Materials in low Earth orbit (LEO) face radiation, atomic oxygen erosion, and extreme temperature fluctuations, which can severely compromise their structural and functional integrity.
The average long-term impact of Darwinian evolution on Earth’s habitability remains extremely uncertain. Recent attempts to reconcile this uncertainty by “Darwinizing” nonreplicating biogeochemical processes subject to persistence-based selection conform with […]
The search for evidence of past prebiotic or biotic activity on Mars will be enhanced by the return of samples to Earth laboratories. While impressive analytical feats have been accomplished […]
One of the most surprising and important findings of the first human landings on the Moon was the discovery of a very fine layer of lunar dust covering the entire […]
The Red Planet is a magnetic planet. The Martian crust contains strong magnetization from a core dynamo that likely was active during the Noachian period when the surface may have […]
Mars Sample Return (MSR) has been the highest flagship mission priority in the last two Planetary Decadal Surveys of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (hereafter, “the National […]
NASA’s Mars 2020 mission has initiated collection of samples from Mars’ Jezero Crater, which has a wide range of ancient rocks and rock types from lavas to lacustrine sedimentary rocks. […]
The NASA Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Mission has collected samples of rock, regolith, and atmosphere within the Noachian-aged Jezero Crater, once the site of a delta-lake system with a high […]
Understanding the history of water on Mars is important for understanding both its geological and potential biological history.
This paper introduces a novel, compact plasma sterilization system, the Active Plasma Sterilizer (APS), for planetary protection space missions.
