[astro-ph.EP] The surface of Ceres exposed to the space environment will be gradually altered, but the evolution of its spectral properties remains poorly understood. Here we analyze visible and infrared […]
regolith
![Low-angle backscatter electron (LABE) imaging (Supplement 9) of sample OREX-220001-1 consisting of particles obtained from inside the SRC but exterior to the sample canister — including fragments of Bennu, SRC char, and metal. FG, fine-grained. -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/OSIRIS-REx.png?resize=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Posted inSample Return
OSIRIS-REx Returned a Pristine Sample of Asteroid Bennu: Takeaways from the Mission’s Contamination Control and Knowledge Program
[astro-ph.EP] NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission had the objective of delivering a pristine sample from asteroid (101955) Bennu to Earth for scientific analysis–where “pristine” signifies the absence of foreign materials that could […]
Posted inMars
Landforms In Ares Vallis Carved Out By Ancient Water Flow
[NASA]. Ares Vallis is a large valley that was carved billions of years ago by water flowing across the surface of Mars.
Posted inMars
Stability Of Uracil In Different Sulphates Under Martian-like UV Irradiation
[Icarus] Mars is one of the most probable and accessible places where life could have evolved beyond Earth.
Posted inMars
Biological Validation and Agnostic Experiments For Extant And Extinct Microbial Life Within The Martian Subsurface
[Astrobiology (Journal)] Over the last several decades, investigations of Earth’s subsurface and other extremely low-biomass systems have refined our understanding of the environmental limits of life, driven by methodological advances […]
Posted inMars
A Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum For Undisturbed Soils From Gusev Crater, Mars
[Springer Nature] Mössbauer analyses from MIMOS II data collected on Mars provided breakthrough insights into iron mineralogy of the planet’s surface. [Life] Resulting from limited measurement time, science operations were […]
Posted inUncategorized
NASA Viking Mission: A Perspective of the Labeled Release Biological Experiment on Mars
[Astrobiology (Journal)] The NASA Viking mission successfully landed three separate biological experiments on Mars in 1976 with a goal to detect microbial processes or materials in samples of the planet’s […]
![Geometrical and structural layout of the 12-km-thick Martian atmosphere and the 2-m-thick Martian regolith in GEANT4 simulations.-- [physics.ins-det]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Unveiling.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inMars
Unveiling Neutron And Gamma Spectrum At Martian Surface In Presence And Absence Of Hydrogen: A Computational Study Based On GEANT4 Simulations
[physics.ins-det] Motivated by the interactions of the GCR protons with the Martian atmosphere and regolith in the absence and presence of hydrogen, a series of GEANT4 simulations are employed in […]
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology
Methane Production On Mars-Relevant Clay Minerals And Simulant Regolith
[Microorganisms]. Over the course of Martian history, the presence of atmospheric carbon dioxide and potential subsurface molecular hydrogen (H2), in addition to potential surface and subsurface liquid water, suggests that […]
Posted inMars
Survival and Detectability of Mars-Derived Organic Carbon in Phobos Regolith: A Quantitative Hardness Taxonomy for MMX Sample Analysis
[eartharxiv.org] The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission will return ≥ 10 g of Phobos regolith containing a small fraction of Mars-derived impact ejecta (Ramsley and Head, 2013; Chappaz et al., […]