Within the payloads of JUICE and Europa Clipper, there are instruments suitable for the search of specific biosignatures that can diagnose life tracks in two ways.
We present the results of experiments probing the retention of CO2 in crystalline water ice, frozen sodium chloride (NaCl) brines, and flash-frozen carbonated water using diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy.
The goal of this expedition went far beyond collecting sediment cores. Scientists also set out to sample the water stored within the sediments, including from sandy layers that act as […]
Pollux is a candidate European instrument contribution to the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), designed to advance our understanding of the formation and evolution of cosmic structures in the universe, and […]
The researchers analyzed DNA from water samples collected throughout the Southern Ocean during a three-month expedition in late 2016 and early 2017. After sequencing the DNA, they cross-referenced their results […]
The Ocean Worlds Working Group (OWWG) has released a draft traceability matrix that defines the OWWG’s driving science questions for future Ocean Worlds exploration, and the science investigations, measurements, instruments, […]
Imagine descending nearly a mile and a half into a watery abyss, watching the sunlight disappear as the world around you turns completely black. Then suddenly, you find yourself surrounded […]
In the whole history of Earth’s climate, few events are as extreme as those that geologists call “Snowball Earth.”
Investigating the survival limits of extremophilic microorganisms exposed to simulated space conditions can shed light on the ability of terrestrial microorganisms to survive and propagate on other planetary bodies.
Marine habitability for complex life on Earth and Earth-like planets requires bioavailable nutrients and dissolved oxygen. The cycling of nutrients and oxygen is controlled by physical ocean circulation.
