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Tag Archives: life
Could martian liquid water hold enough oxygen to support life?
A team led by scientists at Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which Caltech manages for NASA, has calculated that if liquid water exists on Mars, it could — under specific conditions — contain more oxygen than previously thought … Continue reading
Early Mars: Right ingredients for subsurface life
A new study shows that the breakdown of water molecules trapped in ancient Martian rocks likely produced enough chemical energy to sustain microorganisms for hundreds of millions of years beneath the Red Planet’s surface. (…) “We showed, based on basic … Continue reading
‘Black Beauty’ meteorite expands window for early Mars life
The early surface of Mars consisted of a liquid magma ocean that crystallized extremely rapidly, just 20 million year after the formation of the solar system. Thereafter, a solid crust emerged on the red planet, potentially housing oceans with water … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Black Beauty, life, magma ocean, Mars meteorites, Northwest Africa 7034, NWA 7034, zircons
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Organic matter in acidic terrestrial stream suggests where to look for life on Mars
By studying streams on the UK coast, experts have calculated how much organic matter we might find on Mars, and where to look. Dorset is home to highly acidic sulphur streams that host bacteria that thrive in extreme conditions. One … Continue reading
Finding martian fossils: A field guide
This paper [A Field Guide to Finding Fossils on Mars, by S. McMahon, T. Bosak, J. P. Grotzinger, R. E. Milliken, R. E. Summons, M. Daye, S. A. Newman, A. Fraeman, K. H. Williford, D. E. G. Briggs, Journal of Geophysical … Continue reading
Ancient Mars life: Clues from toxic volcanic lake?
Researchers at CU Boulder have discovered microbes living in a toxic volcanic lake that may rank as one of the harshest environments on Earth. Their findings, published recently online [in Astrobiology], could guide scientists looking for signs of ancient life on … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Costa Rica, hot springs, Laguna Caliente, life, Mars analogs, microbial life, Poás volcano
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MAVEN webinar: Do habitable worlds require magnetic fields?
[The MAVEN mission is holding a public webinar on April 18, 2018, at 7 p.m. Eastern; 4 p.m. Pacific.] What does it take for a planet to be hospitable for life? Join MAVEN Co-Investigator Dr. Dave Brain of the Laboratory … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged life, magnetic field, magnetosphere, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, MAVEN, NASA, University of Colorado
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Dormant microbial life in Atacama Desert goes active when wet — true for Mars, too?
It may rain once a decade or less in South America’s Atacama Desert, but tiny bacteria and microorganisms survive there, hinting at the possibility of similar life on Mars, researchers said Monday. [Their report was published in the Proceedings of … Continue reading
Is underground the best place to look for origin of Mars life?
The planet Mars has long drawn interest from scientists and non-scientists as a possible place to search for evidence of life beyond Earth because the surface contains numerous familiar features such as dried river channels and dried lake beds that … Continue reading
New, low-cost life detection instruments tested at Canadian Arctic Mars analog sites
Researchers demonstrate for the first time the potential of existing technology to directly detect and characterize life on Mars and other planets. The study, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, used miniaturized scientific instruments and new microbiology techniques to identify and … Continue reading