Portal:Astrobiology
Portal maintenance status: (September 2018)
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Introduction
Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary scientific field concerned with the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology considers the question of whether extraterrestrial life exists, and how humans can detect it if it does. The term exobiology is similar.
Astrobiology makes use of molecular biology, biophysics, biochemistry, chemistry, astronomy, physical cosmology, exoplanetology and geology to investigate the possibility of life on other worlds and help recognize biospheres that might be different from that on Earth. The origin and early evolution of life is an inseparable part of the discipline of astrobiology. Astrobiology concerns itself with interpretation of existing scientific data, and although speculation is entertained to give context, astrobiology concerns itself primarily with hypotheses that fit firmly into existing scientific theories.
Selected general articles
CAESAR (Comet Astrobiology Exploration Sample Return) is a proposed sample-return mission to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The mission was proposed in 2017 to NASA's New Frontiers program mission 4, and on 20 December 2017 it was one of two finalists selected for further concept development.
If selected in July 2019, it may launch between 2024 and 2025, with a capsule delivering a sample back to Earth in 2038. The Principal Investigator is Steve Squyres of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. CAESAR would be managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The spacecraft would be built by various collaborating entities: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; Northrop Grumman, JAXA, Honeybee Robotics, Malin Space Science Systems, Kinetx Aerospace, and Motiv Space Systems. Curation of the returned sample would take place at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Read more...
Breakthrough Listen is a science-based program to search for intelligent extraterrestrial communications in the Universe. With $100 million in funding and thousands of hours of dedicated telescope time on state-of-the-art facilities, it is the most comprehensive search for alien communications to date. The project began in January 2016, and is expected to continue for 10 years. It is a component of Yuri Milner's Breakthrough Initiatives program. The science program for Breakthrough Listen is based at Berkeley SETI Research Center, located in the Astronomy Department at the University of California, Berkeley.
The project uses radio wave observations from the Green Bank Observatory and the Parkes Observatory, and visible light observations from the Automated Planet Finder. Targets for the project include one million nearby stars and the centers of 100 galaxies. All data generated from the project are available to the public, and SETI@Home is used for some of the data analysis. The first results were published in April 2017, with further updates expected every 6 months. Read more...
Phoenix was a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission on Mars under the Mars Scout Program. The Phoenix lander landed on Mars on May 25, 2008. Mission scientists used instruments aboard the lander to search for environments suitable for microbial life on Mars, and to research the history of water there. The total mission cost was about US $386 million, which includes cost of the launch.
The multi-agency program was headed by the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, under the direction of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The program was a partnership of universities in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, NASA, the Canadian Space Agency, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates (MDA) and other aerospace companies. It was the first mission to Mars led by a public university in NASA history. It was led directly from the University of Arizona's campus in Tucson, with project management at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and project development at Lockheed Martin in Denver, Colorado. The operational funding for the mission extended through November 10, 2008. Read more...
Microbiology (from Greek μῑκρος, mīkros, "small"; βίος, bios, "life"; and -λογία, -logia) is the study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, parasitology, mycology and bacteriology.
Eukaryotic microorganisms possess membrane-bound cell organelles and include fungi and protists, whereas prokaryotic organisms—all of which are microorganisms—are conventionally classified as lacking membrane-bound organelles and include Bacteria and Archaea. Microbiologists traditionally relied on culture, staining, and microscopy. However, less than 1% of the microorganisms present in common environments can be cultured in isolation using current means. Microbiologists often rely on molecular biology tools such as DNA sequence based identification, for example 16s rRNA gene sequence used for bacteria identification. Read more...
The Vegetable Production System (Veggie) is a plant growth system developed and used by NASA in outer space environments. The purpose of Veggie is to provide a self-sufficient and sustainable food source for astronauts as well as a means of recreation and relaxation through therapeutic gardening. Veggie was designed in conjunction with ORBITEC and is currently being used aboard the International Space Station, with another Veggie module planned to be delivered to the ISS in 2017. Read more...
An Earth analog (also referred to as an Earth analogue, Earth twin, or Earth-like planet, though this latter term may refer to any terrestrial planet) is a planet or moon with environmental conditions similar to those found on Earth.
