How likely is life on Mars?
Mars is by far the most Earth-like planet in the solar system… but that's not saying much.
Astrobiology
Jun 3, 2025
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Astrobiology news
New model helps to figure out which distant planets may host life
The search for life beyond Earth is a key driver of modern astronomy and planetary science. The U.S. is building multiple major telescopes and planetary probes to advance this search. However, the signs of life—called biosignatures—that ...
Astrobiology
Jun 2, 2025
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We need to be looking for life in 'continuous' habitable zones, say researchers
Exoplanet science is shifting from finding any detectable exoplanets we can to searching for those in their stars' habitable zones. NASA's proposed Habitable World Observatory and other similar efforts are focused on these ...
Astrobiology
Jun 2, 2025
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Uncovering the chemistry of interstellar space
Many people imagine the space between the stars as an empty, cold infinity. In reality, it is teeming with extraordinary molecules: More than 300 different types have already been discovered. For her Ph.D. thesis, chemist ...
Astronomy
Jun 2, 2025
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Shelved Europa Lander mission concept could be used to explore Enceladus instead
A team of engineers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has outlined the decade-long development and testing of what was originally known as the Europa Lander prototype—a partially autonomous robot designed to find out if ...
Finding a better way to distinguish life from nonlife
The search for life on other worlds needs a way to sift through the chemistry of their atmospheres. If another species observed Earth to search for life, they'd look for "smoking gun" chemistry in the atmosphere. That includes ...
Astrobiology
Jun 2, 2025
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The habitability of Earth tells us the likelihood of finding life elsewhere
The hunt for habitable worlds has become a hot topic in astronomy. For decades, the search has been focused on planets in the "Goldilocks zone"; that narrow band around a star where water stays liquid, not too hot to boil ...
Astrobiology
May 30, 2025
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Venus shows why ozone isn't a good biosignature
Just because we can find ozone in the atmosphere of other planets doesn't mean there's life. Ozone is a sign of life on Earth, but its detection on Venus shows that it can also be produced abiotically. This indicates that ...
Astrobiology
May 30, 2025
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Is the bar higher for scientific claims of alien life?
The search for extraterrestrial life has long gone back and forth between scientific curiosity, public fascination and outright skepticism. Recently, scientists claimed the "strongest evidence" of life on a distant exoplanet—a ...
Astrobiology
May 28, 2025
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Cosmic ray research helps unravel lithium-7 origin
The origin of lithium (Li), the third element of the periodic table, has long been shrouded in mystery. This element, commonly found in cosmic rays as two stable isotopes, 6Li and 7Li, is crucial to understanding the origins ...
