[Frontiers in Robotics and AI]. As part of TU Delft Rhizome 2.0 and Moonshot projects, focusing on the development of extraterrestrial habitats in lava tubes, the robotic mapping of an […]
spelunking
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers
Astronaut Training For Underground Science Expeditions
ESA CAVES (Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills) is an ESA astronaut training program. The three-week course prepares astronauts to work safely and effectively in […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
Offworld Away Team Training: Cave Surveys
A phase of cave surveying in which JAXA astronaut Ayu Yoneda photographs cross-sections of the cave using the Electronic FieldBook, with the assistance of ESA astronaut Rosemary Coogan and NASA […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Sample Return From Earth’s Deep Biosphere
[Northwestern University] By studying life deep inside a former gold mine, a Northwestern University-led team of scientists uncovered evidence that Earth’s hidden biosphere operates less like a random collection of […]
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, People Of Astrobiology, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: ESA CAVES 2026 Cavenauts Use An Electronic FieldBook
Astronauts Tracy Dyson (NASA), Rosemary Coogan (ESA) and Ayu Yoneda (JAXA) measuring water parameters and recording them in the Electronic FieldBook during ESA CAVES2026 course.
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers
Cavenauts Begin ESA CAVES 2026 Training
NASA astronaut candidate Ben Bailey takes a photo of John McFall, a member of ESA’s astronaut reserve and the Fly! Project, whilst measurements are being taken of the water parameters […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
A Thousand Meters Deep: Vertical Profiling of the Subterranean Microbiome of Gourgouthakas Cave
Introduction: Caves represent unique, nutrient-limited windows into the deep biosphere, yet the microbiology of the deep terrestrial subsurface remains remarkably under-explored. In this work, we took advantage of a rare […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
Evaluation Of The Bacterial Diversity In The World’s Deepest Cave—Veryovkina, Arabika Massif, Western Caucasus
Veryovkina Cave is the world’s deepest known cave (2212 m deep). It is located in the Arabika Massif of Gagra Mountain in the Western Caucasus. Its microbiome remains unknown because […]
Posted inAstronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, People Of Astrobiology, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
ESA CAVES 2025 Away Team Training: Downloading Data Underground
ESA astronaut Marco Sieber and JAXA astronaut Makoto Suwa are downloading data from environmental instruments placed at the underground base camp in Abel Cave.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: NASA Goddard Instrument Away Team On Hawaii
Editor’s note: This story is adapted from content originally published on NASA social media accounts in September 2022.