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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March 2026Wind Shadow Effects on a Sonic Anemometer in Low Reynolds Number Flow

Chaudhary, R., Huckaby, J., Banfield, D., & White, R. D. (2026). Wind Shadow Effects on a Sonic Anemometer in Low Reynolds Number Flow. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology. doi:10.1175/jtech-d-25-0048.1

Not Earth-like yet Temperate? More Generic Climate Feedback Configurations Still Allow Temperate Climates in Habitable Zone Exo-Earth Candidates

Langbert, C., & Apai, D. (2026). Not Earth-like yet Temperate? More Generic Climate Feedback Configurations Still Allow Temperate Climates in Habitable Zone Exo-Earth Candidates. The Planetary Science Journal, 7(3), 58. doi:10.3847/psj/ae4503

The Effect of Planetary Rotation Period on Clouds in a Global Climate Model with a Bin Microphysics Scheme

Yang, H., Wolf, E. T., Liu 刘, C-C., Zhu, Y., Toon, O. B., & Abbot, D. S. (2026). The Effect of Planetary Rotation Period on Clouds in a Global Climate Model with a Bin Microphysics Scheme. The Astrophysical Journal, 999(2), 184. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ae40b5

Detection of a Molecular Hydrogen Envelope around Nova GK Persei

Banerjee, D. P. K., Evans, A., Liimets, T., Woodward, C. E., Geballe, T. R., Joshi, V., & Starrfield, S. (2026). Detection of a Molecular Hydrogen Envelope around Nova GK Persei. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 1000(2), L46. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ae5234

February 2026Seven genome sequences of bacterial environmental isolates from the western coast of the Greenland Ice Sheet

Dieser, M., Smith, H. J., Caruso, K., & Foreman, C. M. (2026). Seven genome sequences of bacterial environmental isolates from the western coast of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Microbiology Resource Announcements. doi:10.1128/mra.01192-25

The stellar origins of 96 Zr excesses in presolar graphites from the Murchison meteorite

Pal, I., Jadhav, M., Shulaker, D. Z., Raiwa, M., Savina, M. R., Bouillion, H., … Amari, S. (2026). The stellar origins of 96 Zr excesses in presolar graphites from the Murchison meteorite. Astronomy & Astrophysics. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202556719

Formation Age of Ernutet Crater, Ceres, and Implications for Origin of the Organics

Kirchoff, M., Marchi, S., & Cochran, M. (2026). Formation Age of Ernutet Crater, Ceres, and Implications for Origin of the Organics. The Planetary Science Journal, 7(2), 40. doi:10.3847/psj/ae3568

Organic Cofactors in the Electron Transport Chain: Properties and Connection to the Prebiotic World

Riazi‐Sekowski, S., Bundang, K., Chastain, J. L., Carman, N., Velling, S. J., Aguilera, J., … Weber, J. M. (2026). Organic Cofactors in the Electron Transport Chain: Properties and Connection to the Prebiotic World. ChemSystemsChem, 8(2), None. doi:10.1002/syst.202500037

A Mars Microbial Survival Model: Calculating Bioburden Reductions for Past Mars Spacecraft to Estimate Forward Contamination on Mars

Bischof, G., Moores, J. E., Ordinaria, R., & Schuerger, A. C. (2026). A Mars Microbial Survival Model: Calculating Bioburden Reductions for Past Mars Spacecraft to Estimate Forward Contamination on Mars. The Planetary Science Journal, 7(2), 37. doi:10.3847/psj/ae38b4

Revisiting 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

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