https://phys.org/space-news/astrobiology/ en-us Astrobiology news stories about origin and evolution of life in the Universe Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists used simulations to understand the role disruptive impacts play on icy moons with subsurface oceans in our solar system. A recent paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy concludes that disruptive impacts can affect the presence and persistence of subsurface oceans in these moons but do not seem to create new oceans. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-giant-impacts-small-icy-moons.html Astrobiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 15:40:10 EDT news708093484 Astronauts who undergo long-duration spaceflight aboard the International Space Station often return with health problems that resemble some age-related conditions in people on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-astronauts-tackle-aging-earth.html Space Exploration Tue, 08 Sep 2026 10:20:08 EDT news708075182 We usually think of auroras as beautiful lights in the night sky. I see them as visible traces of a connection between the sun, Earth's magnetic field and the atmosphere. This led me to an origin-of-life question: Could the planetary structure that produces auroras also have organized chemical reactions on early Earth? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-early-earth-auroral-belts-natural.html Astrobiology Mon, 07 Sep 2026 20:40:04 EDT news707989182 Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found evidence of exocomets—comets in other solar systems—orbiting a young star similar to our sun. The observations point to a possible mechanism for how water might be transported from the cold outer regions of the planetary system to regions where planets form. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-young-sunlike-reveals-comets-planets.html Astrobiology Wed, 02 Sep 2026 12:20:01 EDT news707564222 Astronomers have discovered a second interstellar cloud near the center of the Milky Way that is extraordinarily rich in complex molecules, including several molecules associated with prebiotic chemistry. The newly studied cloud, G+0.633-0.0604, or G+0.633, contains more than 120 identified molecular species and is the first confirmed chemical twin of another famous molecule-rich cloud. Their paper, posted to the arXiv preprint server on Aug. 14, outlines the chemistry of the newfound cloud. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-molecular-species-giant-cloud-milky.html Astronomy Wed, 02 Sep 2026 08:30:02 EDT news706793113 When exploring solar system bodies for signs of past or present life, scientists have mainly focused on planets that have (or had) a liquid surface similar to Earth's. However, mounting evidence suggests that the ingredients for life may exist in a very different environment: the highly acidic clouds that blanket Venus. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-peptides-harsh-venus-conditions.html Astrobiology Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:00:10 EDT news707388361 In a new study, a team of astronomers has identified wavelengths of light that could be useful for tracing the chemical evolution of the universe. Using computational modeling to simulate how electrons interact with manganese ions—an element produced during stellar explosions called supernovae—researchers predicted how different environmental conditions could produce observable light known as emission lines. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-manganese-emission-lines-galactic-evolution.html Astronomy Mon, 31 Aug 2026 13:00:07 EDT news707394241 A team of researchers led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Chemistry has uncovered a faster way large carbon-based molecules may form in space, helping solve a long-standing mystery about how some of the building blocks of the universe grow. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-discovery-reveals-rapid-pathways-complex.html Astrobiology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 18:30:02 EDT news707070961 Lights blink on as I enter the Rover Operations Center at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, at 7:30 a.m. I'm the first to arrive, even though I already feel late. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mars-rovers-scientists-groundlevel-view.html Astrobiology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:40:03 EDT news707042402 Venus appears pale yellow in visible light, but ultraviolet images reveal dramatic dark and bright patterns moving with the planet's upper sulfuric acid clouds. Scientists have known about these markings for roughly a century, yet the chemical identity of the material responsible—the "unknown absorber"—remains unresolved. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-venus-mysterious-clouds-exceptionally-strong.html Astrobiology Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:00:05 EDT news707039401 Stanford researchers have offered an explanation for why some sizzling, lava-covered worlds nestled tightly around their stars can retain their atmospheres. At such close quarters, intense stellar radiation should strip away a planet's air. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-lava-exoplanets-retain-atmospheres-billions.html Astrobiology Wed, 26 Aug 2026 11:40:04 EDT news706957007 Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide around a B[e] supergiant. The paper was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on July 1. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-alma-uncovers-sulfur-rare-class.html Astronomy Thu, 20 Aug 2026 09:20:07 EDT news706267123 Some of Earth's microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the moon's South Pole region, NASA scientists say. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-human-microbes-survive-moon-south.html Astrobiology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:10:01 EDT news706377544 You may have heard the phrase "we are made of star-stuff." This statement by the astronomer Carl Sagan refers to the fact that elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were forged in the centers of the first stars. But how does this star-stuff evolve into the chemistry of rocks, plants and people? https://phys.org/news/2026-08-radio-telescopes-scientists-molecules-space.html Astronomy Sun, 16 Aug 2026 18:40:01 EDT news705925133 Detecting water where none remains today: Neutron and X-ray tomography make it possible. In an international study conducted with the participation of the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, researchers have brought to light macroscopic hydrogen-rich regions inside a Martian meteorite. The findings provide evidence for early water-rock interactions on Mars. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dry-meteorite-mars.html Astrobiology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:00:01 EDT news705841861 It's common to see images of astronauts on the International Space Station exercising, running on special treadmills and pedaling cycles designed for tight quarters. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-space-doesnt-affect-strength-heart.html Space Exploration Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:20:03 EDT news705759301 The habitable zone concept is useful for understanding which worlds might, possibly, maybe, be habitable. It highlights exoplanets at the right distances from their stars for liquid water to potentially exist on their surfaces. But that alone can't determine habitability. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mission-evolution-exoplanet-atmospheres.html Astrobiology Tue, 11 Aug 2026 21:00:01 EDT news705685681 For decades, astronomers have assumed that the Martian surface froze solid around 3 billion years ago and has stayed that way ever since. If this were really the case, any liquid water would have long since either been locked away underground or lost to space. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mars-liquid-thought.html Astrobiology Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:00:13 EDT news705587200 Venus may be overwhelmingly inhospitable today, but many planetary scientists believe that it wasn't always this way. Billions of years ago, some observational evidence suggested that our planetary neighbor may have looked far more like Earth, complete with oceans potentially capable of harboring life. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-venus-polygonal-plains-watery.html Astrobiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 08:00:09 EDT news705070220 If you've ever been under a dark sky in the early morning before dawn, you may have seen a faint glow, almost like a column of light rising from the east. It's sometimes known as the false dawn because it appears before true dawn. It can also appear in the west after sunset, though it typically isn't as noticeable. The glow is caused by dust in the inner solar system. It is a diffuse plane of tiny particles that aligns with the plane of the inner planets. Since the planets move through the zodiac constellations, so does this plane of dust, which is why it is also known as the zodiacal light. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-zodiacal-exoplanetary-hinder-life-worlds.html Astrobiology Mon, 03 Aug 2026 16:40:02 EDT news704987763 We know Mars has water ice in its polar regions, but astronauts (and their solar-powered equipment!) would much rather experience life closer to Mars' equator. As NASA looks toward landing humans on the red planet, the Planetary Science Institute (PSI) is mapping where water should and shouldn't be found and using statistics to quantify its certainty. Two new papers, led by PSI's Hanna Sizemore and Samuel Courville, highlight new global maps of subsurface water ice and identify the missions and tools needed to increase the certainty of the maps. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-laying-odds-potential-martian-future.html Astrobiology Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:20:03 EDT news704725321 Before any major telescope commissioning, there are dozens of papers that attempt to define what we can expect from it. We're starting to see some come through for the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), which hopefully will get a more imaginative name when the 39 m (128-foot) behemoth is officially commissioned in Chile in the 2030s. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-elt-spectrograph-biosignatures-worlds.html Astrobiology Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:00:03 EDT news704721302 Space isn't known for rich soil or ideal agricultural conditions anywhere in the solar system. Yet amid extreme temperatures and vast distances, multidisciplinary teams at USF's Aerospace: Science, Technology, Research and Applications Center (ASTRA) are collaborating on sustainable space agriculture projects with potential applications back on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-advance-space-agriculture-future.html Space Exploration Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:05 EDT news704625181 When astronomers talk about directly imaging an exoplanet orbiting a faraway star, the analogy they most commonly use is trying to spot a firefly next to a massive searchlight. An Earth-like exoplanet is incredibly dim—usually between 100 million and 10 billion times fainter than its host star. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-physics-earth.html Astrobiology Thu, 30 Jul 2026 07:40:01 EDT news704610361 We've been covering the journey of the Habitable Worlds Observatory for some time now. Over the past few years, it's gone from a proposal to a relatively fleshed-out plan for how and what the next Great Observatory should do—in this case, look at and characterize potentially habitable exoplanets. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nasa-habitable-worlds-observatory.html Astronomy Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:20:01 EDT news704378492 Europa, one of Jupiter's icy moons, has long fascinated scientists because of what may lie beneath its frozen shell: a global ocean of liquid water. That hidden ocean has made Europa one of the most compelling places in the solar system to study the conditions that might support life. But new research led by Rutgers scientist Lujendra Ojha suggests one of the most promising shortcuts to Europa's ocean may be far more complicated than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-europa-hidden-ocean-difficult-scientists.html Astrobiology Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:00:03 EDT news704105234 UK astronomers are a step closer to playing a leading role in NASA's search for alien life in the coming decades as they continue developing one of the core instruments of the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO). The exciting mission—the U.S. space agency's next flagship space telescope after the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope—is expected to launch in the 2040s. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uk-pole-position-key-instrument.html Astrobiology Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:00:09 EDT news704103592 Astronomers searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence may have been missing alien signals in part of the radio spectrum that has not recently been explored. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-alien-radio-channel.html Astronomy Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:00:03 EDT news703934221 Dreams of finding a sort of Earth 2.0 motivate much of the thinking around the search for exoplanets. But there is more to exoplanet science than searching for potentially habitable worlds. Scientists need a deeper understanding of the overall exoplanet population to understand the cosmos. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-venus-zone-planets-plato-habitable.html Astrobiology Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:00:02 EDT news703845362 Are we alone in the universe? For scientists working on NASA's proposed Habitable Worlds Observatory, that question is no longer purely philosophical. It is increasingly becoming an engineering problem. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-advance-tech-scientists-habitable-worlds.html Astrobiology Mon, 20 Jul 2026 07:40:01 EDT news703748041