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How can we find cryovolcanoes on Europa?

In the 1970s, NASA's Voyager probes passed through Jupiter's system and snapped pictures of its largest moons, also known as the Galilean moons. These pictures and the data they gathered offered the first hints that a global ...

How to engineer microbes to enable us to live on Mars

A field known as synthetic biology has become one of the most highly anticipated in science. Its outputs range from golden rice, which is genetically engineered to provide vitamin A, to advances stemming from the Human Genome ...

One day we might seed the universe with life. But should we?

Suppose humanity was faced with an extinction-level event. Not just high odds, but certain-sure. A nearby supernova will explode and irradiate all life, a black hole will engulf the Earth, a Mars-sized interstellar asteroid ...

Organic molecules of unprecedented size discovered on Mars

Scientists analyzing pulverized rock onboard NASA's Curiosity rover have found the largest organic compounds on the red planet to date. The finding, published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, ...

Using algorithms to help find life on icy ocean worlds

Scientists have long thought that our solar system's ocean worlds, such as Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Enceladus, may harbor extraterrestrial life in the form of microbes. But detecting it could be a challenge ...

Study reveals white dwarfs could host life-supporting planets

Florida Tech's Caldon Whyte is two years into a lengthy universe exploration to earn his Ph.D. in space sciences. After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in astrobiology in 2023, he's fascinated by white dwarf stars—the ...

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Astrobiology
Violent supernovae 'triggered at least two Earth extinctions,' study suggests
Astrobiology
Signs of alien life may be hiding in these gases
Space Exploration
Astronauts prepare for International Space Station launch; biomedical, materials, physical sciences work planned
Space Exploration
How humans can reinvent themselves to live on other worlds
Astrobiology
New Mars life detection method strengthens sample return safety protocols
Astrobiology
Unburied treasure: Rover researchers find unexpected minerals on Mars that hint at possibility of ancient life
Astrobiology
Can surface fractures on Earth, Mars, and Europa predict habitability on other planets?
Astronomy
Water might be older than we first thought, forming a key constituent of the first galaxies
Astrobiology
Webb exposes complex atmosphere of starless super-Jupiter
Astrobiology
Mars time machine: Researchers create virtual model to decode red planet's climate evolution
Astrobiology
How did life develop on early Earth? New source of nitrogen discovered
Astrobiology
Geysers on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus may form from a 'mushy zone'
Astrobiology
Laser-powered device tested on Earth could help detect microbial fossils on Mars
Astrobiology
Mission concept proposes sampling Enceladus's subsurface ocean
Astrobiology
Ancient beaches testify to long-ago ocean on Mars
Astronomy
If you're going to call aliens, use this number
Astrobiology
Cosmic radiation from supernova altered virus evolution in Africa, study suggests
Astrobiology
Sulfur may be a new tool for finding alien life
Astrobiology
Life on Mars? It probably looks like something you'd find in your stomach
Astrobiology
Jupiter's moon Callisto is very likely an ocean world

Other news

Bio & Medicine
Drug-delivering aptamers target leukemia stem cells for a one-two knockout punch
Molecular & Computational biology
The fungal circadian clock: A potential target for combating plant diseases
Cell & Microbiology
Marine microbes reveal new gene clusters for hydrogen production
Optics & Photonics
Infrared heavy-metal-free quantum dots deliver sensitive and fast sensors for eye-safe LIDAR applications
Mathematics
Quantum statistical approach quiets big, noisy data
Analytical Chemistry
Common catalyst works by cycling between two different forms, upending a long-held supposition
Planetary Sciences
Perseverance rover witnesses one Martian dust devil eating another
Plants & Animals
Prey size plays surprising role in competition among wolves, bears and cougars
Cell & Microbiology
Firefly light gives rise to sensor that detects cellular alterations
Biotechnology
Fluorescent biosensor tracks plant RNA in real time for better crops and biosecurity
Astronomy
HD 144812 is a rare post-red supergiant star in a binary system, observations find
Condensed Matter
Microwave pulses can control ion-molecule reactions at near absolute zero
Evolution
Molecular clock analysis shows bacteria used oxygen long before widespread photosynthesis
Cell & Microbiology
Stem cell barcoding reveals how the brain and inner ear are formed
Plants & Animals
Bonobos combine calls in similar ways to human language, study finds
Cell & Microbiology
Antibiotic resistance among key bacterial species plateaus over time, study shows
Plants & Animals
Animal behavioral diversity at risk in the face of declining biodiversity
Plants & Animals
Some insects are declining, but what's happening to the other 99%?
Cell & Microbiology
Cellular regulator of mRNA vaccine revealed, offering new therapeutic options
Space Exploration
Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit moon

China plans to retrieve Mars samples by 2031

China's growing presence in space has been undeniable since the turn of the century. Between sending the first "taikonaut" to space in 2003 (Yang Liwei), launching the first Chinese robotic mission to the moon (Chang'e-1) ...

Team links comet water to Earth's oceans

Researchers have found that water on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko has a similar molecular signature to the water in Earth's oceans. Contradicting some recent results, this finding reopens the case that Jupiter-family ...

Dragonfly is going to Titan on a Falcon Heavy

NASA has given SpaceX the contract to launch the Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan. A Falcon Heavy will send the rotorcraft and its lander on their way to Titan in 2028, if all goes according to plan, and the mission ...