Astrobiology | Universe Today

One astrobiologist claims the deep, dark craters on the Moon might contain traces of early life from meteorites blasted off the Earth by asteroids billions of years ago. Joop Houtkooper, from the University of Giessen in Germany says studying these craters could reveal clues about the origin and evolution of life on Earth or even contain remnants of life from other planets in the Solar System, such as Mars. Houtkooper is also one of the few scientists who insist that the experiments done by the Viking Mars Landers in the 1970's actually did reveal microbial life in the Martian soil, and earlier this year, Houtkooper predicted microbes could be detected by NASA's Phoenix lander. So, could this new claim about microbes on the Moon be just the latest in a long series of contentious claims, or is Houtkooper onto something?
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Moon | 15 Comments »

We've known about the methane in Mars' atmosphere for over four years now. But we don't know where it is coming from. On Earth, methane is produced from biological agents: rotting vegetation or flatulence from large animals like cows. But, of course, with our extensive explorations of Mars with rovers and high-resolution orbiting cameras, we're fairly sure there are no Martian bovine equivalents chewing cud from the foliage on the Red Planet. Even if life existed in the past on Mars, methane is broken down quite quickly by sunlight, and scientists have calculated that methane should only exist for a few hundred years in the Martian atmosphere. The only possibility is that somehow, either chemically or biologically, the methane is being replaced on a regular basis. And now, two recent reports outlining separate discoveries on Mars make this methane mystery even more intriguing.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Mars, NASA | 21 Comments »

Maybe the fictional Dr. Frankenstein wasn't so crazy after all. Two scientists have resurrected an old experiment, breathing life into a "dead" notion about how life began on our planet. New analysis shows that lightning and gases from volcanic eruptions could have given rise to the first life on Earth.

"It's alive!"…

Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Extreme Life | 21 Comments »

Titan not only has an atmosphere it has hydrocarbon lakes, oceans, sand dunes and now research has just been published proving Saturn's moon is sparkling with electrical activity. Scientists are in general agreement that organic molecules, the precursors to life on Earth, are a consequence of lightning in the atmosphere. Now, using data from the Huygens probe that descended through Titan's atmosphere in 2005 and continued transmitting for 90 minutes after touchdown, Spanish scientists have "unequivocally" proven that Titan has electrical storms too. The presence of electrical activity in the atmosphere is causing much excitement as this could mean that organic compounds may be found in abundance on the Titan surface.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Titan | 31 Comments »

Another beautiful image from the Spitzer Space Telescope; in this case, it’s Messier 101, more commonly known as the Pinwheel Galaxy. But the pretty red highlights at the edges of the galaxy are bad news for anyone looking for evidence of life. "If you were going look for life in Messier 101, you would not want to look at its edges," said Karl Gordon of the Space Telescope Science Institute. "The organics can't survive in these regions, most likely because of high amounts of harsh radiation." The red color highlights a zone where organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are present throughout most of the galaxy, suddenly disappear.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Spitzer | 10 Comments »

[/caption]

For a geologist, looking inside a rock is essential to help determine the makeup and history of the rock sample. That's why geologists have rock hammers, and also why the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have their Rock Abrasion Tool. For future missions to Mars, or even for a sample return mission, one of the main goals will be to look for signs of life, past or present, that might be hiding inside the rocks. Scientists are working on a new, simple technique for detecting biological and pre-biotic molecules that become trapped inside the minerals in rocks.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Mars | 2 Comments »

The US space agency needs to have better consideration for the sexual needs of their astronauts during long missions in space. Also, more research needs to be done to investigate human embryo development in zero-gravity or low-gravity environments, especially if NASA is serious about setting up a colony on Mars in the next 30 years. These warnings have been issued by a NASA advisor at a time when the agency doesn't have enough funds allocated for human space physiology. These concerns are by no means trivial, basic human needs and the ability to procreate beyond Earth may be critical for missions lasting years…
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Space Exploration | 64 Comments »

