2004 - Astrobiology

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains & Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Polar / Alpine Expeditions

Mountaineering And Climbing On Mars

by Keith CowingDecember 17, 2004December 17, 2023

by Keith Cowing Originally published: JBIS, Vol. 57, pp.113-125, 2004 ABSTRACT Initial human missions to Mars will be a precious commodity wherein a maximum amount of information is gathered by each crew. As was the case during innumerable terrestrial missions of exploration, the Martian terrain that visiting crews must traverse in order to gain an […]

The SPARCS payload consisting of a telescope with a 9-cm primary mirror and a 3.25 cm secondary mirror feeding a dichroic beam splitter which transmits light to a NUV detector and reflects light to a FUV detector. -- astro-ph.IM

Away Teams & Field Reports, Conferences and Meetings, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Societal Issues

NASA Administrator’s Symposium Examines Exploration and Risk

by Keith CowingSeptember 22, 2004April 14, 2024

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Missions & Hardware, Science Fiction, Tricorders & Sensors

What Is Life – and How Do We Search for It in Other Worlds?

by Keith CowingSeptember 14, 2004April 13, 2024

New high-resolution images of protoplanetary disks in the Ophiuchus star-forming region, created with improved analysis. The resolution is shown by the white ellipse in the lower left of each panel, with a smaller ellipse indicating higher resolution. The white line in the lower right of each panel indicates a scale of 30 au. The evolution stage of the central stars progresses from left to right, and from top to bottom in the same row. (Credit: ALMA(ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), A. Shoshi et al.) Download image (927KB)

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Tricorders & Sensors

Major Milestone For Detecting Life On Mars

by Keith CowingSeptember 9, 2004April 13, 2024

CRIRES+ data: CCFo map for night 3, channel B, using the H2O template. The horizontal white lines represent the orbital phases of the HD 209458 b’s expected transit ingress (bottom) and egress (top). The slanted line represent HD 209458 b’s expected radial velocities, corrected from the barycentric velocities, with Vrest = 0 km·s −1 . Rest velocities lower than −25 km·s −1 and larger than +35 km·s −1 are not shown for clarity. -- astro-ph.EP

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology

Study May Cast Doubt on Some 1996 NASA Evidence of Past Life on Mars

by Keith CowingMay 5, 2004April 13, 2024

Conferences and Meetings

Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) 2004

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2004

Astrobiology (general), Conferences and Meetings, NASA Astrobiology Program, Terraforming & Geoengineering

NASA Mars Terraforming Debate to be held at Astrobiology Conference

by Keith CowingMarch 25, 2004June 23, 2024

During the one-year analog mission, crew members will participate in various activities, including sample collection and analysis utilizing a glovebox. Bill Stafford/NASA

Astrobiology (general), Conferences and Meetings, NASA Astrobiology Program

Astrobiology Stars to Shine at NASA Conference

by Keith CowingMarch 23, 2004June 23, 2024

Extreme Arabian Environments And Their Microbiomes: New Frontiers For Astrobiology And Biosignature Discovery

Astrobiology assesses the habitability of planetary bodies and the potential for extraterrestrial life. Analog environments on Earth serve as sites for studying extreme environments that resemble extraterrestrial conditions, aiding in validating life-detection methods, mission instrumentation, and biosignature preservation. These environments function as a source of model microorganisms and communities that define the habitability and biochemistry…

by Keith Cowing April 13, 2026April 13, 2026

From Early Earth to Enceladus – Mineral Electrochemistry Could Drive Organic Synthesis

At some point in Earth’s history, chemistry transitioned from abiotic organic synthesis—the building of more complicated organic molecules from smaller ones by nonbiological means—to biochemistry. Hydrothermal settings are compelling sites for the origins of this transition because they are natural chemical reactors. In this non-equilibrium setting; hot, reduced fluids continuously mix with cold, oxidized seawater…

by Keith Cowing April 13, 2026April 13, 2026

Chang’e Mission Samples Reveal How Exogenous Organic Matter Evolves On The Moon

Elements essential to life, such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, were “delivered” to the Earth and Moon during the early stages of the Solar System via asteroids and comets impacting their surfaces. These exogenous materials may have provided the chemical building blocks necessary for the origin and early evolution of life on Earth.…

by Keith Cowing April 13, 2026April 13, 2026