Conditions are right for “penitentes” up to 15 meters high to form on the Jovian moon, new research shows. The spires might prevent a lander from exploring Europa’s equatorial region.
life as we know it
Posted inNews
How Well Can the Webb Telescope Detect Signs of Exoplanet Life?
Recent research suggests that NASA’s next-generation space telescope will be good—but not the best—at finding life-sustaining levels of oxygen in an exoplanet’s atmosphere.
Posted inNews
How Did Life Learn to Breathe?
Scientists unravel the conditions under which life evolved to breathe oxygen—and the findings have some stellar implications.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Life and Death in the Deepest Depths of the Seafloor
Lacking light and energy, under-seafloor microbes rely on ancient organic materials to survive.
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Scientists Discover an Environment on the Cusp of Habitability
A volcanically heated Costa Rican lake hosts only one type of organism, suggesting that its Mars-like environment is just barely capable of supporting life.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Cobalt Key to Development of Early Life on Earth
Cobalt may have played in important role in the early development of life on Earth, and been more available to ancient life than modern due to the higher mafic composition of early continents.
Posted inScience Updates
What Would Earth Be Like Without Life?
Workshop on a Cosmic Perspective of Earth: A Planet Permeated and Shaped by Life—Implications for Astrobiology; Tokyo, Japan, 13–15 September 2017
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Seeking Salt That Surfaces from Europa’s Hidden Ocean
Irradiation-induced color changes in sodium chloride could reveal whether it came from ocean water mixing with surface water, a key component of the moon’s potential to support life.
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Tests Indicate Which Edible Plants Could Thrive on Mars
An undergraduate experiment grew vegetables and herbs in simulated Martian soil under Mars-like reduced daylight. The tasty results suggest that Mars colonists could farm their own produce.
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Clues Found That Earth May Have a Thermostat Set to “Habitable”
Weathering of rocks can control Earth’s temperature over geologic timescales, new geochemical data suggest.