The possibility is of particular interest to astrobiologists and astronomers under reasoning that the more similar a planet is to Earth, the more likely it is to be capable of sustaining complex extraterrestrial life. As such, it has long been speculated and the subject expressed in science, philosophy, science fiction and popular culture. Advocates of space colonization have long sought an Earth analog as a "second home", while advocates for space and survival would regard such a planet as a potential "new home" for humankind. Read more...
A paleontologist at work at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
Paleontology or palaeontology (/ˌpeɪliɒnˈtɒlədʒi,ˌpæli-, -ən-/) is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene Epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments (their paleoecology). Paleontological observations have been documented as far back as the 5th century BC. The science became established in the 18th century as a result of Georges Cuvier's work on comparative anatomy, and developed rapidly in the 19th century. The term itself originates from Greek παλαιός, palaios, "old, ancient", ὄν, on (gen. ontos), "being, creature" and λόγος, logos, "speech, thought, study".
Paleontology lies on the border between biology and geology, but differs from archaeology in that it excludes the study of anatomically modern humans. It now uses techniques drawn from a wide range of sciences, including biochemistry, mathematics, and engineering. Use of all these techniques has enabled paleontologists to discover much of the evolutionary history of life, almost all the way back to when Earth became capable of supporting life, about 3.8 billion years ago. As knowledge has increased, paleontology has developed specialised sub-divisions, some of which focus on different types of fossil organisms while others study ecology and environmental history, such as ancient climates. Read more...- The survival of some microorganisms exposed to outer space has been studied using both simulated facilities and low Earth orbit exposures. Bacteria were some of the first organisms investigated, when in 1960 a Russian satellite carried Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, and Enterobacter aerogenes into orbit. A large number of microorganisms have been selected for exposure experiments since, as listed in the table below.
Experiments of the adaption of microbes in space have yielded unpredictable results. While sometimes the microorganism may weaken, they can also increase in their disease-causing potency. Read more... - THEO (Testing the Habitability of Enceladus's Ocean) is a feasibility study for a New Frontiers class orbiter mission to Enceladus that would directly sample its south pole water plumes in order to study its internal habitability and to search for biosignatures. Specifically, it would take advantage of the direct sampling opportunities of a subsurface ocean.
The study concept was produced by the 2015 Jet Propulsion Laboratory Planetary Science Summer School under the guidance of TeamX. The study has not yet been formally proposed for funding. Read more...
Location of the astrobiology EXPOSE-E and EXPOSE-R facilities on the International Space Station
EXPOSE is a multi-user facility mounted outside the International Space Station dedicated to astrobiology. EXPOSE was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for long-term spaceflights and was designed to allow exposure of chemical and biological samples to outer space while recording data during exposure.
The results will contribute to our understanding of photobiological processes in simulated radiation climates of planets (e.g. early Earth, early and present Mars, and the role of the ozone layer in protecting the biosphere from harmful UV-B radiation), as well as studies of the probabilities and limitations for life to be distributed beyond its planet of origin. EXPOSE data support long-term in situ studies of microbes in artificial meteorites, as well as of microbial communities from special ecological niches. Some EXPOSE experiments investigated to what extent particular terrestrial organisms are able to cope with extraterrestrial environmental conditions. Others tested how organic molecules react when subjected for a prolonged period of time to unfiltered solar light. Read more...- Atmospheric sciences are the study of the Earth's atmosphere, its processes, the effects other systems have on the atmosphere, and the effects of the atmosphere on these other systems. Meteorology includes atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics with a major focus on weather forecasting. Climatology is the study of atmospheric changes (both long and short-term) that define average climates and their change over time, due to both natural and anthropogenic climate variability. Aeronomy is the study of the upper layers of the atmosphere, where dissociation and ionization are important. Atmospheric science has been extended to the field of planetary science and the study of the atmospheres of the planets of the solar system.
Experimental instruments used in atmospheric sciences include satellites, rocketsondes, radiosondes, weather balloons, and lasers. Read more...
The Mars Astrobiology Explorer-Cacher (MAX-C), also known as Mars 2018 mission was a NASA concept for a Mars rover mission, proposed to be launched in 2018 together with the European ExoMars rover. The MAX-C rover concept was cancelled in April 2011 due to budget cuts.
