March 2025 – Page 2 – My WordPress Site

The new bathymetric map of the volcanic chain south-southeast of Rarotonga Note the data is shown here before processing, which will improve the quality further. -- Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Water Planet Surveys: Discovering Underwater Volcanoes

by Keith CowingMarch 30, 2025March 30, 2025

Artist's concept of a stellar flare from Proxima Centauri. Credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO/S. Dagnello

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Proxima Centauri, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Stellar Cartography

ALMA Shares A New View of Proxima Centauri

by Keith CowingMarch 29, 2025

Prototaxites -- Illustration by Matthew Humpage

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microgravity, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology

Ancient Prototaxites Don’t Belong To Any Living Lineage – Possibly A Distinct Branch of Multicellular Earth life

by Keith CowingMarch 29, 2025March 29, 2025

Geologic map of Oxia Planum -- ESA

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

Flyover Of Rosalind Franklin Astrobiology Mission Landing Site

by Keith CowingMarch 29, 2025March 29, 2025

Schematic diagram of the implications of microbial biofilms for astrobiology. Biofilms expand the habitability of microorganisms by shielding them from extreme conditions. This protective function is largely attributed to the EPS, which comprises exopolysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and e-DNA. In addition, biofilms are a promising source of biosignatures, as some components of EPS are highly resistant to degradation. EPS play a crucial role in biomineralization, the process by which microorganisms facilitate mineral formation, often in discrete and easily discriminated structures. The interactions between EPS and minerals further contribute to the preservation of these biopolymers, making them valuable indicators of microbial life on Earth and in extraterrestrial environments. -- Applied Environmental Microbiology

Analog Studies, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology

An Astrobiological Perspective on Microbial Biofilms: Their Importance for Habitability and Production of Detectable and Lasting Biosignatures

by Keith CowingMarch 29, 2025March 29, 2025

A new, integrated system will enable ocean science, exploration, and restoration efforts from a wider range of vessels, paving the way for more successful and efficient operations

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s New Remotely Operated Vehicles

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2025March 28, 2025

Bloom of phytoplankton in the Gulf of Oman composed of Noctiluca scintillans, a marine dinoflagellate -- NASA

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Microbiology & Virology, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Biosignature Assay: Phytoplankton Bloom

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2025March 28, 2025

Artist’s impression shows the planet K2-18b, its host star and an accompanying planet in this system. ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Atmospheres Of New Planets Might Have Unexpected Mixtures Of Hydrogen And Water

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2025March 28, 2025

Polarisation microscopy analyses reveal that tartrate in the calcium tartrate crystals had no chirality preference. Credit Chen Chen

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Microbiology & Virology

How Calcium May Have Unlocked The Origins Of Life’s Molecular Asymmetry

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2025March 28, 2025

A drone landed on the Greenland snow surface at EastGRIP.(Credit: Kevin Rozmiarek/CU Boulder)

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Recon: Drone Experiment Reveals How Greenland’s Ice Sheet Is Changing

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2025March 28, 2025