Scientists Discuss the Search for Life in Our Solar System and Beyond
Follow along as researchers discuss the search for evidence of habitability in our solar system and beyond during the 2015 Astrobiology Science Conference. NASA and…
Astrobiology
NASA’s NExSS Coalition to Search for Life on Distant Worlds
NASA’s Nexus for Exoplanet System Science, or “NExSS”, coalition brings experts from a variety of scientific fields together for an unprecedented initiative dedicated to the…
Astronomers Discover Complex Organic Molecules in Infant Star System
Astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have detected the presence of complex organic molecules in a protoplanetary disk surrounding a young star, indicating that…
“Chemical Fingerprints” Could Help Scientists Recognize Life on the Surface of Exoplanets
A new catalog of reflectance spectra for a diverse range of pigmented microorganisms may help scientists recognize life on the surface of planets orbiting stars…
Scientists Reproduce the Building Blocks of Life
Scientists from NASA’s Ames Research Center have demonstrated for the first time that they can make uracil, cytosine, and thymine, all three components of RNA…
Transforming Mini-Neptunes into Habitable Super-Earths
A new study from the University of Washington details how strong irradiation from the host star can cause planets known as mini-Neptunes in the habitable…
Detection of Sugars in Laboratory Simulation of Interstellar Organic Matter
Using multidimensional gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry, researchers have detected 10 aldehydes laboratory samples which were created to simulate material found in interstellar…
Planets in Habitable Zones of M Dwarfs May Have Burned Away Chances for Life
New research reveals that planets in the habitable zone of low-mass stars may have long since lost their chance at hosting life because of intense…
Mysterious Ecosystem May Hold Clues to Alien Life
Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory reveal that the extreme oasis of life deep in the Caribbean Sea may hold clues to life on other…
Martian Meteorite Reveals the Possibility of Life on Mars
An unusual feature embedded deep within a fragment of a Martian meteorite is helping to make the case for the possibility of life on Mars….
New Guidelines for the Search for Alien Life on Other Planets
Using an altitude-dependent photochemical model with the enhanced lower boundary conditions necessary to carefully explore abiotic oxygen and ozone production on lifeless planets with a…
Astronomers Discover First Evidence of Water Ice Clouds Outside Our Solar System
Using the FourStar imager at Las Campanas Observatory, scientists have discovered evidence of water ice clouds on a newly discovered brown dwarf WISE J085510.83-071442.5 (W0855)…
Radio Signals from Jupiter Could Aid in the Search for Extraterrestrial Life on Its Moons
A new study reveals that radio signals generated from Jupiter could help researchers scan its giant moons for extraterrestrial life. Powerful radio signals that Jupiter…
Early Chemistry of a Star’s Protoplanetary Disc Shapes Life-Friendly Atmospheres
A new study reveals that the chemistry of a star’s protoplanetary disc could influence the later composition of planetary atmospheres. Born in a disc of…
New Study Presents “Water World” Theory for the Emergence of Life
A new study describes how electrical energy naturally produced at the sea floor might have given rise to life, assembling decades of field, laboratory and…
New Modeling Reveals that Tilted Orbits Could Make More Worlds Habitable
New research from astrobiologists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center reveals that large amplitude, high frequency obliquity oscillations on Earth-like exoplanets can suppress the ice-albedo…
Scientists Simulate the Extreme Conditions of the Fluid Reservoirs in the Crust of Europa
Researchers have developed an experiment to help explain and recreate the extreme conditions of the fluid reservoirs in the crust of Europa. Water, salts and…
Habitable Zones Near Red Dwarf Stars Smaller than Previously Thought
A newly published study reveals that habitable zones near red dwarf stars may be smaller than previously thought. The researchers believe that the exoplanets orbiting…