The rover would have been solar powered, with a maximum mass of 300 kg and based largely on the Curiosity rover components, but would have entailed a system tailored to the specific payload. The MAX-C rover would have performed an in-situ astrobiological exploration, evaluate the habitability potential of various Martian environments, and it would have collected, documented, and cached samples for potential return to Earth by a future mission. Read more...- The ExoMars 2020 surface platform is a planned robotic Mars lander, part of the ExoMars 2020 mission by the European Space Agency and the Roscosmos State Corporation.
The plan calls for a Russian Proton-M launch vehicle to deliver the Russian-built surface platform as well as the ExoMars rover to the surface of Mars. Once safely landed, the platform will deploy the rover and will start a one Earth-year mission to investigate the surface environment at the landing site. Read more...
False-color Cassini radar mosaic of Titan's north polar region; the blue areas are lakes of liquid hydrocarbons.
"The existence of lakes of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan opens up the possibility for solvents and energy sources that are alternatives to those in our biosphere and that might support novel life forms altogether different from those on Earth."—NASA Astrobiology Roadmap 2008
Hypothetical types of biochemistry are forms of biochemistry speculated to be scientifically viable but not proven to exist at this time. The kinds of living organisms currently known on Earth all use carbon compounds for basic structural and metabolic functions, water as a solvent, and DNA or RNA to define and control their form. If life exists on other planets or moons, it may be chemically similar; it is also possible that there are organisms with quite different chemistries—for instance, involving other classes of carbon compounds, compounds of another element, or another solvent in place of water.
The possibility of life-forms being based on "alternative" biochemistries is the topic of an ongoing scientific discussion, informed by what is known about extraterrestrial environments and about the chemical behaviour of various elements and compounds. It is also a common subject in science fiction. Read more...
The Beagle 2 was a British Mars lander that was transported by the European Space Agency's 2003 Mars Express mission. It was an astrobiology mission that would have looked for past life on the shallow surface of Mars.
The spacecraft was successfully deployed from the Mars Express on 19 December 2003 and was scheduled to land on the surface of Mars on 25 December; however, no contact was received at the expected time of landing on Mars. ESA declared the mission lost in February 2004, after numerous attempts to contact the spacecraft were made. Read more...
NASA launched three satellites named Biosatellite 1, 2 and 3 between 1966 and 1969.
NASA's Biosatellite program was a series of three satellites to assess the effects of spaceflight, especially radiation and weightlessness, on living organisms. Each was designed to reenter and be recovered at the end of its mission. Read more...- Astrophysics is the branch of astronomy that employs the principles of physics and chemistry "to ascertain the nature of the astronomical objects, rather than their positions or motions in space". Among the objects studied are the Sun, other stars, galaxies, extrasolar planets, the interstellar medium and the cosmic microwave background. Their emissions are examined across all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and the properties examined include luminosity, density, temperature, and chemical composition. Because astrophysics is a very broad subject, astrophysicists typically apply many disciplines of physics, including mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear and particle physics, and atomic and molecular physics.
In practice, modern astronomical research often involves a substantial amount of work in the realms of theoretical and observational physics. Some areas of study for astrophysicists include their attempts to determine the properties of dark matter, dark energy, and black holes; whether or not time travel is possible, wormholes can form, or the multiverse exists; and the origin and ultimate fate of the universe. Topics also studied by theoretical astrophysicists include Solar System formation and evolution; stellar dynamics and evolution; galaxy formation and evolution; magnetohydrodynamics; large-scale structure of matter in the universe; origin of cosmic rays; general relativity and physical cosmology, including string cosmology and astroparticle physics. Read more...
Mars 2020 is a Mars rover mission by NASA's Mars Exploration Program with a planned launch in July or August 2020. It will investigate an astrobiologically relevant ancient environment on Mars, investigate its surface geological processes and history, including the assessment of its past habitability, the possibility of past life on Mars, and the potential for preservation of biosignatures within accessible geological materials.
The as-yet unnamed Mars 2020 mission was announced by NASA on 4 December 2012 at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. The rover's design is derived from the Curiosity rover, and will use many components already fabricated and tested, but it will carry different scientific instruments and a core drill. Read more...
