tricorder Archives

Several fluorescence measurements of a zebra calcite in Wind Cave were taken using portable spectrometers. Joshua Sebree

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors

Fluorescent Caves Could Explain How Life Persists In Extraterrestrial Environments

by Keith CowingMarch 27, 2025March 27, 2025

Deep below Earth’s surface, rock and mineral formations lay hidden with a secret brilliance. Under a black light, the chemicals fossilized within shine in brilliant hues of pink, blue and […]

Ensign Mayweather (Kellie Waymire) Cans new lifeforms ona Minshara-class planet with a tricorder, Star Trek Enterprise Season 1 Episode 4 -- CBS

Status Report

Tricorder Tech: Single-Cell Proteomics Using Mass Spectrometry

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2025June 27, 2026

Editor’s note: If we aspire to mount expeditions to new worlds and then embrace the task of characterizing and quantifying whatever life forms we find, the ability to map and […]

Biomolecule Sequencer for the BEST experiment floating in front of Window 7 in the Cupola module. Earth is in the background. The Biomolecule Sequencer seeks to demonstrate, for the first time, that DNA sequencing is feasible in an orbiting spacecraft. A space-based DNA sequencer could identify microbes, diagnose diseases and understand crew member health, and potentially help detect DNA-based life elsewhere in the solar system. -- NASA iss057e000185 (10/8/2018)

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Unlocking the Full Potential of Nanopore Sequencing: Tips, Tricks, and Advanced Data Analysis Techniques

by Keith CowingMarch 24, 2025March 24, 2025

Editor’s note: If we aspire to mount expeditions to new worlds and then embrace the task of characterizing and quantifying whatever life forms we find, the ability to map and […]

SEIS (Seismic Experiment for the Interior Structure) -- NASA

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

Marsquakes And Meteorites Unveil The Potential For Subterranean Alien Lifeforms On Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 18, 2025

(From September 2024) Are subterranean lifeforms viable on Mars? A new interpretation of Martian seismic data by scientists Ikuo Katayama of Hiroshima University and Yuya Akamatsu of Research Institute for […]

Sampled area and the grid of the analyzed area. (A) Optical image of the fossil filament. (B) Optical image of the filament after gold coating and LIMS campaign. (C) SEM image of laser ablation craters of the LIMS covering the fossil filament area, forming a grid of 17 × 25 craters. The direction of measurement is indicated with arrows. (D) SEM image of the area chosen for data analysis, forming a grid of 11 × 12 laser ablation craters. -- Frontiers

Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Laser-powered Device Tested On Earth Could Help Us Detect Microbial Fossils On Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 10, 2025September 18, 2025

The first life on Earth formed four billion years ago, as microbes living in pools and seas: what if the same thing happened on Mars? If it did, how would […]

NASA's Mars Perseverance rover acquired this image using its SHERLOC WATSON camera, located on the turret at the end of the rover's robotic arm. The view is looking down at a flattened pile of tailings created by the coring of science target “Green Gardens,” so named because it contains serpentine, a mineral often green in color. Perseverance acquired this image on Feb. 20, 2025 — sol 1424, or Martian day 1,424 of the Mars 2020 mission — at the local mean solar time of 13:11:41. NASA/JPL-Caltech larger image

Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

New Ways To Use Droid Tools That Are Already On Mars

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2025March 4, 2025

The Perseverance team is always looking for creative ways to use the tools we have on Mars to maximize the science we do. On the arm of the rover sits […]

An astrobiologist on Mars viewing a sample under a microscope. -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Space Life Science, Tricorders & Sensors

Life Detection: A Simple Test For Moving Microbes

by Keith CowingFebruary 6, 2025February 6, 2025

Finding life in outer space is one of the great endeavors of humankind. One approach is to find motile microorganisms that can move independently, an ability that is a solid […]

Numerical solutions with effective vertical diffusivity κz = 10−3 m2 s−1, across three different mean ocean salinities of 5 (top), 17.5 (middle), and 22.5 (bottom) g kg−1, highlighting three contrasting stratification regimes. Note colour bar scales are saturated and vary throughout. First column: Salinity anomaly (g kg−1) taken about the mean salinity. Second column: Potential temperature anomaly (°C) taken about the simulation reference temperature Tref (freezing temperature computed under 20km mean ice thickness) of -0.433 (top), -1.106 (middle) and -1.379 (bottom) °C. Third column: Shading shows the buoyancy frequency N2 (s−2) indicating stratification. Contours show the potential density anomaly (10−3 kg m−3) about the ocean reference density ρ0 of 1008.984 (top), 1015.029 (middle) and 1019.065 (bottom) kg m−3. Potential density here is computed using the reference pressure Pref evaluated at the ocean-ice interface. Fourth column: Ideal age of tracers (years), sourced from the ocean bottom. -- Computational simulation/modeling

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

An Alien Ocean On Enceladus Could Hide Signs Of Life From A Spacecraft

by Keith CowingFebruary 6, 2025February 6, 2025

Searching for life in alien oceans may be more difficult than scientists previously thought, even when we can sample these extraterrestrial waters directly.

e. Live cardiac tissue containing cardiomyocytes expressing Tomm20-GFP was imaged with two photon microscopy. Raw data (left) are compared with DeAbe prediction (right) at indicated depths, with insets showing corresponding Fourier transform magnitudes. Blue circles in Fourier insets in (e) indicate 1/300 nm−1 spatial frequency just beyond resolution limit. -- Nature Communications Larger image

Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: New AI Technique Generates Clear Images Of Thick Biological Samples Without The Fancy Hardware

by Keith CowingJanuary 28, 2025January 28, 2025

Depth degradation is a problem biologists know all too well: The deeper you look into a sample, the fuzzier the image becomes. A worm embryo or a piece of tissue […]

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Microbial Life In One Of The Most Extreme Ecosystems On Earth: The Antarctic Plateau

by Keith CowingJanuary 25, 2025

An international team led by the Centro de Astrobiologia (CAB), CSIC-INTA, and the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, shows a novel platform for scientific exploration of the most remote places in […]

tricorder

Fluorescent Caves Could Explain How Life Persists In Extraterrestrial Environments

Tricorder Tech: Single-Cell Proteomics Using Mass Spectrometry

Tricorder Tech: Unlocking the Full Potential of Nanopore Sequencing: Tips, Tricks, and Advanced Data Analysis Techniques

Marsquakes And Meteorites Unveil The Potential For Subterranean Alien Lifeforms On Mars

Tricorder Tech: Laser-powered Device Tested On Earth Could Help Us Detect Microbial Fossils On Mars

New Ways To Use Droid Tools That Are Already On Mars

Life Detection: A Simple Test For Moving Microbes

An Alien Ocean On Enceladus Could Hide Signs Of Life From A Spacecraft

Tricorder Tech: New AI Technique Generates Clear Images Of Thick Biological Samples Without The Fancy Hardware

Microbial Life In One Of The Most Extreme Ecosystems On Earth: The Antarctic Plateau

Tricorder Tech: New Handheld Device Maps Chemical Composition Using Infrared Light

No Statistically Significant Evidence For A Correlation Between Stellar And planetary Composition

Water Planet Recon: How Accurately Can We Measure Earth Ocean’s Deepest Point?

Webb Reveals A Stunning Panorama Of Star Formation

Deep Learning of SHERLOC Raman Spectra For Facilitating Mars Astromaterial Identification