Related topics: microorganisms

The 'habitable edge' of exomoons

Astronomers have their fingers crossed that within the haul of data collected by NASA's Kepler mission, which has already detected nearly three thousand possible exoplanets, hide the signatures of the very first exomoons.

Searching for organics in a nibble of soil

You might call it a high-tech panhandler, with its design for sifting through sprinkles of dirt to find tiny specks of organic material. Or you might think of it as a soil-eating-micro-espresso machine that could potentially ...

Bubbling up organics in an ocean vent simulator

(Phys.org)—This week, fizzy ocean water and the alkaline fluid that bubbles up from deep ocean vents are coursing through a structure at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. that is reminiscent of the pillared ...

Astrobiology research: Life possible on extrasolar moons

(Phys.org)—In their search for habitable worlds, astronomers have started to consider exomoons, or those likely orbiting planets outside the solar system. In a new study, a pair of researchers has found that exomoons are ...

Martian clay minerals might have a much hotter origin

(Phys.org)—Ancient Mars, like Earth today, was a diverse planet shaped by many different geologic processes. So when scientists, using rovers or orbiting spacecraft, detect a particular mineral there, they must often consider ...

Curiosity in it for the long haul

In recent days, Curiosity has accomplished a number of firsts, including the first use of its laser to zap a nearby rock and its first short drive. Many more such firsts lie ahead. But as the rover prepares to head off on ...

Getting a feel for the terrain

A team is developing a rover-based computer system that can identify geologically relevant elements in a camera scene.

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