science Archives - Astrobiology

Artistic representation of WASP-94 A b. Clouds build as air flows over the dark side of the planet, reaching a large swell by daybreak. The clouds dissipate on the dayside, leaving clear skies in the early evening. Image courtesy of Hannah Robbins/Johns Hopkins University

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Astronomers Observe Exoplanet Atmospheres With New Cloud-detecting Method

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

Every morning, clouds roll in, and by evening, they have cleared off. This sounds like a weather forecast for a coastal city here on Earth — but it’s for WASP-94A […]

National Academies

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Life Support Systems, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors

A Science Strategy For The Human Exploration of Mars: Report Release Event

by Keith CowingDecember 8, 2025December 8, 2025

December 9, 2025 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM (ET) Register https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/DEPS-SSB-23-02/event/46072

Astrobiology.com editor Keith Cowing on CNN

Astrobiology (general), Policy, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts

Who Speaks For Space Science?

by Keith CowingJuly 10, 2025July 10, 2025

Editor’s note: this web reel was just posted by CNN from the end of my interview this morning.I have just about run out of ways / platforms to wave my […]

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report

Viewing Lobate Patterns On Mars And Earth As Climate Modulated Fluid-like Instabilities

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2025May 13, 2025

Lobate features found on high-latitude slopes on Mars resemble terrestrial cold-climate soil patterns known as solifluction lobes.

Schematic illustration of our proposed carbon cycle on early Mars. Evaporation of water (pink shading) from subsurface pore spaces initially deposits siderite, which sequesters atmospheric CO2 (black downward arrow). Increasing levels of evaporation deposit Ca-sulfate and Mg-sulfate minerals. Wind-blown (eolian) sedimentation at the ground surface (gray dots) moves the location of evaporation and chemical sedimentation upward with time. After some time (white arrow), infiltration of siderite-undersaturated fluids (yellow shading) partially destroys the previously precipitated siderite, forming Fe-oxyhydroxides and releasing previous

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Status Report

Carbonates Identified By The Curiosity Rover Indicate A Carbon Cycle Operated On Ancient Mars

by Keith CowingApril 20, 2025

Ancient Mars had surface liquid water and a dense carbon dioxide (CO2)–rich atmosphere. Such an atmosphere would interact with crustal rocks, potentially leaving a mineralogical record of its presence.

Proposed design reference missions for exploration of Venus (left) and Mars (right) (Beauchamp et al. 2018; Lyness et al. 2019).

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report

AwayTeam Tech: Distributed Instruments for Planetary Surface Science: Scientific Opportunities and Technology Feasibility

by Keith CowingJuly 5, 2024July 5, 2024

In this paper, we assess the scientific promise and technology feasibility of distributed instruments for planetary science. A distributed instrument is an instrument designed to collect spatially and temporally correlated […]

Taxonomic composition of polychaete microbiomes. Bar plots showing the relative contribution (%) of bacterial taxa (at genus level when possible) associated with the three polychaetes species (A. palmeri, A. trissophyllus, and L. geminus) in the different areas (Adelie Cove, Central Bay, and Rod Bay) and depths (at 25, 70, and 140 m). All bacterial taxa with a relative abundance of less than 0.5% were grouped in “others.” -- Science

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biophysics, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Status Report

Genetic Clues To Freezing Resistance In Antarctic Life Forms

by Keith CowingJuly 5, 2024July 5, 2024

The microbiome plays a key role in the health of all metazoans. Whether and how the microbiome favors the adaptation processes of organisms to extreme conditions, such as those of […]