Well, the title is a little misleading. It should read something like, "Japanese Scientists Brew Beer from Barley that Spent Five Months on the International Space Station," but that seemed a little too long. It's not actually beer brewed in space, more beer made from ingredients grown on the ISS. Regardless, the idea is pretty cool. A Japanese company wants to produce 100 bottles of space beer, but commercializing the product may not be a reality quite yet. Even if you might not be able to buy space beer at your local pub, there might not be much different from the normal stuff anyway. But it is a step in the right direction toward the first bar on the Moon or Mars…
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Space Exploration | 13 Comments »

Could be the best example yet of being "spaced out"? When in space, astronauts have repeatedly reported inexplicable euphoria, a "cosmic connection" or an increased sensitivity to their place in the Universe. The experience sounds like the ultimate high, or the ultimate enlightening; it would appear that without trying, astronauts are able to attain a similar mental state as meditating Buddhist monks. So what is happening when the human body is in space? Does zero-gravity create new connections in the brain? Or is it a natural human response to the vastness of space and realizing just how small we are in comparison? What ever the reason, it looks like even when astronauts are back on solid ground, they have changed profoundly…
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Space Flight | 26 Comments »

The director of the Vatican observatory said it's possible that intelligent life exists on other planets. And since aliens would be part of God's creation, their existence would not contradict the Catholic faith. In an interview with the Vatican newspaper Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes discussed the Big Bang theory, as well as creation and evolution. The interview was originally published in Italian, but a priest from Holland translated the full interview to English and posted it on his website, FatherRoderick.com:

Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology | 29 Comments »

Do you think there is life on Mars? Do you think Phoenix will find evidence of it? Now there's a blog that's trying to collect a snapshot of the opinions of scientists, amateurs, and everyday people. "Imminent Discovery" thinks Phoenix may find simple life. Finding this evidence will definitely become headlines… If it happens. Is it possible it might have originated from earth? Perhaps from space, like the famous Antarctica meteorite which was believed to contain evidence of life transported here from Mars? Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Extreme Life, Mars, Missions | 51 Comments »

Astronauts on board the space station now have their very own tricorder. While this 21st century version isn't as versatile as its 24th century counterpart made famous in the Star Trek television series, it will help keep the ISS crew healthy. The real name of this device is LOCAD-PTS, short for Lab-On-a-Chip Application Development Portable Test System. It's a handheld biological lab specifically designed to detect and identify microbes on space station surfaces.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology | 3 Comments »

Water: it covers 70% of our own planet, it makes up 65% of our human bodies, and as far as we know, water seems to be essential for life. Water is also found in space, and in fact water ice is the most abundant solid material out there. But how did it get there, and how could water molecules possibly form in the freezing darkness of interstellar space? Japanese researchers trying to answer those questions say they have created water for the first time in conditions similar to interstellar space.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology | 4 Comments »

Until recently, the oldest evidence of biological material on Earth came from fragments of ancient protein found in Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur fossils, dated at 68 million years old. But scientists from the University of North Carolina have found even more ancient biological material — cellulose microfibers—that date to over 250 million years old. These samples of cellulose were found in pristine ancient salt deposits deep beneath the New Mexico desert. This finding comes on the heels of researchers finding huge salt deposits on Mars with the Odyssey orbiter, as well as the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit finding a patch of bright soil that’s believed to be rich with salt. Combined, these findings may help point out destinations for future Mars missions looking for past life on the Red Planet.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Mars | 4 Comments »

Science fiction is filled with unusual alien species. But apart from the occasional robot, biological life is running the show. But NASA scientist, Dr. Steven Dick, sees a future Universe that has evolved past biology. Where every intelligence is artificial. Consider the likelihood of a postbiological Universe.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, SETI | 57 Comments »

Researchers announced today that they have discovered large salt deposits on the surface of Mars. These deposits point to places where large quantities of water existed on the surface of the Red Planet, perhaps for millions of years. And this might be some of the best places to go looking for evidence of life, past and present.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Mars | 12 Comments »

