https://phys.org/space-news/astrobiology/ en-us Astrobiology news stories about origin and evolution of life in the Universe Ever so slightly bigger than Earth, the exoplanet LHS 3844b orbits its parent star, LHS 3844, a red dwarf 48.5 light-years from our solar system. Its rotational speed mirrors its orbital speed. The result? One side of LHS 3844b is perpetually bathed in scorching sunlight, locked into a never-ending, blistering hot day, while the other is forever shrouded in darkness so cold that particles are incapable of movement, a state known as absolute zero (zero Kelvin). https://phys.org/news/2026-07-exoplanets-eternal-day-endless-night.html Astrobiology Fri, 10 Jul 2026 11:00:05 EDT news702896075 For the first time, astronomers have discovered stellar cocoons rich in complex organic molecules within a supernova remnant. A research team from Niigata University, Gifu University, RIKEN and Kyoto University in Japan used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the remnant of a massive star that exploded about 1,600 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-newborn-stars-rich-gas-ancient.html Astronomy Thu, 09 Jul 2026 11:50:01 EDT news702814502 When it comes to the search for life elsewhere in the universe, methane and other chemical compounds are seen as signs of biology because they are often produced by living microbes. However, scientists can be misled because certain geological processes can produce chemical signatures identical to those of living organisms. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-baseline-tool-alien-life-geology.html Astrobiology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 13:30:01 EDT news702646858 Like a shelf in an old house, the Earth collects a lot of dust from its surroundings. This "space dust" is mostly made up of micrometeorites that survive atmospheric entry and provides researchers with a cheap and easy way to obtain samples to study our cosmic neighbors. However, it can be difficult to determine which objects certain samples originated from if their parent bodies aren't already in available catalogs. A recent study, published in Science Advances, describes a new subset of space dust with such mysterious origins and how researchers are tracking down potential sources. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-earth-space-unidentified-asteroids.html Astrobiology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:50:02 EDT news702646844 Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought. The planet, known as GJ 3378b, orbits a small, cool star called a red dwarf. Just 25 light-years from Earth in the direction of the northern constellation Camelopardalis, it lies in its star's "habitable zone"—the region where temperatures could allow liquid water to exist—making it a candidate to host life. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nearby-super-earth-candidate-life.html Astrobiology Tue, 30 Jun 2026 13:50:01 EDT news702044402 Securing sustainable food supplies is a key challenge for long-term human exploration and potential habitation of the moon. The moon's soil contains no organic material, and essential plant nitrogen sources like ammonia and nitrate are virtually nonexistent. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-rice-grown-moon-air-fertilizer.html Astrobiology Tue, 30 Jun 2026 09:40:06 EDT news702030421 Researchers from the University of Oxford have uncovered evidence that Mars once hosted enormous, Earth-like magmatic systems deep beneath its surface—despite the planet lacking the plate tectonics long thought necessary for this kind of geological complexity. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-scientists-evidence-vast-hidden-magma.html Astrobiology Fri, 26 Jun 2026 05:00:04 EDT news701604001 In September 2025, NASA announced that its Perseverance rover had discovered a potential biosignature, which is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin. A new paper, published in Science Advances, unambiguously confirms the detection of organic carbon, the building blocks of life, in the same two rocks from the Bright Angel formation, and describes in more detail exactly what we can say about that organic matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-carbon-bright-angel-formation-mars.html Astrobiology Wed, 24 Jun 2026 18:10:04 EDT news701538061 Vegetarians need not worry yet—plants will be on Earth for a long time to come. But not forever. The sun will ultimately determine the long-term existence of life on Earth. Its total energy output, called luminosity, has been increasing over epochs and eons by about 10% every billion years—determining much of Earth's surface temperature. This will continue for billions of years in the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-survive-earth-billion-years.html Astrobiology Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:00:05 EDT news701425675 A biocontainment facility designed to protect Earth from potentially hazardous biotic contaminants from space should be part of a planned NASA base on the moon, a policy paper maintains. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nasa-biocontainment-facility-moon-earth.html Space Exploration Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:20:04 EDT news701086270 Billions of years ago, environmental conditions on Mars were significantly more hospitable than they are today. Our neighboring planet was likely warm, humid and surrounded by a dense atmosphere. Whether simple microorganisms could have evolved at that time remains an open question. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-mars-life-boost-rover-distinguishes.html Astrobiology Thu, 18 Jun 2026 14:20:05 EDT news701007901 Could Earth have seeded Jupiter's moon Europa with bacterial life, where it could have taken hold in Europa's ocean and perhaps evolved into something more? That's the hypothesis of a new paper in the International Journal of Astrobiology by Zaza Osmanov of the Free University of Tbilisi in Georgia. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-earth-life-jupiter-moon-europa.html Astrobiology Tue, 16 Jun 2026 09:20:07 EDT news700742290 Caltech researchers have identified a novel chemical reaction that could explain the formation of the building blocks of DNA and RNA, the molecules that encode all of life's functions. The work is an important step toward understanding how life may have emerged on Earth and potentially elsewhere in the universe, showing the straightforward and efficient pathways through which simple molecules can give rise to complex biological precursors. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-benzene-reaction-dna-rna-blocks.html Astrobiology Mon, 15 Jun 2026 16:20:01 EDT news700757522 Debris is still raining down on Earth more than 100 million years after the giant cosmic explosion that created it. A study published this week in Nature Astronomy by an international team reached this conclusion using measurements of rare isotopes within a slow-growing ferromanganese crust recovered from the depths of the Pacific Ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-deep-sea-crust-uncovers-steady.html Astrobiology Mon, 15 Jun 2026 15:40:01 EDT news700754041 The asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also created an underground environment suited to supporting new life, and new research suggests it lasted for millions of years longer than previously suspected. