A new study suggests the possibility of transfer of life from the inner Solar System to the moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn, although very rare, cannot be ruled out. A comparison portrait of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, each with different characteristics. (In this image composite, Jupiter is not at [continue reading]
Much like the Grand Canyon, Nanedi Valles snakes across the Martian surface suggesting that liquid water once crossed the landscape, according to a team of researchers who believe that molecular hydrogen made it warm enough for water to flow. Split panel comparing (a) a section of Arizona’s Grand Canyon against (b) a section of [continue reading]
A research project led by Joseph R. Michalski, Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, has identified what could be a supervolcano on Mars – the first discovery of its kind. New research suggests the Eden Patera basin on Mars could have been formed by an explosive volcanic eruption, not the impact of a [continue reading]
The first scoop of soil analyzed by the analytical suite in the belly of NASA’s Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight. The results were published today in Science as one article in a five-paper special section on the Curiosity mission. The Sample Analysis at Mars [continue reading]
Data from NASA’s Curiosity rover has revealed the Martian environment lacks methane. This is a surprise to researchers because previous data reported by U.S. and international scientists indicated positive detections. The Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover examines a rock on Mars in this 2011 artist’s rendering. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech The roving laboratory performed extensive [continue reading]
It sounds like science fiction, but the theory of panspermia, in which life can naturally transfer between planets, is considered a serious hypothesis by planetary scientists. The suggestion that life did not originate on Earth but came from elsewhere in the Universe (for instance, Mars), is one possible variant of panspermia. Planets and moons [continue reading]