Scientists Warn of “Alien” Invasions and the Need for Planetary Biosecurity
The era of space exploration brings with it a new risk: invasion. The peril comes not from little green men arriving on flying saucers but,…
Astrobiology
The Moon’s Top Layer Has Enough Oxygen To Sustain 8 Billion People for 100,000 Years
Alongside advances in space exploration, we’ve recently seen much time and money invested into technologies that could allow effective space resource utilization. And at the…
Water – A Requirement for Life As We Know It – Detected in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
New study marks most distant detection of required element for life as we know it in a regular star-forming galaxy. Water has been detected in…
Are We Alone in the Universe? NASA Calls for New Scientific Framework in Search for Extraterrestrial Life
How do we understand the significance of new scientific results related to the search for life? When would we be able to say, “yes, extraterrestrial…
We Asked a NASA Technologist: Is There Oxygen on Mars? [Video]
Is there oxygen on Mars? Yes, Mars has oxygen but not very much and definitely not enough to just go out and breathe on the…
We Asked a NASA Scientist: Do Aliens Exist? [Video]
Do aliens exist? Extraterrestrial life has never been discovered, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. At NASA, astrobiologists like Lindsay Hays are trying to…
New Findings Suggest Venus Never Had Oceans, Conditions Needed for Life
Astrophysicists led by the UNIGE and the NCCR PlanetS have investigated the past of Venus to find out whether Earth’s sister planet once had oceans….
We Asked a NASA Scientist: Is Mars Habitable? [Video]
Is Mars habitable? Could ancient life once have existed on the Red Planet? Is there potential for life today deep beneath the Martian crust? Ell…
NASA’s Mars Perseverance “Kodiak” Moment – Jezero Crater’s Lake Is More Complicated and Intriguing Than Thought
Pictures from NASA’s latest six-wheeler on the Red Planet suggest the area’s history experienced significant flooding events. A new paper from the science team of…
Isotope Analysis Reveals a Fundamental Reason Why Mars Has No Liquid Water on Its Surface Today
Water is essential for life on Earth and other planets, and scientists have found ample evidence of water in Mars’ early history. But Mars has…
We Asked a NASA Scientist: Could Microbes Survive a Trip to Mars? [Video]
Could Earth-based microbes survive a trip to Mars? Yes! That’s why we made sure NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover met cleanliness requirements before leaving our home…
Astrophysicists Identify “Significant Reservoirs” of Organic Molecules Necessary To Form the Basis of Life
Analysis of unique fingerprints in light emitted from material surrounding young stars has revealed “significant reservoirs” of large organic molecules necessary to form the basis…
A Big Step Forward in the Search for Alien Life: New Class of Exoplanet Very Different to Our Own
A new class of exoplanet very different to our own, but which could support life, has been identified by astronomers, which could greatly accelerate the…
Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration Mission Will Return a Sample From Mars’ Moon Phobos
The role of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission in the new era of Martian life exploration. The surface of the Martian moon, Phobos, is…
In Search of Planets That Support Life: “Cool” Stars in the Cosmos May Not Be So Unique
Rice models infer small stars share similar dynamics to our sun, key to planet habitability. Stars scattered throughout the cosmos look different, but they may…
Astronomers Find Small Rocky Planet – Just Half the Mass of Venus
A team of astronomers has used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) in Chile to shed new light on planets around a…
Complex Molecules Could Hold the Secret to Identifying Alien Life – And Creating New Forms of Life in the Lab
Complex Molecules Could Hold the Secret to Identifying Alien Life A new system capable of identifying complex molecular signatures could aid in the search for…
Signs of Martian Life? NASA’s Mars Perseverance Rover Begins the Hunt!
After testing a bristling array of instruments on its robotic arm, NASA’s latest Mars rover gets down to business: probing rocks and dust for evidence…
