Valles Marineris, like the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona, provides a spectacular look at the geologic history via layered sediments that get older with depth.
University of Arizona
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Drone Radar Reveals Buried Glaciers On Earth, Guiding The Search For Water On Mars
Understanding how to explore hidden glaciers on Mars begins not in a laboratory, but in remote field camps across Alaska and Wyoming.
![[L] Close-up of a sample particle from asteroid Bennu. Credit NASA/Scott Eckley [R] The same particle analyzed with X-ray computed tomography scanning. This specimen shows the most common types of crack networks observed in Bennu samples. One has an extensive and connect framework of curved cracks, whereas the other has sparse, straight and flat fractures. Credit NASA/Scott Eckley](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Asteroid-Bennus-rugged-surface.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrogeology, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Sample Return
Asteroid Bennu’s Rugged Surface Baffled NASA. We Finally Know Why
In one of the biggest surprises of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, its target asteroid, Bennu, turned out to be a jagged, rugged world covered in large boulders, with few of the […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extinction events, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return
Life On Lava: How Microbes Colonize New Habitats
Life has a way of bouncing back, even after catastrophic events like forest fires or volcanic eruptions. While nature’s resilience to natural disasters has long been recognized, not much is […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Titan, TRAPPIST-1
A New Look At TRAPPIST-1e, An Earth-sized, Habitable-zone Exoplanet
Of the seven Earth-sized worlds orbiting the red dwarf star TRAPPIST-1, one planet in particular has attracted the attention of scientists, because it orbits the star within the “Goldilocks zone” […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
Newly Discovered Star Opens A Laboratory For Solving A Cosmic Dust Mystery
Seventy light-years from Earth, a star called Kappa Tucanae A harbors one of astronomy’s most perplexing mysteries: dust so hot it glows at more than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, existing impossibly […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
A Growing Baby Planet Photographed For First Time
A team of astronomers has detected for the first time a growing planet outside our solar system, embedded in a cleared gap of a multi-ringed disk of dust and gas.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Sample Return
Asteroid Bennu Is A Time Capsule Of Materials Bearing Witness To Its Origin And Transformation Over Billions Of Years
Asteroid Bennu — the target of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx sample return mission, led by the University of Arizona — is a mixture of materials from throughout, and even beyond, our solar […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Titan Could Harbor Life, But Only A Tiny Amount, Study Finds
Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is a strange, alien world. Covered in rivers and lakes of liquid methane, icy boulders and dunes of soot-like “sand,” its topography has long fascinated scientists […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Stellar Cartography
James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Unexpected Complex Chemistry In A Primordial Galaxy
University of Arizona astronomers have learned more about a surprisingly mature galaxy that existed when the universe was just less than 300 million years old – just 2% of its […]