Robotics/Rovers/UAVs – My WordPress Site

This image was acquired on April 3, 2026 (Sol 1820) at the local mean solar time of 11:29:28. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Astrobiology Droid Perseverance At Work On Mars

by Keith CowingApril 12, 2026April 12, 2026

This photo was selected by public vote and featured as “Image of the Week” for Week 268 (March 29 – April 4, 2026) of the Perseverance rover mission on Mars.

PIXL micro-XRF observation from the third “Apollo Temple” scan (a,b), alongside a SHERLOC WATSON color image for context (c). An RGB composite shows the areas with relative enrichment of FeOT, SO3, and SiO2 where brownish tones highlight Fe-sulfide (a). Zones of Ni enrichment are seen in yellow (b) and marked with white arrows (a,b,c). Dashed black box shows the approximate area of the PIXL scan (c). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Strong Nickel Enrichment Co-located With Redox-organic Interactions In Neretva Vallis, Mars

by Keith CowingApril 8, 2026April 8, 2026

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

Revealing the Internal Structure of Mars-Analog Glaciers From Drone-Based Radar Sounding

by Keith CowingApril 6, 2026April 6, 2026

A closer view of the supercritical climbing wind ripples that provide direct evidence of a sandstorm, roughly three and a half billion years ago. Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Serendipitous Discovery Of Martian Ripple Marks Reveals An Ancient Sandstorm

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2026April 4, 2026

Image of Coffee_Cove (Sol 1466) with the locations and fields of view for the luminescence analyses (a). Comparison of the luminescence spectra taken on Hampden_River and Coffee_Cove compared to lab spectra collected on a pure ruby, ruby in an amphibolite rock, and diaspore -- LPSC

Analog Studies, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Mars, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors

SuperCam Identifies Corundum In Jezero Crater, Mars, Using Time-Resolved Luminescence Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2026April 2, 2026

Legged robot performing analogue tests in Marslabor at the University of Basel. Credit: Dr Tomaso Bontognali.

Analog Studies, Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains & Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Legged Robot Could Accelerate Resource Prospecting On The Moon And The Search For Life On Mars

by Keith CowingApril 1, 2026April 1, 2026

A diver’s view looking up to the opening of Amberjack Hole. Image courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory via NOAA.

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Gulf Of Mexico Blue Hole Harbors High Levels Of Novel Microbial Lineages

by Keith CowingMarch 28, 2026March 28, 2026

Metabolic reconstruction of major pathways in Synechococcus MAGs. The draft genomes for free-living and sponge-associated Synechococcus from NCBI were compared with the two MAGs from the anoxic YBH layer. The number or percentage of KEGG genes in these genomes was illustrated to mediate the metabolic network. α-Glucose-1P: α-Glucose-1-phosphate; G6P: α-D-Glucose 6-phosphate; F6P: D-Fructose 6-phosphate; FBP: D-Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate; 3-PG: 3-Phospho-D-glycerate; 1,3-BPG: 1,3-Bisphospho-D-glycerate; GAP: Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate; Ribose-5P: Ribose 5-phosphate; Ribulose-5P: D-Ribulose 5-phosphate; Ribulose 1,5P2: D-Ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate; Fructose 1,6P2: D-Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate; Xylulose-5P: D-Xylulose 5-phosphate; PEP: Phosphoenolpyruvate; 2-PG: 2-Phospho-D-glycerate; DHAP: dihydroxyacetone phosphate. GY3P: glycerol-3-phosphate; GlcNAc-1-P: N-Acetyl-alpha-D-glucosamine 1-phosphate; GlcNAc-6-P: N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine 6-phosphate; GlcN-6-P: D-Glucosamine 6-phosphate. -- Applied and Environmental Microbiology

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Anoxia-adapted Cyanobacteria In A Marine Blue Hole

by Keith CowingMarch 26, 2026March 26, 2026

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return

DNA Fragments Could Survive In Martian Rocks For More Than 100 Million Years

by Keith CowingMarch 24, 2026March 24, 2026

The Alvin is pictured sampling the P hydrothermal vent, which is an underwater volcano that forms at spreading and converging plate boundaries that spews out hot water that’s been heating underneath the earth’s crust. -- University of Delaware

Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

University of Delaware Robotics Study The Depths Of Earth’s Ocean

by Keith CowingMarch 23, 2026March 23, 2026