[Analytical Chemistry via PubMed] The chemical characterization of scarce or heterogeneous solid samples remains a significant analytical challenge due to the high material quantities required by conventional techniques.
Sample Return
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
A Type Of Arctic Ocean Bacteria May Be Using Acetone To Turn Carbon Into Food
[Concordia University] A newly identified Arctic Ocean bacterium may have an unusual way of making the building blocks it needs to grow. Using acetone, a common chemical in seawater, the […]
Posted inAstrogeology
Hidden In Plain Sight In Ryugu And Meteorites
[Kanazawa University] Asteroid Ryugu and some carbonaceous meteorites, which are thought to have similar origins in the early Solar System, are known as chemically “primitive” materials because they preserve the […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Metagenomics in Spaceflight: Establishing an Implementation Roadmap
[essopenarchive.org] As space agencies prepare for complex missions such as human exploration of Mars and life detection, Planetary Protection (PP) risk assessments would benefit from extending beyond traditional microbial monitoring […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Novel Antarctic Chemolithotroph Drives Iron Biomineralization
[Microbiome] Background: Iron, the most abundant redox-active metal in the Earth’s crust, is coupled to numerous biogeochemi- cal cycles. However, the mechanisms of iron oxidation and the organisms involved remain […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
M-FORCE Tiger Team Meets To Modernize Planetary Protection
[NASA OSMA] NASA’s new Microbial Forward Contamination Evaluation (M‑FORCE) Tiger Team recently met at the NASA Safety Center in Cleveland, Ohio, to produce a comprehensive assessment of planetary protection’s forward […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
The Biogeography Of Hydrothermal Vent Giant Viruses Across Earth’s Global Ocean
[biorxiv.org] Viruses are the most abundant known biological entities in the ocean and play central role in microbial ecology. However, the patterns and drivers of their biogeographic distribution across global […]
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Voyage Into The Slow-motion World Of Earth’s Deep Seas
[Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR)] Polymetallic nodules form at a snail’s pace. They grow about one to two millimetres over the course of a million years. If buried […]
![a) Large area EDS map of Nantan meteorite sample showing the distribution of detected elements. b) XPS SnapMaps of Nantan fragment showing the distribution of Fe and Ni. c) XRF maps of individual elements detected, with a focus on Fe and Ni. Three regions of interest are circled which were analyzed further, high Ni (green), low Ni (red), and the large inclusion (orange). -- [physics.geo-ph]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Correlative.png?resize=1200%2C713&ssl=1)
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids
Correlative Microstructural Analysis of a Weathered Nantan Meteorite Fragment
[physics.geo-ph]. The weathering of iron-rich phases within meteorites is a multi-stage process that significantly alters the microstructure and chemical composition based both on the environmental condition at the location of […]
NASA Curation Community Conversation Webinar
On November 2, 2026, at 2 PM Eastern Time, NASA’s Chief Scientist for Astromaterials Curation within the Science Mission Directorate and NASA’s Astromaterials Curator will host a webinar to discuss […]