astrobiology – Astronomy Now

Possible evidence found for life on Venus

14 September 2020 Keith Cooper

The best evidence for life beyond Earth has been found in the most surprising of places – the atmosphere of Venus. A team led by Jane Greaves, who is a professor at Cardiff University, has detected the presence of phosphine gas in Venus’ clouds.

NASA gives go-ahead for flying drone to explore Saturn’s moon Titan

28 June 2019 Stephen Clark

NASA officials announced that the agency will move forward with the development of a plutonium-powered robotic quadcopter drone to explore Saturn’s moon Titan, a hazy world covered with dunes and methane lakes that scientists say is reminiscent of the ancient Earth.

Ruling out false positives – and negatives – in search for life on other worlds

26 June 2018 Astronomy Now

Astronomers and astrobiologists are working to understand what lines of evidence will be needed to confirm the presence of life on an exoplanet, how to collect that evidence and how to avoid being misled.

Ingredients for life revealed in meteorites that fell to Earth

16 January 2018 Astronomy Now

Two wayward space rocks, which separately crashed to Earth in 1998 after circulating in our solar system’s asteroid belt for billions of years, share something else in common: the ingredients for life. They are the first meteorites found to contain both liquid water and a mix of complex organic compounds such as hydrocarbons and amino acids.

Meteorite’s origins point to possible undiscovered asteroid

11 December 2017 Astronomy Now

A new analysis of a meteorite called Bunburra Rockhole has revealed that the rock originated from a previously unknown parent asteroid, allowing scientists to understand the geology of the parent body.

Hydrothermal vent experiments bring Enceladus to Earth

11 December 2017 Astronomy Now

Laboratory experiments on Earth can now simulate the conditions under which life might emerge on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, as well as other icy alien worlds, according to new research published in journal Astrobiology.

Planets like Earth may have had muddy origins

18 July 2017 Astronomy Now

Scientists have long held the belief that planets — including Earth — were built from rocky asteroids, but new research challenges that view.

Ingredient of life found around infant Sun-like stars

9 June 2017 Astronomy Now

ALMA has observed stars like the Sun at a very early stage in their formation and found traces of methyl isocyanate — a chemical building block of life. This is the first ever detection of this prebiotic molecule towards solar-type protostars, the sort from which our Solar System evolved.

New discoveries raise prospects for life on moons of Jupiter and Saturn

13 April 2017 Stephen Clark

Scientists announced Thursday that measurements from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft detected hydrogen gas, a key energy source for microbial life, in a plume gushing from a vast liquid water ocean buried beneath the icy shell of Saturn’s moon Enceladus.

Scientists narrow list of landing sites for NASA’s next Mars rover

14 February 2017 Stephen Clark

A rover NASA plans to launch to Mars in 2020 will likely explore one of three locations selected last week by a scientific advisory group, which picked candidate landing sites that were once homes to ancient lakes and hot springs.