[Nature Sensors] Deep sea microorganisms remain largely inaccessible because existing sampling and cultivation methods fail to preserve native high-pressure microenvironments from seafloor to laboratory.
planetary protection
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
Functional Profiling Of Spacecraft Cleanroom Microbiomes Through Genome‑wide Phenotype Predictions
[biorxiv.org] Current planetary protection approaches rely heavily on spore-based tests developed for Mars missions and may not adequately assess contamination risks for icy ocean worlds such as Europa.
Posted inMoon
Potential Survivable Niches For Microbial Life On The Lunar South Pole
[astro-ph.EP]. Most lunar surface conditions are incredibly harsh for microbial survival. High ultraviolet radiation, temperatures, and energetic particle radiation limit survival over most unprotected lunar surfaces, particularly in equatorial regions […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
Predicting Fungal Contaminants for Space Missions Using Proteome-Wide Screening for Protein Orthologs
[biorxiv.org]. Fungal contamination poses a growing threat to spacecraft integrity, crew health, and planetary protection efforts.
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
NASA Establishes Mars Forward Operational Risk and Contamination Evaluation (M-FORCE) Tiger Team to Shape Mars Planetary Protection Protocols
[NASA OSMA]. NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA), in partnership with the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), is seeking applicants for a newly established external Tiger Team named Mars Forward […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
Human-Related Microbes May Survive At The Moon’s South Pole
[NASA] Some of Earth’s microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the Moon’s South Pole region, NASA […]
Outer Planets Assessment Group (OPAG) Meeting (Hybrid)
Dear OPAG Community, We are pleased to announce that the Outer Planets Assessment Group will host a Community meeting September 22-23, 2026. This meeting will be a virtual meeting and will […]
Workshop on the Integrated Science of Comets
11 AUG UPDATE: The Workshop on the Integrated Science of Comets: From Laboratory Studies of Cometary Materials to Remote Observations is scheduled for September 22–24, 2026, at the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in […]
Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting for Early Career Researchers (IOoL2026)
The Origin of Life Early Career Network (OoLEN) is pleased to announce that this year’s Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting for Early Career Researchers (IOoL2026) will be held in Tokyo, Japan at […]
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 […]