NASA Astrobiology

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A volcanically active planet is shown in closeup at the left side of the image with glowing eruptions and lines of lava on the surface. To the right and in the distance is a faint blue glowing ball representing the more massive planet in the system.

Sixteen frames from Voyager 1's flyby of Jupiter in 1979 were merged to create this image. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is visible in the center. Jupiter's moon Europa can be seen in the foreground at the bottom left of the image.

The frame is a horizontal rainbow of color on a grid. Shadows of molecules can be seen through the light as well as the jagged peaks and troughs of spectral lines.

Fizzy Super Earths and Lava Worlds“Fizzy Super-Earths: Impacts of Magma Composition on the Bulk Density and Structure of Lava Worlds.” in The Astrophysical Journal.01/03

Identifying Hydrothermal Activity on Icy Ocean Worlds“Ethene-ethanol ratios as potential indicators of hydrothermal activity at Enceladus, Europa, and other icy ocean worlds.” In Icarus.02/03

NASA Raman Spectroscopic Database"The NASA Raman spectroscopic database: Ramdb version 1.00.” In Icarus.03/03

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May 2026Limit cycles and the climate history of Mars

Haqq-Misra, J. (2026). Limit cycles and the climate history of Mars. Icarus, 449, 116945. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2026.116945

March 2026Super P-mediated in-situ growth of FeTe2 in carbon nanofibers for flexible, binder-free sodium-ion battery anodes

Liu, Z., Li, X., He, Z., Li, Y., Kharbouch, Z., Wei, Z., … Fei, L. (2026). Super P-mediated in-situ growth of FeTe2 in carbon nanofibers for flexible, binder-free sodium-ion battery anodes. Journal of Energy Storage, 149, 120409. doi:10.1016/j.est.2026.120409

Calcium isotopes support rapid condensation of CAIs in the early solar nebula

Parendo, C. A., Jacobsen, S. B., & Petaev, M. I. (2026). Calcium isotopes support rapid condensation of CAIs in the early solar nebula. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 678, 119825. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2026.119825

February 2026Revisiting the Bio-Inorganic Bridge 25 Years Later

Robbins, L. J., Mughal, S., Mahmoudi, N., Mills, D. B., Rucker, H. R., Stüeken, E. E., … Konhauser, K. O. (2026). Revisiting the Bio-Inorganic Bridge 25 Years Later. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. doi:10.1146/annurev-earth-040523-125151

Universal paralogs provide a window into evolution before the last universal common ancestor

Goldman, A. D., Fournier, G. P., & Kaçar, B. (2026). Universal paralogs provide a window into evolution before the last universal common ancestor. Cell Genomics, None, 101140. doi:10.1016/j.xgen.2026.101140

Molecular Hydrogen Controls the Temperatures of Flares on TRAPPIST-1

Shapiro, A. I., Kostogryz, N., Seager, S., Witzke, V., De Wit, J., Vasilyev, V., … Solanki, S. K. (2026). Molecular Hydrogen Controls the Temperatures of Flares on TRAPPIST-1. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 998(1), L7. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ae328b

January 2026Two temperate Earth- and Neptune-sized planets orbiting fully convective M dwarfs

Scott, M. G., Dransfield, G., Timmermans, M., Triaud, A. H. M. J., Rackham, B. V., Barkaoui, K., … Zúñiga-Fernández, S. (2026). Two temperate Earth- and Neptune-sized planets orbiting fully convective M dwarfs. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. doi:10.1093/mnras/stag070

Exo-Geoscience Perspectives Beyond Habitability

Spohn, T., Roberge, A., Way, M. J., Duarte, J. C., Miozzi, F., Baumeister, P., … Lineweaver, C. H. (2026). Exo-Geoscience Perspectives Beyond Habitability. Space Science Reviews, 222(1), None. doi:10.1007/s11214-026-01265-y

Lowering the Mo limit for nitrogen fixation by Mo-nitrogenase

Stevenson, Z., Schultz, D. L., Chamberlain, M., Rico, K., Anbar, A., Dekas, A. E., & Swanner, E. D. (2026). Lowering the Mo limit for nitrogen fixation by Mo-nitrogenase. Communications Earth & Environment. doi:10.1038/s43247-026-03193-9

A critical role of heterotrophic bacteria in early diagenesis of carbonates through exopolymer degradation and calcium release

Visscher, P. T., Boussagol, P., Bourillot, R., Dupraz, C., Braissant, O., Decho, A. W., … Vennin, E. (2026). A critical role of heterotrophic bacteria in early diagenesis of carbonates through exopolymer degradation and calcium release. The Depositional Record, 12(1), None. doi:10.1002/dep2.70057

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