Far from Earth, in the vast expanses of space between stars, exists a treasure trove of carbon. There, in what scientists call the “interstellar medium,” you can find a wide […]
University of Colorado Boulder
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Interstellar Dust Experiment (IDEX) On IMAP Will Collect Stardust
A scientific instrument from Colorado is scheduled to launch into space from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida—beginning its search for very small visitors to our solar system from the […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release
Limiting Ice World Exploration: U.S. Will Retire Its Only Icebreaker Thus Stranding Polar Research
Editor’s note: space agencies around the world have long used polar locations as analogs wherein the sudy of geology and biology informs our understanding of the extremes to which Earth […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Potential Indicators Of Life On Other Planets Can Be Created In A Lab
One way to understand the potential for life on far-off planets — those in other solar systems that orbit different stars — is to study a planet’s atmosphere. Telescopic images […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Venus
Venus Has Almost No Water. A New Study May Reveal Why
Planetary scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered how Venus, Earth’s scalding and uninhabitable neighbor, became so dry.
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Icy Worlds, Press Release
Ice Planet Thaw: Earth’s Arctic Could Become Ice Free Within A Decade
The Arctic could see summer days with practically no sea ice as early as the next couple of years, according to a new study out of the University of Colorado […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Deep Within An Inhospitable Desert Is A Window To The First Life On Earth
CU Boulder geologist Brian Hynek has helped to document what may be a unique kind of ecosystem on Earth—and a possible window into the earliest stages of life on this […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
Rare Opportunity To Study Short-lived Volcanic Island Reveals Sulfur-metabolizing Microbes
In 2015, a submarine volcano in the South Pacific erupted, forming the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai island, destined to a short, seven-year life.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
University of Colorado Boulder’s Europa SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA)
In less than a decade, technology developed in Colorado will travel to Jupiter’s moon Europa—a cold moon where a thick crust of ice covering the surface obscures a potentially vast […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Early Earth May Have Been A Water World
New research shows that the early Earth, home to some of our planet’s first lifeforms, may have been a real-life “waterworld”– without a continent in sight. The study, which appears […]