At some point in Earth’s history, chemistry transitioned from abiotic organic synthesis—the building of more complicated organic molecules from smaller ones by nonbiological means—to biochemistry.
water world
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Mineral-facilitated Aqueous Synthesis Of Hydrogen Cyanide From Prebiotically Abundant Amino Acids For Chemical Evolution
Recent advances in prebiotic chemistry suggest that hydrogen cyanide (HCN) serves as a fundamental precursor for nearly all essential biomolecules and protometabolic processes for life’s emergence.
![[L] NASA ID: art002e000192 art002e000192 (April 3, 2026) -- NASA [R] art002e000193 (April 3, 2026) -- NASA](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Our-Home-World-As-Seen.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inArtemis & Lunar Exploration, Astronauts and Explorers, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, People Of Astrobiology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Our Home World As Seen From Spaceship Integrity During Artemis II
Left: A view of Earth taken by NASA astronaut and Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman from one of the Orion spacecraft’s window after completing the translunar injection burn on April […]
![[L] The detrended and phase-folded RV time series of GJ 1132 b (top) and GJ 1132 c (bottom). Different draws of the Keplerian models from our posterior are superimposed in black. The different colored markers correspond to different RV time series. Binned data points are shown as red squares. [R] Phase-folded and detrended RV time series of LTT 3780 b (top) and LTT 3780 c (bottom). The best-fit Keplerian model is superimposed in black. The different colors and markers correspond to different RV time series. Binned data points are shown as red squares. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Super-Earth-masses.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Super-Earth Masses And Stellar Abundances From NIRPS Reveal Tentative Evidence For Water-rich Formation Around M Dwarfs
Tracing the compositional link between terrestrial super-Earths and their host stars provides clues to their dominant formation pathway. By constraining the stellar abundances of refractory elements, we can predict the […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icy Ocean World Recon: How Did Earth’s Most Powerful Ocean Current Form?
It transports far more than 100 times as much water as all of the Earth’s rivers combined: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current rushes around the southern continent unhindered by land masses […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Extensive Freshened Water Beneath Earth’s Ocean Floor Confirmed For The First Time
The goal of this expedition went far beyond collecting sediment cores. Scientists also set out to sample the water stored within the sediments, including from sandy layers that act as […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Ocean Worlds Science Case For The Pollux Spectropolarimeter
Pollux is a candidate European instrument contribution to the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), designed to advance our understanding of the formation and evolution of cosmic structures in the universe, and […]
Posted inAnalog 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, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ice World Expedition: Drilling Through Thwaites Glacier In West Antarctica
A team of researchers from the UK and Korea has reached the most inaccessible and least-understood part of Thwaites Glacier in West Antarctica where they will drill through the glacier […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Subglacial Weathering May Have Slowed Earth’s Escape From Snowball Earth
A new study led by researchers at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo challenges a long-standing assumption about Earth’s most extreme ice ages. Using numerical geochemical […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Direct View of the Chemical Properties of Water from Another Planetary System: Water D/H in 3I/ATLAS
All detected water reservoirs in the solar system exhibit a deuterium enrichment that links back to the physical environment at the time of stellar birth.