It's not just rocks on Mars. Regolith is dust and broken materials sitting between sky and the planet below. It has its own story to tell. dx.doi.org/10.1029/2022JE…

Plato said that “music ... gives soul to the universe [and] wings to the mind". The response of School students to an Imperial College collaboration with Amanda Lee Falkenberg demonstrates that concept in elegant fashion. imperial.ac.uk/news/243911/im…

Imperial College Organic Geochemistry will be on the Sky at Night again on April 10th. Mark A Sephton discussed Perseverance, Astrobiology, and preparations for Mars Sample Return. x.com/skyatnightmag/…

And we are back! It's just a few days until The Sky at Night is back on your screens. We will be searching for alien life on Mars, Jupiter's Icy Moons and even exoplanets! BBC4 - Monday 10th April at 10pm 🪐 💫 #skyatnight

We will be speaking with Mark A Sephton, #MicheleDougherty from Imperial College London and @SeanHMcMahon from The University of Edinburgh

We hope you enjoyed last nights episode - if you missed us catch up on BBC iPlayer for all things habitability 🌍 bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episod…

Another chance to see the Imperial College Organic Geochemistry labs on The Sky at Night in a few hours time.

eventbrite.co.uk/e/moon-symphon…

JOB ALERT! Would you like to carry out research in statistics and planetary protection for space missions? If so apply for the job below. You would be located at Imperial College London working closely with Coventry University and the Open University. imperial.ac.uk/jobs/descripti…

The soils on Mars can have a surface crust that reflects past and present environmental conditions on Mars. The latest Mars2020 paper reports data from the Perseverance rover that indicates the presence and characteristics of soil crusts in Jezero crater. doi.org/10.1029/2022JE…

Icy moons of the outer solar system are thought to contain subsurface oceans and possible conditions for life. Vance et al. look into the habitability of Jupiter's icy moon Europa and expected future investigations by the Europa Clipper mission. link.springer.com/article/10.100…

Atmospheric particles can affect human health. Kalaiarasan et al. have studied environments in London to understand their pollution characteristics. mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/1…

Well done Michael Sims on a new paper that examines evidence of anoxic conditions during deposition of Carboniferous sediments in the UK. lyellcollection.org/doi/10.1144/SP…

In a new paper, Siljeström, Czaja et al. describe how sulfate minerals provide a record of fluid alteration of the floor rocks of Jezero crater, Mars doi.org/10.1029/2023JE…

In a new Mars2020 paper, Weiss et al. describe how natural and laser-induced markings on rover drill cores are used to retain Mars geographic orientation. This stage of Mars Sample Return is now even more like Earth-based field work. doi.org/10.1029/2023EA…

In a new paper, Zorzano et al. that report measurements on present day environments conditions on Mars made by the Perseverance Rover in Jezero Crater. #astrobiology #space #science #research #Mars nature.com/articles/s4159…

The Europa Clipper mission will carry a mass spectrometer called MASPEX. It will investigate Europa’s plumes to reveal the potential for life in the subsurface ocean of Jupiter's icy moon. Read the latest from Waite et al. at the following link: link.springer.com/article/10.100…

It was an honor to co-chair the Mars Sample Return Temperature and Time Tiger Team. We examined the effects of heating on samples returning from Mars. Our work is published in a mighty 45-page paper in Astrobiology. Thanks to our excellent team. doi.org/10.1089/ast.20…

Biochar is important to mitigate climate change by carbon removal. Once produced, biochar must be resistant to degradation. A new paper demonstrates that combining FTIR data with modeling is a promising method for assessing biochar stability. pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.10…

Bosak et al. report how the Perseverance Mars rover has collected rocks from the base of the fan in Jezero crater that probably pre-date signs of life on Earth. They may have implications for astrobiology when analysed back on Earth. 
doi.org/10.1029/2024AV…