The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup

It’s not easy to collect rocks on a budget when the rocks are 140 million miles away.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona • conversation
yesterday • ~9 min

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

The Perseverance rover has arrived at what’s thought to be an ancient shoreline on Mars.

Sean McMahon, Chancellor's Fellow in Astrobiology, The University of Edinburgh • conversation
April 23, 2024 • ~7 min

Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus is able to support life − my research team is working out how to detect extraterrestrial cells there

Saturn’s moon Enceladus has geysers shooting tiny grains of ice into space. These grains could hold traces of life − but researchers need the right tools to tell.

Fabian Klenner, Postdoctoral Scholar in Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington • conversation
April 17, 2024 • ~8 min

If life exists on Jupiter’s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it

An instrument on the Europa Clipper mission might be able to detect biological cells from space.

Lucinda King, Space Projects Manager & Mission Design Lead, University of Portsmouth • conversation
April 5, 2024 • ~7 min

NASA’s search for life on Mars: a rocky road for its rovers, a long slog for scientists – and back on Earth, a battle of the budget

Determining whether or not life exists on another planet is an extraordinarily complicated – and expensive – scientific endeavor.

Amy J. Williams, Assistant Professor of Geology, University of Florida • conversation
March 12, 2024 • ~7 min

Studying lake deposits in Idaho could give scientists insight into ancient traces of life on Mars

While NASA rovers on the surface of Mars look for hints of life, researchers back on Earth are studying ‘echoes of life’ from ancient basins – hoping that the two sites might be similar.

Robert Patalano, Lecturer of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Bryant University • conversation
Feb. 5, 2024 • ~7 min

Space rocks and asteroid dust are pricey, but these aren't the most expensive materials used in science

Some space rocks you can get for free – if you know how to identify them. Rarer materials cost more, and the asteroid sample NASA just brought back has a high price tag.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona • conversation
Oct. 24, 2023 • ~9 min

Possible hints of life found on distant planet – how excited should we be?

The results are intriguing, but analysing the atmospheres of exoplanets is no easy task.

Ian Whittaker, Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University • conversation
Sept. 13, 2023 • ~7 min

How to prove you've discovered alien life – new research

Alien hunters should learn from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Sean McMahon, Chancellor's Fellow in Astrobiology, The University of Edinburgh • conversation
Sept. 11, 2023 • ~8 min

To search for alien life, astronomers will look for clues in the atmospheres of distant planets – and the James Webb Space Telescope just proved it's possible to do so

Life on Earth has dramatically changed the chemistry of the planet. Astronomers will measure light that bounces off distant planets to look for similar clues that they host life.

Daniel Apai, Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences, University of Arizona • conversation
July 14, 2022 • ~10 min

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