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Astrobiology
Life arose on Earth early on, eventually giving rise to us: intelligent and technologically advanced. "First contact" still remains elusive.
The recent discovery of a large cave on the Moon highlights the importance of caves not just for future space explorers but astrobiology as well.
Earth, the only rocky planet with a large, massive satellite, is greatly affected by the Moon. Destroying it would cause 7 major changes.
The Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) will have a light-collecting power 10 times greater than today's best telescope.
Physicists have increasingly begun to view life as information-processing "states of matter" that require special consideration.
A long view of biological survival might point us to new possibilities for finding life elsewhere in the Universe.
The near and far sides of the Moon are so different from each other, and no one is sure why. New lunar samples could confirm a wild theory.
This research team is working out how to detect extraterrestrial cells in the liquid water ocean hidden beneath Enceladus’s icy crust.
The Moon is the most likely place for evidence from the dawn of life on Earth to be preserved in cold storage.
The threats Mars astronauts face — and how NASA is working to solve them.
In 2023, data from the James Webb Space Telescope soured hopes that TRAPPIST-1 c had an atmosphere. That disappointment might have been premature.
The number of planets that could support life may be far greater than previously thought, a recent discovery suggests.
NASA's minivan-sized drone is scheduled to search for signs of life on Titan in 2034.
Learning to decode complex communication on Earth may give us a leg up if intelligent life from space makes contact.
An interview with Lisa Kaltenegger, the founding director of the Carl Sagan Institute, about the modern quest to answer an age-old question: "Are we alone in the cosmos?"
"I hope we take a mindset where we are willing to look for weird life in weird places."
Life arose on Earth very early on. After a few billion years, here we are: intelligent and technologically advanced. Where's everyone else?
Since 1962, humanity has been sending messages into space with the intent to make contact with intelligent extraterrestrials. Are those efforts worth the risks?
Aliens are often portrayed in popular culture as humanoid. But in reality, intelligent extraterrestrials might take far stranger forms.
Forensics has reached the final frontier, and could be used to solve future space accidents—or crimes.
Well-preserved ancient plants and other finds at the Clarkia fossil beds hint at what kind of evidence any Martian life may have left behind.
Known as the Great Oxygenation Event, Earth froze over as oxygen accumulated in our atmosphere, nearly driving all life extinct.
In a recent paper, biologists outlined a three-part hypothesis for how all life as we know it began.
Until the Apollo missions, we had no idea how the moon got here, just a series of educated guesses. They rewrote the story of the moon’s origins.
There are plenty of life-friendly stellar systems in the Universe today. But at some point in the far future, life's final extinction will occur.
In the early stages of our Solar System, there were three life-friendly planets: Venus, Earth, and Mars. Only Earth thrived. Here's why.
Whenever someone waxes poetic about terraforming alien worlds, it’s worth taking a moment to consider the ethical implications of the proposal.
The case for why NASA should pivot to searching for current — not ancient — signs of life.
Although early Earth was a molten hellscape, once it cooled, life arose almost immediately. That original chain of life remains unbroken.
If there’s life lurking on the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, could our instruments even detect it?