The Japanese Kibo module (left) and the Exposed Facility Unit (right)
The Tanpopo mission is an orbital astrobiology experiment investigating the potential interplanetary transfer of life, organic compounds, and possible terrestrial particles in the low Earth orbit. The purpose is to assess the panspermia hypothesis and the possibility of natural interplanetary transport of microbial life as well as prebiotic organic compounds.
The collection and exposure phase took place from May 2015 through February 2018 utilizing the Exposed Facility located on the exterior of Kibo, the Japanese Experimental Module of the International Space Station. The mission, designed and performed by Japan, collected cosmic dust by using ultra-low density silica gel (aerogel), and are being analyzed for amino acid-related compounds and microorganisms following their return to Earth. The last samples were retrieved in February 2018 and analyses are ongoing. The principal investigator is Akihiko Yamagishi, who heads a team of researchers from 26 universities and institutions in Japan, including JAXA. Read more...
Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed Curiosity, a Mars rover, in Gale Crater on August 6, 2012. The overall objectives include investigating Mars' habitability, studying its climate and geology, and collecting data for a manned mission to Mars. The rover carries a variety of scientific instruments designed by an international team. Read more...
A Mars sample-return mission (MSR) would be a spaceflight mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and then return them to Earth. Sample-return would be a very powerful type of exploration, because analysis is freed from the time, budget, and space constraints of spacecraft sensors. Any of Earth's laboratories could study a sample.
According to Louis Friedman, Executive Director of The Planetary Society, a Mars sample-return mission is often described by the planetary science community as one of the most important robotic space missions, due to its high expected scientific return on investment. Read more...
A Viking lander being prepared for dry heat sterilization – this remains the "Gold standard" of present-day planetary protection.
Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth in the case of sample-return missions. Planetary protection reflects both the unknown nature of the space environment and the desire of the scientific community to preserve the pristine nature of celestial bodies until they can be studied in detail.
There are two types of interplanetary contamination. Forward contamination is the transfer of viable organisms from Earth to another celestial body. Back contamination is the transfer of extraterrestrial organisms, if such exist, back to the Earth's biosphere. Read more...
The Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) initiative is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) virtual institute designed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in the search for life on exoplanets. Led by the Ames Research Center, the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NExSS will help organize the search for life on exoplanets from participating research teams and acquire new knowledge about exoplanets and extrasolar planetary systems. Read more...- Model of Schiaparelli lander at ESOC (2016)
Schiaparelli EDM lander [skjapaˈɾɛlːi] was the Entry, Descent and Landing Demonstrator Module (EDM) of the ExoMars programme—a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency Roscosmos. It was built in Italy and was intended to test technology for future soft landings on the surface of Mars. It also had a limited but focused science payload that would have measured atmospheric electricity on Mars and local meteorological conditions.
Launched together with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) on 14 March 2016, Schiaparelli attempted a landing on 19 October 2016. Telemetry signals from Schiaparelli, monitored in real time by the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope in India (and confirmed by Mars Express), were lost about one minute from the surface during the final landing stages. On 21 October 2016, NASA released an image by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showing what appears to be the lander's crash site. The telemetry data accumulated by the TGO and ESA's Mars Express orbiters are being used to investigate the failure modes of the landing technology employed. Read more...
The OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer) is a NASA asteroid study and sample-return mission. Launched on 8 September 2016, its mission is to study asteroid 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous asteroid, and return a sample to Earth on 24 September 2023 for detailed analysis. The material returned is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the Solar System, its initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life on Earth. If successful, OSIRIS-REx will be the first U.S. spacecraft to return samples from an asteroid.
The cost of the mission will be approximately US$800 million not including the Atlas V launch vehicle, which is about US$183.5 million. It is the third planetary science mission selected in the New Frontiers program, after Juno and New Horizons. The Principal Investigator is Dante Lauretta from the University of Arizona. Read more...
Europa Lander is a proposed astrobiology mission concept by NASA to Europa, a moon of Jupiter. If selected and developed, it would be launched separately in 2024 to complement the studies by the Europa Clipper orbiter mission.