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dino-asteroid-fueled-underground-life.html Astrobiology Tue, 09 Jun 2026 15:20:02 EDT news700231012 Asteroids and planetesimals regularly bombarded Earth between about 4.6 billion and 3.5 billion years ago, during the Hadean and Archean eons. Because few rocks today are more than 4 billion years old, our understanding of the planet's environment during that time is limited. However, samples from the moon and its cratered surface hint at the period's rate of cosmic impacts. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-cosmic-bombardment-earth-crust-prebiotic.html Astrobiology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:40:04 EDT news700143613 The IAA SETI Committee has updated rules for evaluating and revealing the detection of extraterrestrial intelligence. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-alien-stricter-verification-disclosure.html Astronomy Mon, 08 Jun 2026 10:00:04 EDT news700129803 Researchers have developed the Smaller Than Earth Habitability Model (STEHM) to assess which planets can maintain life-supporting atmospheres, focusing on size and atmospheric dynamics. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-atmosphere-survival-refines-habitable-planets.html Astrobiology Thu, 04 Jun 2026 15:40:04 EDT news699795001 In the region where the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will search for signs of life, clay deposits extend beyond previous estimates, a new study finds. One hypothesis even suggests a vast ocean once covered the landing site. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-exomars-rover-vast-bed-clay.html Astrobiology Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:40:05 EDT news699783180 NASA-supported scientists have provided new information about how the early Earth may have acquired some elements necessary for the planet to become habitable. They also suggest a new role for Jupiter in the distribution of these elements throughout the young solar system. The study, published in Science Advances, examines this history by looking at the ratio of phosphorus to nitrogen in iron meteorites and in younger objects known as chondrites. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-jupiter-redirected-life-ingredients-earth.html Astrobiology Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:50:01 EDT news699726061 Scientists at the SETI Institute recently searched for technological signals from 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object observed in our solar system. Using the Allen Telescope Array (ATA) at the Hat Creek Radio Observatory in Northern California, the team scanned a wide range of radio frequencies for signs of extraterrestrial technology and found none, as expected based on other astronomical observations showing that the object exhibits natural comet-like composition and behavior. The paper is published in The Astronomical Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-interstellar-3iatlas-reveals-technosignatures-hour.html Astrobiology Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:30:01 EDT news699724681 New observatories and spacecraft missions are probing environments in our solar system that could potentially host life but have long remained hidden. Icy moons like Saturn's Enceladus and Jupiter's Europa likely contain oceans beneath frozen outer shells. But a layer of ice prohibits space probes from sampling them directly. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-icy-moons-ability-host-life.html Astrobiology Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:40:01 EDT news699542933 Past research has indicated Mars's largest northern basin, Utopia Planitia, was once the location of a large body of water, but details surrounding when this body of water may have existed have not been resolved. Researchers have now identified a ring of minerals in the region that have helped them string together a timeline of what happened there. The new study, published in Nature Communications, provides details about the ocean's timeline and what it says about life on Mars. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-mars-manganese-bathtub-reveals-ancient.html Astrobiology Fri, 29 May 2026 11:50:26 EDT news699274173 About a billion years ago, Earth started to come into its own. It was past the awkwardness of its younger years full of growing pains and turmoil: comet strikes and slimy water, including the Great Oxidation Event that flipped the world upside down. Roughly a billion years ago, the planet began to advance and mature, with plant life developing about 700 million years ago, but still with the occasional wild climate parties to keep things interesting. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-supercontinent-ancient-earth-snowball-phase.html Astrobiology Thu, 28 May 2026 11:20:04 EDT news699181908 Suppose there are signs of extraterrestrial life and we have not yet been able to detect them. What does that mean? In Nature Astronomy, researchers discuss the consequences of these so-called false-negative results. "We are currently investing a great deal of money in missions that might need to be designed differently." https://phys.org/news/2026-05-extraterrestrial-life-space-missions-astrobiologists.html Astrobiology Thu, 21 May 2026 11:00:17 EDT news698570821 A discovery by a South Korean research team suggests that impact-generated lakes may have fostered early oxygen-producing life. A team of South Korean scientists has uncovered new evidence that could help explain how Earth's atmosphere became rich in oxygen, one of the most transformative events in the planet's history. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-asteroid-impact-site-reveals-early.html Astrobiology Wed, 20 May 2026 10:20:05 EDT news698490421 Looking back at 14 years of Hubble telescope data for Jupiter's moon Europa has given Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists a better understanding of its tenuous atmosphere. The findings have cast doubt on previous evidence suggesting that the icy moon intermittently discharges faint water plumes from a presumed subsurface ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-reconsider-europa-vapor-plumes.html Astrobiology Mon, 18 May 2026 17:00:05 EDT news698337061 Earth's earliest continents may have set the chemical stage for life by regulating boron levels in ancient oceans, a new study in Terra Nova suggests. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-continents-stage-life-earth.html Astrobiology Wed, 06 May 2026 17:50:02 EDT news697304942 A collaborative team of scientists has discovered that life on Earth over three billion years ago relied on the metal molybdenum, which was incredibly scarce in the environment at the time. The study, published in Nature Communications, is the first to show that molybdenum was used by ancient life this far back in our planet's history. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-billion-years-earth-life-rare.html Astrobiology Tue, 05 May 2026 16:50:01 EDT news697215543 Expose an animal to extreme physical stress, and the expectation is simple: It will break down. But when UC Riverside scientists subjected fruit flies to forces many times stronger than Earth's gravity—a condition called hypergravity—the insects did something unexpected. They survived. They even mated and reproduced. Their movements and behaviors changed dramatically and then, over time, they recovered. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hypergravity-fruit-flies-recover.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 May 2026 09:40:03 EDT news696845581