"Couldn’t the "shore lines," "flood plains," and "riverbeds" of Mars be the result of shock waves from impact meteorites instead of water? "
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AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
The AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science, established in 2010, recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. A monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, complimentary registration to the AAAS Annual Meeting, and reimbursement for reasonable hotel and travel expenses to attend the AAAS Annual Meeting to receive the prize are given to the recipient.
For the purposes of this award, public engagement activities are defined as the individual’s active participation in efforts to engage with the public on science- and technology-related issues and...
Source: [AAAS]
July 30, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Life on Other Worlds NASA eClip
Geared toward the K-5 set, this NASA-produced video introduces the search for life on other planets, especially through the idea of life in ice as suggested by findings from NASA’s Phoenix mission.
July 21, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Earth-Like Planets May Be Shielded From Solar Scorching
Danger zone? The nearby M dwarf star Gliese 581 and some of its planets. A new study indicates that suns like this may not be as detrimental to habitable worlds as thought.
Credit: ESO/L. CalcadaMany of our galaxy’s suns have destroyed the atmospheres of orbiting Earth-like planets—or so astrobiologists have long feared. The Milky Way, they note, is dominated by M dwarf stars: violent, unpredictable suns that frequently hurl high-energy particles and solar flares into space. Because they are much cooler than our sun, any potentially habitable planet would need to orbit them much closer than Earth does, putting it smack in the danger zone. But a new study from NAI’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory indicates that these planets may be unexpectedly shielded from solar activity, keeping life safe.
Source: [Science NOW]
July 16, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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AbGradCon 2010
The 2010 Astrobiology Graduate Student Conference (AbGradCon) was held from June 14-18 this year in Tällberg, Sweden. Eighty-eight participants from 29 different countries attended the meeting, which brought together early-career scientists in the field of astrobiology. The conference schedule included oral sessions on exoplanets, astronomy and life, habitability, weird life, biosignatures and Mars, all of which were video streamed live via the web. There were also participant-led, discussion-oriented workshops on various topics within the field of astrobiology, covering topics ranging from future missions to rocky planets, to habitability, to the origin of life. The third day of...
July 9, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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David Des Marais Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology
Please join in congratulating NAI PI David Des Marais for his recent election as Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology!
Dave’s early interest in exploring caves in southern Indiana on weekends while an undergraduate student at Purdue University led him to post-graduate studies in Geology at Indiana University, where he also earned a Ph.D. in Geochemistry and became fascinated with microbiology. Today, he is a PI in the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) at NASA Ames, and also serves on NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission as a long-term planning lead for the Spirit rover....
Source: [NASA]
June 21, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Bruce Runnegar Receives Lapworth Medal
Please join in congratulating former NAI Director Bruce Runnegar of UCLA for receiving the 2009 Lapworth Medal from the Paleontological Association!
Runnegar has been one of the most innovative researchers of his generation, and a testament to the visionary nature of his research and its endurance. Of course, taxonomic works in palaeontology have a long ‘half-life’, but review papers tend to burn brightly and quickly. Runnegar has published his fair share of taxonomic studies, elucidating the early evolutionary history of molluscs. However, he also has an enviable back-catalogue of reviews and opinion...
June 15, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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New Results from Titan
Two recent studies based on data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft scrutinize the complex chemical activity on the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan. One key finding comes from a new paper in Icarus that predicts a strong flux of hydrogen in the atmosphere, but a lack of it at the surface. The other paper, in the Journal of Geophysical Research maps deposits of many hydrocarbons on Titan’s surface and shows a lack of acetylene, contrary to expectations. They also found little evidence for exposed water ice on the surface.
The depletions of hydrogen and acetylene present...
June 15, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
- Topics and Organizers Sought for Future NAI Workshops Without Walls
- NAI/APS 2010 Selections for the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology
- 7/12 NPP Seminar: Oleg Abramov, "Impact Bombardments on Early Earth and Mars: Implications for Habitability"
- Bruce Runnegar Receives Lapworth Medal
- David Des Marais Elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology
- Recently Published Research from the NAI
- Faculty Position in Biogeoscience in the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
- Sea Monkeys Steal the Show at Astronomy Day in Bozeman
- NRC Community Survey: Committee on New Research Opportunities in the Earth Sciences
- Two Program Scientist Position Vacancies in NASA's Planetary Science Division
- Astrobiology Visiting Fellowship Position at the Canadian Space Agency
- Second Announcement for Fourth MSL Landing Site Workshop -- Call for Presentations
July 8, 2010 
