Signs of life on the Martian surface would still be visible even after bacteria were zapped with a potentially fatal dose of radiation, according to new research—if life ever existed there, of course.
Space Exploration
Sep 10, 2013
9
0
In August 2019, Chloe Fishman crawled into a cave beneath the largest active volcano on the planet. Along with scientists from NASA and other institutions, she had come to Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano to study the microscopic ...
Astrobiology
Apr 10, 2023
0
190
Curiosity took its first test drive around the gravel-strewn Martian terrain Wednesday, preparation for the ultimate road trip to find out if the red planet's environment could have supported life.
Space Exploration
Aug 22, 2012
9
0
To search for life on Mars, future astronauts would naturally want to step outside their living habitat for a walk. But the spacesuits keeping them alive might also carry Earth microbes or ingredients of life that could contaminate ...
Space Exploration
Jun 16, 2011
5
0
It was built on a relative shoestring, was completed in just five years and was designed to survive for just 687 days. Ten years later, after more than 12,000 swings around the Red Planet, Europe's Mars Express is still ...
Space Exploration
Jun 1, 2013
5
0
Soon the rover Curiosity will land on Mars. By design it won't involve life-detection, but it was assembled to look for the carbon-based building blocks of Martian life and to explore the possible habitats where life might ...
Space Exploration
Aug 3, 2012
14
0
What has Curiosity been up to lately? The rover's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instruments makes up more than half the science payload on board MSL, and it is now searching for compounds of the element carbon—including ...
Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2012
1
0
In 2020, NASA plans to launch a new Mars rover that will be tasked with probing a region of the planet scientists believe could hold remnants of ancient microbial life. The rover will collect samples of rocks and soil, and ...
Materials Science
Aug 16, 2016
1
34
The type of carbon is associated with biological processes on Earth. Curiosity scientists offer several explanations for the unusual carbon signals.
Space Exploration
Jan 19, 2022
0
83
(PhysOrg.com) -- Two University of Michigan planetary scientists are vital members of the science team of the Mars Science Laboratory, which will study whether the Red Planet was ever capable of harboring microbial life. ...
Space Exploration
Nov 18, 2011
0
0
