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 2024Chapter 2: What Is Life?

Colón-Santos, S., Vázquez-Salazar, A., Adams, A., Campillo-Balderas, J. A., Hernández-Morales, R., Jácome, R., … Trubl, G. (2024). Chapter 2: What Is Life? Astrobiology, 24(S1), S–40–S–56. doi:10.1089/ast.2021.0116

Chapter 9: Life as We Don't Know It

Grefenstette, N., Chou, L., Colón-Santos, S., Fisher, T. M., Mierzejewski, V., Nural, C., … Weng, M. M. (2024). Chapter 9: Life as We Don't Know It. Astrobiology, 24(S1), S–186–S–201. doi:10.1089/ast.2021.0103

November 2022Transfer efficiency of organic carbon in marine sediments

Bradley, J. A., Hülse, D., LaRowe, D. E., & Arndt, S. (2022). Transfer efficiency of organic carbon in marine sediments. Nature Communications, 13(1), None. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-35112-9

July 2022Sources and Fluxes of Organic Carbon and Energy to Microorganisms in Global Marine Sediments

Bradley, J. A., Arndt, S., Amend, J. P., Burwicz-Galerne, E., & LaRowe, D. E. (2022). Sources and Fluxes of Organic Carbon and Energy to Microorganisms in Global Marine Sediments. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, None. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2022.910694

June 2022Defining and Characterizing Habitable Environments in Ocean World Systems

Glass, J., , ., Dierssen, H., Glein, C., Schmidt, B., & Winebrenner, D. (2022). Defining and Characterizing Habitable Environments in Ocean World Systems. Oceanography. doi:10.5670/oceanog.2021.414

November 2021Bioenergetic potentials in terrestrial, shallow-sea and deep-sea hydrothermal systems

Lu, G-S., LaRowe, D. E., & Amend, J. P. (2021). Bioenergetic potentials in terrestrial, shallow-sea and deep-sea hydrothermal systems. Chemical Geology, 583, 120449. doi:10.1016/j.chemgeo.2021.120449

June 2021The Energetic Potential for Undiscovered Manganese Metabolisms in Nature

LaRowe, D. E., Carlson, H. K., & Amend, J. P. (2021). The Energetic Potential for Undiscovered Manganese Metabolisms in Nature. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, None. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.636145

Bioenergetic characterization of a shallow-sea hydrothermal vent system: Milos Island, Greece

Lu, G-S., LaRowe, D. E., Fike, D. A., Druschel, G. K., Gilhooly, W. P., Price, R. E., & Amend, J. P. (2020). Bioenergetic characterization of a shallow-sea hydrothermal vent system: Milos Island, Greece. PLOS ONE, 15(6), e0234175. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0234175

May 2020The fate of organic carbon in marine sediments - New insights from recent data and analysis

LaRowe, D. E., Arndt, S., Bradley, J. A., Estes, E. R., Hoarfrost, A., Lang, S. Q., … Zhao, R. (2020). The fate of organic carbon in marine sediments - New insights from recent data and analysis. Earth-Science Reviews, 204, 103146. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103146

March 2020Another Chemolithotrophic Metabolism Missing in Nature—Sulfur Comproportionation

Amend, J. P., Aronson, H. S., Macalady, J., & LaRowe, D. E. (2020). Another Chemolithotrophic Metabolism Missing in Nature—Sulfur Comproportionation. Environmental Microbiology. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.14982