Planetary Science Institute Archives

The Perseverance rover on Mars inspects a rock dubbed Cheyava Falls with the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument on its robotic arm. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware

Organic Carbon Detected In The Bright Angel Formation On Mars

by Keith CowingJune 25, 2026June 25, 2026

In September of last year, NASA announced that its Perseverance rover discovered a potential biosignature, which is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin.

The painting on the left is an artist’s conception of a plume eruption on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. The image on the right is a photo of two researchers in the Utah desert collecting effluent from the Crystal cold-water geyser. The aim of their study is to understand if and how material is modified as it is transported from reservoir to the spray of a geyser. What they learn can be applied to the study of plumes from icy moons that might host life, or the components for it, in a subsurface ocean. Credit: PSI/William Hartmann/Morgan Cable

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

What Cold-water Geysers On Earth Reveal About The Habitability Of Ocean Worlds

by Keith CowingFebruary 18, 2026February 18, 2026

In the eastern Utah desert, carbon-dioxide-saturated water bubbles, sprays and foams from the ground. These cold-water geysers, sometimes called ‘soda pop geysers,’ are a new and reliable Earth-based analog for […]

A composite view of Europa’s spider-like Manannán Crater (right), taken by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft in May 1998. Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Europa, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Europa’s Spider-like Features And The Potential For Life

by Keith CowingDecember 5, 2025December 5, 2025

From Europa to other icy moons, scientists are studying how surface features form and what they might reveal about the potential for life.

Astrobiology (general), People Of Astrobiology, Status Report

Join The Scientific Society For Astrobiology (SSA)

by Keith CowingOctober 21, 2025

Incorporated in May 2022, the SSA is a professional society that advances the field of astrobiology by fostering collaborations amongst members and helping to boost the community’s voice to the […]

New research suggests that Ariel, a moon of Uranus, might have once harbored an ocean over 100 miles (about 170 kilometers) deep. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/PSI/Mikayla Kelley/Peter Buhler

Ariel, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Miranda, Press Release, Uranus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Evidence Of A Past, Deep Ocean On Ariel, A Uranian Moon

by Keith CowingSeptember 30, 2025September 30, 2025

Growing evidence suggests that a subsurface ocean lurks beneath the icy surface of Uranus’ moon Ariel, but new research, published in Icarus, characterizes the possible evolution of this ocean, and […]

Faith Vilas. Credit: Bonnie and Gabe, Two Creative Birds

Astronomy & Telescopes, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release

Faith Vilas Receives The Gerard P. Kuiper Prize

by Keith CowingAugust 17, 2025August 17, 2025

Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Faith Vilas was awarded the 2025 Gerard P. Kuiper Prize by the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society. This prize recognizes and […]

This is an example of a debris-covered glacier on Mars. New research into these features suggests that they are purer than once thought, with implications for understanding Mars’ overall water budget and resource utilization on future crewed missions. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

Mars Glaciers Are Purer And More Uniform Than Previously Thought

by Keith CowingJuly 25, 2025July 25, 2025

On the slopes of Martian mountains and craters clings what appears to be flowing honey, coated in dust and frozen in time. In reality, these features are incredibly slow-moving glaciers, […]

These Martian landforms were created when volcanic ash was modified by water to various degrees over millennia. These layered deposits are on a plateau near Juventae Chasma in the Valles Marineris region of Mars. Researchers have found that these bright layered deposits contain opaline silica and iron sulfates, which hint at their origins. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release

How Ash and Water Intricately Sculpted the Surface of Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 12, 2025

The plateaus that flank the largest canyon in the Solar System are shrouded in hypnotically complex landforms called light-toned layered deposits. Fifteen years ago, PSI Senior Scientist Catherine Weitz first […]

A Tetracorder map of the Moon showing water absorption areas (with an Earth-based image of the Moon in the center right to establish the boundaries of this map).

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Planetary Orbital Surveys Using A Tetracorder

by Keith CowingJanuary 6, 2025January 6, 2025

In Star Trek, the intrepid explorers use a handheld device called a tricorder to sense, record and compute environmental data. But scientists in the real world have one-upped our fictional friends […]

Map of Miranda's southern hemisphere made using JMARS and a base map by P. M. Schenk (2013). The map is shown to give context to the regional maps of Arden Corona and Elsinore Corona in Figures 4 and 5. The map shows how Arden Corona and Elsinore Corona are on opposite hemispheres from each other and made up of concentric ridges. The upper mapped region represents Elsinore Corona. Elsinore Corona is divided between ropelike folded terrain in the south (ECFT), rugged ridged terrain in the northwest (ECRT) and a mixture of the two terrains to the northeast (ECMT). Ridges are positive relief grooves. Furrows are negative relief grooves. The lower region represents Arden Corona (AC). Arden Corona is made up of a series of furrows. Prominent impact basins are also mapped for geographic context. Elsinore Corona and Arden Corona are mapped in this figure because their analysis required higher-resolution imagery, but the cratered terrain and Inverness Corona are mapped only in Figure 3 because of lower-resolution requirements, since they were not the main focus of the study. Labels of each unit mapped are added to clarify colors because of transparency issues. -- The Planetary Science Journal

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Miranda, Press Release, Uranus, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Is An Ocean Lurking Beneath Miranda?

by Keith CowingNovember 25, 2024November 25, 2024

Uranus’s moon Miranda might have once harbored an ocean beneath its surface, according to research published in the Planetary Science Journal. The work was led by graduate student Caleb Strom […]