Life
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…
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…
Greenland’s Ice Sheet is Similar in Many Ways to the Solar System’s Icy Worlds and Can Teach Us How to Search for Life
Many regions on Earth are temperate, nutrient-rich, stable environments where life seems to thrive effortlessly. But not all of Earth.…
When Did Photosynthesis Begin?
Sometime around 2.4 billion years ago, a nascent planet Earth underwent one of the most dramatic changes in its history.…
Rogue Planets Could be Habitable
The search for potentially habitable planets is focused on exoplanets—planets orbiting other stars—for good reason. The only planet we know…
Galactic Panspermia. How far Could Life Spread Naturally in a Galaxy Like the Milky Way?
Can life spread throughout a galaxy like the Milky Way without technological intervention? That question is largely unanswered. A new…
Did Asteroid Impacts Provide Both the Heat and Raw Ingredients to Enable Life?
This is our Great Question: How did life begin on Earth? Anyone who says they have the answer is telling…
Lightning Strikes Helped Life get an Early Start on Earth
So, you want to create life? You're going to need some ingredients first. On Earth four billion years ago, you…
Since Perseverance is Searching for Life, What Will it Be Looking for?
You have to be careful what you say to people. When NASA or someone else says that the Perseverance rover…
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…