The objectives of the mission would be searching for biosignatures at the subsurface, to characterize the composition of non-ice near-subsurface material, and determine the proximity of liquid water and recently erupted material near the lander's location. Read more...
The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) was a proposed project by NASA to construct a system of space telescopes for detecting extrasolar terrestrial planets. TPF was postponed several times and finally cancelled in 2011. There were actually two telescope systems under consideration, the TPF-I, which had several small telescopes, and TPF-C, which used one large telescope. Read more...- ExoMars (Exobiology on Mars) is a two-part astrobiology project to search for evidence of life on Mars, a joint mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency Roscosmos. The first part, launched in 2016, placed a trace gas research and communication satellite into Mars orbit and released a stationary experimental lander (which crashed). The second part is planned to launch in 2020, and to land the ExoMars rover on the surface, supporting a science mission that is expected to last into 2022 or beyond.
ExoMars goals are to search for signs of past life on Mars, investigate how the Martian water and geochemical environment varies, investigate atmospheric trace gases and their sources and by doing so demonstrate the technologies for a future Mars sample return mission. The mission will search for ancient biosignatures of Martian life, employing several spacecraft elements to be sent to Mars on two launches. Read more...
Thermophiles, a type of extremophile, produce some of the bright colors of Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park
An extremophile (from Latin extremus meaning "extreme" and Greek philiā (φιλία) meaning "love") is an organism that thrives in physically or geochemically extreme conditions that are detrimental to most life on Earth. In contrast, organisms that live in more moderate environments may be termed mesophiles or neutrophiles. Read more...
The ExoMars rover is a planned robotic Mars rover, part of the international ExoMars programme led by the European Space Agency and the Russian Roscosmos State Corporation.
The plan calls for a Russian launch vehicle, an ESA carrier module and a Russian lander that will deploy the rover to Mars' surface, scheduled to launch in July 2020. Once safely landed, the solar powered rover would begin a seven-month (218-sol) mission to search for the existence of past life on Mars. The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter, launched in 2016, will operate as the rover's data-relay satellite. Read more...- In the German experiment EXOSTACK, 30% of Bacillus subtilis spores survived the nearly 6 years exposure to outer space when embedded in salt crystals, whereas 80% survived in the presence of glucose, which stabilize the structure of the cellular macromolecules, especially during vacuum-induced dehydration.
If shielded against solar UV, spores of B. subtilis were capable of surviving in space for up to 6 years, especially if embedded in clay or meteorite powder (artificial meteorites). The data may support the likelihood of interplanetary transfer of microorganisms within meteorites, the so-called lithopanspermia hypothesis. Read more... - Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes that produced the diversity of life on Earth, starting from a single common ancestor. These processes include natural selection, common descent, and speciation.
The discipline emerged through what Julian Huxley called the modern synthesis (of the 1930s) of understanding from several previously unrelated fields of biological research, including genetics, ecology, biophysics, systematics, geobiology, and paleontology. Read more... - A biosignature (sometimes called chemical fossil or molecular fossil) is any substance – such as an element, isotope, molecule, or phenomenon – that provides scientific evidence of past or present life. Measurable attributes of life include its complex physical and chemical structures and also its utilization of free energy and the production of biomass and wastes. Due to its unique characteristics, a biosignature can be interpreted as having been produced by living organisms; however, it is important that they not be considered definitive because there is no way of knowing in advance which ones are universal to life and which ones are unique to the peculiar circumstances of life on Earth. Nonetheless, life forms are known to shed unique chemicals, including DNA, into the environment as evidence of their presence in a particular location. Read more...
- ExoLance is a low-cost mission concept that could hitch a ride on other missions to Mars in an effort to look for evidence of subsurface life. Read more...
Hydrothermal vents and its ecosystems are a research focus of ASTEP
Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) is a program established by NASA to sponsor research projects that advance the technology and techniques used in planetary exploration. The objective is to enable the study of astrobiology and to aid the planning of extraterrestrial exploration missions while prioritizing science, technology, and field campaigns. Read more...
Northern Light was a concept mission for a robotic mission to Mars that would consist of a lander and a rover, being studied by a consortium of Canadian universities, companies and organisations. The primary contractor for the spacecraft was Thoth Technology Inc.
