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 2023Seismo-acoustic coupling in the deep atmosphere of Venus

Averbuch, G., Houston, R., & Petculescu, A. (2023). Seismo-acoustic coupling in the deep atmosphere of Venus. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 153(3), 1802–1810. doi:10.1121/10.0017428

A continuum of icy satellites’ radar properties explained by the coherent backscatter effect

Hofgartner, J. D., & Hand, K. P. (2023). A continuum of icy satellites’ radar properties explained by the coherent backscatter effect. Nature Astronomy. doi:10.1038/s41550-023-01920-2

Mass Spectrometric Fingerprints of Organic Compounds in NaCl-Rich Ice Grains from Europa and Enceladus

Napoleoni, M., Klenner, F., Khawaja, N., Hillier, J. K., & Postberg, F. (2023). Mass Spectrometric Fingerprints of Organic Compounds in NaCl-Rich Ice Grains from Europa and Enceladus. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry. doi:10.1021/acsearthspacechem.2c00342

Geometry of Freezing Impacts Ice Composition: Implications for Icy Satellites

Buffo, J. J., Meyer, C. R., Chivers, C. J., Walker, C. C., Huber, C., & Schmidt, B. E. (2023). Geometry of Freezing Impacts Ice Composition: Implications for Icy Satellites. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 128(3), None. doi:10.1029/2022je007389

February 2023Huge Variation in H2 Generation During Seawater Alteration of Ultramafic Rocks

Ely, T.D., Jeong, J.M., Canovas, P.A., Shock, E.L. Huge Variation in H2 Generation During Seawater Alteration of Ultramafic Rocks. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems. DOI: 10.1029/2022GC010658

Superhabitability of High-obliquity and High-eccentricity Planets

Jernigan, J., Laflèche, É., Burke, A., & Olson, S. (2023). Superhabitability of High-obliquity and High-eccentricity Planets. The Astrophysical Journal, 944(2), 205. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acb81c

Floating Liquid Droplets on the Surface of Cryogenic Liquids: Implications for Titan Rain

Farnsworth, K. K., Soto, A., Chevrier, V. F., Steckloff, J. K., & Soderblom, J. M. (2023). Floating Liquid Droplets on the Surface of Cryogenic Liquids: Implications for Titan Rain. ACS Earth and Space Chemistry, 7(2), 439–448. doi:10.1021/acsearthspacechem.2c00311

Suppressed basal melting in the eastern Thwaites Glacier grounding zone

Davis, P. E. D., Nicholls, K. W., Holland, D. M., Schmidt, B. E., Washam, P., Riverman, K. L., … Makinson, K. (2023). Suppressed basal melting in the eastern Thwaites Glacier grounding zone. Nature, 614(7948), 479–485. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05586-0

Heterogeneous melting near the Thwaites Glacier grounding line

Schmidt, B. E., Washam, P., Davis, P. E. D., Nicholls, K. W., Holland, D. M., Lawrence, J. D., … Makinson, K. (2023). Heterogeneous melting near the Thwaites Glacier grounding line. Nature, 614(7948), 471–478. doi:10.1038/s41586-022-05691-0

January 2023Surviving in Ocean Worlds: Experimental Characterization of Fiber Optic Tethers across Europa-like Ice Faults and Unraveling the Sliding Behavior of Ice

Singh, V., McCarthy, C., Silvia, M., Jakuba, M. V., Craft, K. L., Rhoden, A. R., … Koczynski, T. A. (2023). Surviving in Ocean Worlds: Experimental Characterization of Fiber Optic Tethers across Europa-like Ice Faults and Unraveling the Sliding Behavior of Ice. The Planetary Science Journal, 4(1), 1. doi:10.3847/psj/aca3ab

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