A red Tesla convertible hitched a ride to space with a SpaceX rocket in early February, bringing with it what may be the largest load of earthly bacteria to ever enter space.
Space Exploration
Feb 27, 2018
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A piece of the Wright brothers' first airplane is on Mars.
Space Exploration
Mar 24, 2021
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Rakesh Mogul, a Cal Poly Pomona professor of biological chemistry, was the lead author of an article in the journal Astrobiology that offers the first biochemical evidence explaining the reason the contamination persists.
Space Exploration
Jun 2, 2018
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Earth's microbes are a hardy bunch. They can survive in extreme environments, such as inside hot springs at the bottom of the ocean. Some have even remained alive despite being exposed to the ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, ...
Space Exploration
Feb 24, 2015
0
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The search for life on Mars presents us with many challenges – not the least of which is microbial contamination. How do we ensure that microbes from Earth don't hitchhike all the way to the Red Planet and spread there? ...
Space Exploration
Feb 3, 2015
13
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Scientists supported by the Astrobiology Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) and Astrobiology Instrument Development Programs (ASTID) have outlined the proposed 'Icebreaker' mission to Mars in a recent paper in the Journal ...
Space Exploration
Apr 18, 2014
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A recent commentary paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience argues that planetary protection policies and practices designed to guard solar system bodies from biological contamination from spacecraft need to be re-evaluated ...
Space Exploration
Nov 19, 2013
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Two Washington State University researchers say environmental restrictions have become unnecessarily restrictive and expensive—on Mars.
Space Exploration
Jun 27, 2013
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The concrete-floored room looks, at first glance, like little more than a garage. There is a red tool chest, its drawers labeled: "Hacksaws." "Allen wrenches." There are stepladders and vise grips. There is also, at one end ...
Space Exploration
Dec 27, 2012
4
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For all the hopes NASA has pinned on the rover it deposited on Mars last month, one wish has gone unspoken: Please don't find water.
Space Exploration
Sep 16, 2012
48
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