E) Angle between the magnetic field and the X�⃗ MSEin the YZMSE plane, averaged over −1.5 RM < XMSE < 0.5 RM. Black arrows in (A) to (C) indicate velocity directions. Black curves in (A) to (D) mark the nominal locations of the bow shock and ICB. The black shaded sphere in (E) denotes the planetary shadow. -- [physics.space-ph]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Simultaneous.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inSpace Weather & Heliophysics
Simultaneous Mars-orbit Observations Reveal Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability-driven Bulk Atmospheric Ion Escape
[physics.space-ph] Atmospheric ion escape driven by the solar wind is a key process controlling the long-term loss of the Martian atmosphere. Localized plasma clouds can carry substantial fluxes of planetary […]
![View of the Hindsight application: drive panel synchronization (A) ensures consistent arrangement of data sources. The playhead (B) is accessible across the drive panel, tying all visualizations to the same timestamp. The fault in question is highlighted across data in red via the fault overlay (C). -- [cs.HC]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Hindsight.png?resize=1200%2C723&ssl=1)
Posted inRobotics/Rovers/UAVs
Hindsight: Similarity-Based Analytics For Mars Rover Drive Retrieval
[cs.HC] While Mars rover operators plan drives across hazardous Martian terrain and diagnose unexpected faults, the necessary information is distributed across separate systems and often reconstructed through manual correlation and […]
![Physical and chemical gradients predicted to dictate habitability across depth in the martian subsurface. These include (1) constraints on water; although water activity (aw) gradients are not yet known for Mars, predicted liquid brine stability depends on primary ionic composition with perchlorate-rich brines transitioning into chloride- and sulfate-enriched brines with depth and temperature (Chevrier and Slank, 2024; Stevens and Cockell, 2023). It is important to note that porosity is expected to decrease with depth, which may also influence water availability, with any potential brines increasingly localized to pore spaces and fractures (Michalski et al., 2018). (2) Surface radiation exposure is expected to subside to lower background radionuclide decay around 3–5 m depth. (3) If liquid water is present at depth, chemotrophic microbial communities could utilize the products of water–rock interaction including inorganic electron donors/acceptors and simple abiotic organics. Image created using biorender.com.-- [Astrobiology (Journal)]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Life-Detection.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inMars
Life Detection In The Martian Subsurface: Advancements In Microbial Metabolic Research Under Mars Laboratory And Field-Analog Conditions Since Viking
[Astrobiology (Journal)] Following the Viking experiments in 1976, many of the original inferences of biological metabolism have been replicated via abiotic mechanisms we now know are plausible on Mars’ surface.
Posted inMars
A Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum For Undisturbed Soils From Gusev Crater, Mars
[Springer Nature] Mössbauer analyses from MIMOS II data collected on Mars provided breakthrough insights into iron mineralogy of the planet’s surface. [Life] Resulting from limited measurement time, science operations were […]
Posted inUncategorized
NASA Viking Mission: A Perspective of the Labeled Release Biological Experiment on Mars
[Astrobiology (Journal)] The NASA Viking mission successfully landed three separate biological experiments on Mars in 1976 with a goal to detect microbial processes or materials in samples of the planet’s […]
Posted inMars
Mars Curiosity Blog Sols 4961-4967: Approaching a Break in the Rock Record?
[NASA JPL] Earth planning date: Friday, July 24, 2026