Editor’s note: as we send increasingly sophisticated astrobiology probes – to more places – often at much greater distances – they will need to be able to do more and […]
microscopy
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Space Station Imaging System to Enhance Space Biology and Life Detection Beyond Earth
Onboard the International Space Station (ISS), the Extant Life Volumetric Imaging System, dubbed ELVIS, is not about resurrecting rock-n-roll legends but pioneering scientific discovery. Using innovative holographic technology to deliver […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Sample Return, Status Report
NASA Astromaterials: OSIRIS-REx News April 2025
The OSIRIS-REx curation team has continued to expand and enrich the NASA OSIRIS-REx catalog – this newsletter includes the second update of the catalog since its initial publication in March […]
Posted inExploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: New AI Technique Generates Clear Images Of Thick Biological Samples Without The Fancy Hardware
Depth degradation is a problem biologists know all too well: The deeper you look into a sample, the fuzzier the image becomes. A worm embryo or a piece of tissue […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors
Application Of Chemotactic Behavior For Life Detection
One excellent biosignature for the present detection of microbial life on Earth is motility, leading to its growing interest within the astrobiological community as an observable attribute that, if detected […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Physiology & Medicine, Space Stations
Offworld Life Science: Brain Organoids Grown In Microgravity
Did you know some viruses don’t cause illness and can instead be used to treat disease? Biotechnology startup Axonis Therapeutics reprogrammed a virus to carry a novel gene therapy to […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, People Of Astrobiology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
ESA Away Team Training With Tricorders
Rosemary Coogan (ESA), Arnaud Prost (ESA astronaut reserve) and Norishige Kanai (JAXA), trainees of ESA PANGAEA course, investigate some deposits, using the microscope associated with the Electronic FieldBook.
Posted inImaging & Spectroscopy, Microgravity, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report
Offworld Life Science: Immunofluorescence Staining Of A Synovial Organoid
Immunofluorescence staining of a synovial organoid shows CD68+ macrophages (immune cells) in yellow, CD31+ endothelial cells (blood vessels) in red, PDPN+ fibroblasts in green, and nuclei in blue is seen.
Posted inCryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microgravity, People Of Astrobiology, Space Stations, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Offworld Science: Studying The Main Component Of Our Water World In Microgravity
Astronaut Don Pettit: Science and Art, or Art and Science; related subjects where it really doesn’t matter which comes first. So I have access to a freezer kept at -95 […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
Subsurface Microbial Colonization at Mineral-Filled Veins in 2-Billion-Year-Old Mafic Rock from the Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa
Recent advances in subsurface microbiology have demonstrated the habitability of multi-million-year-old igneous rocks, despite the scarce energy supply from rock-water interactions.