biosignatures
NASA has Built a Collection of Instruments That Will Search for Life Inside Europa and Enceladus
Scientists at NASA JPL and Colorado University have created a new instrument for finding signs of life, called the Ocean…
It’s Not Conclusive, But Methane is Probably the Best Sign of Life on Exoplanets
When the James Webb Space Telescope aims at exoplanet atmospheres, it'll use spectroscopy to identify chemical elements. One of the…
Next Generation Telescopes Could Search for Intelligent Civilizations Directly
We're still in the early days of searching for life elsewhere. The Perseverance rover is on its way to a…
Machine Learning Will be one of the Best Ways to Identify Habitable Exoplanets
A new study has shown how machine learning will aid next-generation telescopes in the search for water on exoplanets.
NASA and HeroX are Crowdsourcing the Search for Life on Mars
NASA and HeroX have launched the Mars Spectrometry Challenge, which will reward a total of $30,000 for new ideas on…
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…
The Best Evidence for Life on Mars Might be Found on its Moons
The search for Martian life has been ongoing for decades. Various landers and rovers have searched for biosignatures or other…
Micrometeorites Churn up the Surface of Europa. If you Want to Find Life, You’ll Need to dig Down a Meter or So
According to new research, impact craters caused by micrometeorites are the best place to look for evidence that life exists…
New Technique to Search for Life, Whether or not it’s Similar to Earth Life
A new tool for measuring the complexity of molecules is able to identify those that must have formed in the…
Researchers Develop a new Framework for Searching for Biosignatures
Planning ahead is something astronomy and space exploration excels at. Decadal surveys and years of engineering effort for missions give…