Did you know the SETI Institute has a Director of Interstellar Message Composition? I did not know that. I guess it makes sense. If we're going to be communicating with aliens, we'll want to be careful about the words we choose. Get it right, and we've got extraterrestrial friends, here to uplift us to the galactic community. Get it wrong and we might be looking at radio silence, or worse…

So how should we present ourselves to prospective galactic neighbours?
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, SETI | 55 Comments »

How did life arise on Earth? How did we get from rocks and water to the abundance and variety that we see today? Perhaps the raw ingredients for life, amino acids, were delivered to Earth by a steady bombardment of meteorites. Researchers have turned up space rocks with concentrations of amino acids 10x higher than previously measured, raising hopes that the early Solar System was awash in organic material.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Meteorites | 8 Comments »

In one experiment on board Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-123) launched early this morning (at 2:28 am EST), the reaction of terrestrial bacteria to zero-G will be tested. When compared with test bacteria bred here on Earth, previous studies suggest that germs bred in space are far more potent and are more likely to cause illness to people in space. The Endeavor mission will continue this experiment in the aim to find some way to prevent these microscopic astronauts causing too many problems to the continuing missions on board the International Space Station and future space tourism companies. Until a solution is found, don't go ordering fish off the in-flight menu on your next spaceship ride…
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology | 12 Comments »

It's one of the biggest questions in all humanity: are we alone in the Universe? Either way, the answer is significant. And so, scientists are searching for intelligence out there. Huge arrays of radio telescopes, like the Allen Array scan the skies for radio broadcasts. And researchers have also proposed that aliens might be using lasers to communicate with us. A Russian researcher is proposing another way that aliens might be communicating with us - with neutrinos.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Physics | 26 Comments »

The brand new ESA Columbus Module installed on the International Space Station (ISS) by the STS-122 crew last week is beginning a first run of biological experiments. This first experiment tests the reaction of root growth in different gravitational states. Of particular interest is how the roots of seeds develop in space when compared to terrestrial conditions. This has obvious applications for growing plants in space, underpinning agricultural science in some of the most extreme and challenging environments man will experience.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Space Station | 7 Comments »

Does this mean that, perhaps, we can go home again? If an asteroid or comet impacted Earth, the resulting ejection of materials could contain life forms. According to a study published in the journal Astrobiology, these life forms could survive and then seed another planet or moon with life. Additionally, Earth could also be re-seeded with life by those same life forms. Ah, there’s no place like home.
Read more…

Filed under: Asteroids, Astrobiology | 11 Comments »

According to new Cassini data, Saturns largest moon, Titan, has "hundreds" times more liquid hydrocarbons than all the liquid fossil fuel deposits on Earth. This is impressive as Titan's 5150 km diameter is only about 50% larger than Earth's Moon and only a little larger than the planet Mercury. Titan's hydrocarbons cycle into the atmosphere, fall as rain and collect in lakes creating massive lakes and dunes.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Titan | 23 Comments »

Have you heard the news? A television station in Oakland California was reporting that researchers working with SETI@home discovered a signal believed to be from extraterrestrials. Is it true? Has the most important discovery is the history of humanity been made? Do we have definitive proof that there are aliens out there with interesting things to say to us?

No.

Actually, I was going to give this the big write up, but Phil beat me to the punch. So, I'll just point you over at his coverage.

Filed under: Astrobiology | No Comments »

We've heard about life being created in a puddle of primordial chemical soup, sparked by lightning strikes, or organic molecules falling to Earth from comets or planets, such as Mars. But now, there is an alternative. Early Earth was radioactive; the Moon also had a lower orbit, generating strong tidal forces. Due to the close proximity to abundant water, radioactive beaches may have possessed all the essential ingredients for organic compounds, and eventually life, to thrive.
Read more…

Filed under: Astrobiology, Earth | 28 Comments »