Search for Life
Maybe Volcanoes Could Explain the Phosphine in Venus’ Atmosphere
The detection of phosphine in Venus' atmosphere was one of those quintessential moments in space science. It was an unexpected…
Why Lava Tubes Should be Our Top Exploration Priority on Other Worlds
When magma comes out of the Earth onto the surface, it flows as lava. Those lava flows are fascinating to…
Deep Down in Ocean Worlds, it’s Difficult to Tell Where the Oceans End and the Rock Begins
We all know what water is. And what rock is. The difference is crystal clear. Well, here on Earth it…
Worlds With Hydrogen in Their Atmospheres Could Be the Perfect Place to Search for Life
We're waiting patiently for telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope to see first light, and one of the reasons…
A NASA Panel Says We Don’t Need to be so Careful About Infecting Other Worlds
It's time to update the rules. That's the conclusion of a panel that examined NASA's rules for planetary protection. It…
A Jarful of Titan Could Teach Us A Lot About Life There, and Here On Earth
Titan is a distant, exotic, and dangerous world. It's frigid temperatures and hydrocarbon chemistry is like nothing else in the…
Saltwater Similar to the Earth’s Oceans has been Seen on Europa. Another Good Reason Why We Really Need to Visit This Place
Jupiter's moon Europa is an intriguing world. It's the smoothest body in the Solar System, and the sixth-largest moon in…
A Nuclear-Powered Tunneling Robot that Could Search for Life on Europa
The search for life has led astronomers to the icy moons in our Solar System. Among those moons, Europa has…
There’s a Surprising Amount of Life Deep Inside the Earth. Hundreds of Times More Mass than All of Humanity
Scientists with the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) are transforming our understanding of life deep inside the Earth, and maybe on…
Technosignatures are NASA’s New Target for Detecting Other Civilizations in Space. Wait. What’s a Technosignature?
A NASA workshop on Technosignatures paves the way for a new approach to the search for intelligent life.