Collaborate Disseminate
One of the main goals of NASA’s Perseverance rover is to scour the surface of Mars for signs of ancient microbial life. But a new study of the geochemistry of the Red Planet suggests that life could still be thriving below its surface today.Continue Re… Continue reading Microbes may inhabit subsurface modern Mars, says geochemical study
The Earth has an expiry date – in about five billion years, the Sun will expand and swallow up our home world. But it turns out life on Earth could have a much earlier end point. A new study has found that in about a billion years’ time, the atmosphere… Continue reading Scientists calculate life expectancy of Earth’s atmospheric oxygen
Jupiter’s moon Europa is a fascinating world, with a global subsurface ocean encased in an icy shell and plumes of water vapor that vent into space. A new study has simulated how these plumes might originate, revealing a surprisingly dynamic ice ball.C… Continue reading Europa’s plumes may not originate from subsurface ocean
Jupiter’s moon Europa is a fascinating world, with a global subsurface ocean encased in an icy shell and plumes of water vapor that vent into space. A new study has simulated how these plumes might originate, revealing a surprisingly dynamic ice ball.C… Continue reading Europa’s plumes may not originate from subsurface ocean
Astronomers have identified 1,004 nearby stars from which aliens could detect signs of biological life in Earth’s atmosphere by watching as our planet passes across the disk of the Sun. The study could help provide targets for organizations such as SET… Continue reading Astronomers isolate stars from which aliens could be observing Earth
If a Mars rover ever were to find signs of life on the Red Planet, chances are that it would be in the form of compounds detected in the soil. A newly designed device could better help it do so, as compared to existing technologies.Continue ReadingCate… Continue reading Portable device may help Mars rovers search for life
While most eyes are on Mars as the most likely place we might find life beyond Earth, perhaps we should be looking to our neighbor on the other side. High in the atmosphere of Venus, astronomers have made the startling discovery of a gas called phosphi… Continue reading Possible signs of life detected in Venus’ atmosphere
A new experiment placing bacteria on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) has found that micro-organisms can survive in space for years, or even decades. The study lends weight to the idea that life could travel between planets.Continue… Continue reading Bacterial colonies survive in space for years, could seed planets
Phosphorus is a key ingredient for life as we know it, but it’s strangely uncommon in the cosmos. Now astronomers have discovered a new type of star that’s very rich in phosphorus, which could imply that alien life is more common than we thought.Contin… Continue reading New class of star discovered to be rich in key ingredient for life
Given just how incomprehensibly, unfathomably big the universe is, chances are tiny that Earth is the only planet with life on it. But how would we find others? A new NASA grant has been awarded to aid the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI… Continue reading NASA funds SETI study to scan exoplanets for alien “technosignatures”