The spacecraft would consist of four parts: an apogee kick engine to provide orbital injection for a cruise vehicle that carries the Northern Light lander and the Beaver Rover to a direct rendezvous with Mars using a Hohmann transfer orbit. Atmospheric entry would be achieved by a heat shield, parachute and airbag deployment system.
The lander would transfer the rover to the Martian surface. Once deployed on the Martian surface, the lander contacts Earth directly to the 46 m parabolic antenna located at the Algonquin Radio Observatory. Read more...
Allan Hills 84001 (commonly abbreviated ALH84001) is a Martian meteorite that was found in Allan Hills, Antarctica on December 27, 1984, by a team of U.S. meteorite hunters from the ANSMET project. Like other members of the group of SNCs (shergottite, nakhlite, chassignite), ALH84001 is thought to be from Mars. However, it does not fit into any of the previously discovered SNC groups. On discovery, its mass was 1.93 kilograms (4.3 lb).
In 1996, a group of scientists claimed to have found evidence for microscopic fossils of Martian bacteria in the meteorite, culminating in then U.S. president Bill Clinton giving a speech about the potential discovery. These claims were controversial from the beginning, and the wider scientific community ultimately rejected the hypothesis once all the unusual features in the meteorite had been explained without requiring life to be present. Despite there being no convincing evidence of Martian life, the initial paper and scientific and public attention caused by it are considered to be turning points in the history of the developing science of astrobiology. Read more...
The two Viking landers each carried four types of biological experiments to the surface of Mars in 1976. These were the first Mars landers to carry out experiments to look for biosignatures of microbial life on Mars. The landers used a robotic arm to put soil samples into sealed test containers on the craft. The two landers were identical, so the same tests were carried out at two places on Mars' surface, Viking 1 near the equator and Viking 2 further north. Read more...- There were a number of various types of experiments that were performed on board the SFU during its launch life cycle. Those experiments, and light data related to them are listed below.
- Infrared Telescope in Space (IRTS) - The IRTS experiment was performed by the infrared telescope that was aboard the SFU. The intent was to produce important information into the history of the universe and structure of the milky way galaxy. The telescope had a super fluid helium cooling fan built into it to prevent it from overheating.
- 2D Array - The 2d array system was launched as a small module inside of the SFU. This experiment was deployed to show that large structures could (in fact) be built in space.
- HVSA - The Solar Array was a power source put into this system to head up multiple experiments. It is used to test the creation of "electricity" in the denseness of space from the use of technology only.
- SPDP - This was used on the SFU to test things going really fast in space. SPDP stands for (Space Plasma Diagnostic Package) and it was deployed with different sensors to check the effects of speed on the denseness of gravity.
- EPEX - This hardware that was built into the SFU was meant to do experiments related to fuel creation and management in space.
- MEX - This software was meant to review and research the effects of various types of liquid within a space environment.
- BIO - This test involved observing Japanese fire belly newt eggs hatch in deep space.
- MELOS (Mars Exploration of Life and Organism Search) is a Japanese rover mission concept under study for an engineering demonstration of precision landing, and to look for possible biosignatures on Mars using a rover. JAXA has not published updates since 2015. Read more...
- Hayabusa2 (Japanese: はやぶさ2, "Peregrine falcon-2") is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese space agency, JAXA. It follows on from Hayabusa and addresses weak points identified in that mission. Hayabusa2 was launched on 3 December 2014 and rendezvoused with near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 27 June 2018. It is in the process of surveying the asteroid for a year and a half, departing in December 2019, and returning to Earth in December 2020.
Hayabusa2 carries multiple science payloads for remote sensing, sampling, and four small rovers that will investigate the asteroid surface to inform the environmental and geological context of the samples collected. Read more...
An ocean planet, ocean world, water world, aquaplanet or panthalassic planet is a type of terrestrial planet that contains a substantial amount of water either at its surface or subsurface. The term ocean world is also used sometimes for astronomical bodies with an ocean composed of a different fluid, such as lava (the case of Io) or ammonia (the case of Titan's inner ocean).
