life

Curiosity Sees a Strong Carbon Signature in a Bed of Rocks

Carbon is critical to life, as far as we know. So anytime we detect a strong carbon signature somewhere like…

3 years ago

Even Tiny Mimas Seems to Have an Internal Ocean of Liquid Water

Data from the Cassini mission keeps fuelling discoveries. The latest discovery is that Saturn's tiny moon Mimas may have an…

3 years ago

Remember When Life was Found in a Martian Meteorite? Turns out, it was Just Geology

The Alan Hills meteorite is a part of history to Mars aficionados. It came from Mars and meteorite hunters discovered…

3 years ago

Life on Earth Needed Iron. Will it be the Same on Other Worlds?

A lot has to go right for a planet to support life. Some of the circumstances that allow life to…

3 years ago

Did Cosmic Dust Deliver the Phosphorus Needed for Life?

Without phosphorus, there's no life. It's a necessary part of DNA, RNA, and other biological molecules like ATP, which helps…

3 years ago

Is That a Fossil on Mars? Non-Biological Deposits can Mimic Organic Structures

There's nothing easy about searching for evidence of life on Mars. Not only do we somehow have to land a…

3 years ago

Perseverance has Collected its First Sample of Mars and Prepared it for Return to Earth… Eventually

It's another first for NASA. In early September, the Perseverance rover successfully used its robotic arm and drill to drill…

3 years ago

The Interior of Enceladus Looks Really Great for Supporting Life

When NASA's Voyager spacecraft visited Saturn's moon Enceladus, they found a body with young, reflective, icy surface features. Some parts…

4 years ago

Solid Phosphorus has been Found in Comets. This Means They Contain All the Raw Elements for Life

Did comets deliver the elements essential for life on Earth? It's looking more and more like they could have. At…

4 years ago

Astronomers Challenge Recent Findings About Venus. “No Statistically Significant Detection of Phosphine”

In September, a team of scientists reported finding phosphine in the upper atmosphere of Venus. Phosphine can be a biomarker…

4 years ago