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…

#MarsDay24 explore career journeys in the space industry with UK Space Agency! Join STEM to SPACE panel sessions, led by European Space Agency reserve astronaut Dr Meganne Christian, Royal Museums Greenwich, John Chinner 🇪🇺🇬🇧 from Airbus and Mark A Sephton from Imperial College London 🚀 Register here: bit.ly/3ZNETV6

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…

Looking forward to another sun-soaked day of dramatic field geology in the countryside around Almeria, Spain. Thanks to our hosts Urra Field Centre.

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…

They won’t “be home for Christmas”, well maybe only in our dreams, but we hope to see them eventually. ESA’s advent calendar uses Mars rocks as a countdown. Today was my turn to choose.

📅 Day 11: Skyland. 🔴 This sedimentary sample is the pair of Swift Run, and also exhibits a very strong carbonate signature, suggesting water presence in Mars' Jezero crater. "Skyland is part of the first depot, ensuring that the mission was already successful at an early

🙏 A big thank you to the European scientists who picked up their favourite samples for our Mars rocks advent calendar. 🪨 We have learned a lot about the fascinating geology behind each rock collected by ARCHIVED - NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover. 🔗This is what they told us: blogs.esa.int/to-mars-and-ba…

Curious about how Mars Sample Return could revolutionize our search for organic markers of extraterrestrial life? If so, read this paper just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pn…

🔎 Detecting signs of recent life on Mars! 🌱 PhD student Solomon Hirsch and Prof Mark Sephton from ESE have discovered a simple and cheap way to test for active life on #Mars and other planets – using an existing instrument on the #CuriosityRover! imperial.ac.uk/news/267393/si…

🚀 Our researchers Solomon Hirsch & Mark A Sephton made an appearance on last night's ITV News, where they explained their new research on a test that can detect life on #Mars and other planets! 📺 Check it out: youtu.be/Ri1Bu9JZHIA?si…

Nice to meet you Bruce. An interesting afternoon’s interview and discussion.

Our solar system may contain records of the emergence of life, we just need to know how to read them. Today in Forbes, Bruce Dorminey writes about work we did at Imperial College London on “lunar lava sandwiches" and the potential evidence they could contain.   forbes.com/sites/brucedor…