Earth is the only known astronomical object to have bodies of liquid water on its surface, although several exoplanets have been found with the right conditions to support liquid water. For exoplanets, current technology cannot directly observe liquid surface water, so atmospheric water vapor
may be used as a proxy. The characteristics of ocean worlds —or ocean planets— provide clues to their history, and the formation and evolution of the Solar System as a whole. Of additional interest is their potential to originate and host life. Read more...- Enceladus Explorer (EnEx) is a planned interplanetary orbiter and lander mission equipped with a subsurface maneuverable ice melting probe suitable to assess the existence of life on Saturn's moon Enceladus.
The astrobiology Enceladus Explorer project is funded by the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and is carried out by a research consortium of seven German universities. This collaborative project was started on 22 February 2012. Read more...
EURECA facility deployment in 1992
Exobiology Radiation Assembly (ERA) was an experiment that investigated the biological effects of space radiation, on board the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA), an unmanned 4.5 tonne satellite with a payload of 15 experiments. It was an astrobiology mission developed by the European Space Agency (ESA).
It was launched 31 July 1992 by STS-46 - Space Shuttle Atlantis, and put into an orbit at an altitude of 508 km. EURECA was retrieved on 1 July 1993 by STS-57- Space Shuttle Endeavour and returned to Earth for further analysis. Read more...
Extraterrestrial life, also called alien life (or, if it is a sentient or relatively complex individual, an "extraterrestrial" or "alien"), is life that occurs outside of Earth and that probably did not originate from Earth. These hypothetical life forms may range from simple prokaryotes to beings with civilizations far more advanced than humanity. The Drake equation speculates about the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. The science of extraterrestrial life in all its forms is known as exobiology.
Since the mid-20th century, there has been an ongoing search for signs of extraterrestrial life. This encompasses a search for current and historic extraterrestrial life, and a narrower search for extraterrestrial intelligent life. Depending on the category of search, methods range from the analysis of telescope and specimen data to radios used to detect and send communication signals. Read more...
The coccolithophore Gephyrocapsa oceanica may become an important carbon sink as the acidity of the ocean increases.
Geomicrobiology is the scientific field at the intersection of geology and microbiology. It concerns the effect of microbes on geological and geochemical processes and vice versa. Such interactions occur in the geosphere (rocks, minerals, soils, and sediments), the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. Applications include aquifers and public drinking water supplies. Read more...- This is a list of potentially habitable exoplanets and possible exoplanets. The list is based on estimates of habitability by the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog (HEC), and data from the NASA Exoplanet Archive. The HEC is maintained by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo.
Surface planetary habitability is thought to require orbiting at the right distance from the host star for liquid surface water to be present, in addition of various geophysical and geodynamical aspects, atmospheric density, radiation type and intensity, and the host star's plasma environment. Read more... - OREOcube (ORganics Exposure in Orbit) is an experiment designed by the European Space Agency that will investigate the effects of solar and cosmic radiation on selected organic compounds. It will consist in a 12-month orbital study of the effects of the outer space environment on astrobiologically relevant materials in an external exposure facility on the International Space Station.
The project, which will be launched sometime in 2016, will examine the evolution of complex organic molecules in outer space, as well as the forms in which prebiotic organic compounds has been preserved. It will also study the role that solid mineral surfaces play in the photo-chemical evolution, transport, and distribution of organics. The Principal in Investigator is Pascale Ehrenfreund. Read more... - The Biological Oxidant and Life Detection (BOLD) is a concept mission to Mars focused on searching for evidence or biosignatures of microscopic life on Mars. The BOLD mission objective would be to quantify the amount of hydrogen peroxide (H
2O
2) existing in the Martian soil and to test for processes typically associated with life. Six landing packages are projected to impact 'softly' on Mars that include a limited power supply, a set of oxidant and life detection experiments, and a transmitter, which is able to transmit information via an existing Mars orbiter back to Earth. The mission was first proposed in 2012. Read more...
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Selected images
Carl Sagan posing with a model of the Viking Lander.
The illustration on the Pioneer plaque
Mars Science Laboratory rover concept artwork
In June 2014, the John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress held a seminar focusing on astrobiology. Panel members (L to R) Robin Lovin, Derek Malone-France, and Steven J. Dick
Nucleic acids may not be the only biomolecules in the Universe capable of coding for life processes.
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