The ‘Fermi paradox’ refers to the mismatch between a widely held expectation that advanced technological life should be common in the Universe—recently given impetus by the discovery that other planetary […]
Nature
![Images of microfossil specimens of Navifusa majensis. (Demoulin et al., Nature, 2024) [L] one of the microfossils with stacks of thylakoids highlighted using yellow bars [R] magnification of the end of the cell.](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FossilCellsProvide.png?resize=1200%2C838&ssl=1)
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Status Report
Fossil Cells Provide Evidence Of Early Oxygenic Photosynthesis On Earth
Today oxygenic photosynthesis is unique to cyanobacteria and their plastid relatives within eukaryotes. Although its origin before the Great Oxidation Event is still debated 1,2,3,4, the accumulation of O2 profoundly […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Press Release
A Molten Layer Covers Mars’ Core
NASA’s InSight mission to Mars helped scientists map out Mars’ internal structure, including the size and composition of its core, and provided general hints about its tumultuous formation.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Search For Life On Earth From The Galileo Spacecraft (Carl Sagan et al 1993)
In its December 1990 fly-by of Earth, the Galileo spacecraft found evidence of abundant gaseous oxygen, a widely distributed surface pigment with a sharp absorption edge in the red part […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microgravity, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Agriculture, Space Life Science, Space Stations
The Genetic Response Of An Earth Plant – Off World – In Microgravity
Spaceflight presents a multifaceted environment for plants, combining the effects on growth of many stressors and factors including altered gravity, the influence of experiment hardware, and increased radiation exposure.
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
NASA Biofinder Detects Biological Remains In Green River Fish Fossils From Eocene Epoch At Video Speed
The “Search for life”, which may be extinct or extant on other planetary bodies is one of the major goals of NASA planetary exploration missions. Finding such evidence of biological […]