Meteorites, Asteroids, & Comets
The Oldest Carbonates In The Solar System 
A meteorite that fell in northern Germany in 2019 contains carbonates which are among the oldest in the solar system; it also evidences the earliest presence of liquid water on a minor planet.
Astrochemistry
Much Of Earth's Nitrogen Was Locally Sourced
Where did Earth's nitrogen come from? Rice University scientists show one primordial source of the indispensable building block for life was close to home.
Biosignatures & Paleobiology
PTAL Multi-spectral Database Of Planetary Terrestrial Analogues: Raman Data Overview
The multi analytical study of terrestrial analogues is a useful strategy to deepen the knowledge about the geological and environmental evolution of Mars and other extraterrestrial bodies.
Venus
Three Different Ways to Explain the Sulfur Depletion in the Clouds of Venus
The depletion of SO2 and H2O in and above the clouds of Venus (45 -- 65 km) cannot be explained by known gas-phase chemistry and the observed composition of the atmosphere.
TRAPPIST-1
Characterisation Of The Hydrospheres Of TRAPPIST-1 Planets
Context. Planetary mass and radius data are showing a wide variety in densities of low-mass exoplanets. This includes sub-Neptunes, whose low densities can be explained with the presence of a volatile-rich layer. Water is one of the most abundant volatiles, which can be in the form of different phases depending on the planetary surface conditions.
Extrasolar Planets
Around Which Stars Can TESS Detect Earth-like Planets? The Revised TESS Habitable Zone Catalog
In the search for life in the cosmos, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission has already monitored about 74% of the sky for transiting extrasolar planets, including potentially habitable worlds.
Extrasolar Planets
Probing The Capability Of Future Direct Imaging Missions To Spectrally Constrain The Frequency Of Earth-like Planets
A critical question in astrobiology is whether exoEarth candidates (EECs) are Earth-like, in that they originate life that progressively oxygenates their atmospheres similarly to Earth. We propose answering this question statistically by searching for O2 and O3 on EECs with missions such as HabEx or LUVOIR.
Astrogeology
Using Ancient Fossils And Gravitational-wave Science To Predict Earth's Future
A group of international scientists, including an Australian astrophysicist, has used knowhow from gravitational wave astronomy (used to find black holes in space) to study ancient marine fossils as a predictor of climate change.
Astrochemistry
2-aminooxazole In Astrophysical Environments: IR Spectra And Destruction Cross Sections For Energetic Processing
2-aminooxazole (2AO), a N-heterocyclic molecule, has been proposed as an intermediate in prebiotic syntheses. It has been demonstrated that it can be synthesized from small molecules such as cyanamide and glycoaldehyde, which are present in interstellar space.
Astrochemistry
Discovery of Interstellar Trans-cyanovinylacetylene (HCCCH=CCHCN) and Vinylcyanoacetylene (H2C=CHC3N) in GOTHAM Observations of TMC-1
We report the discovery of two unsaturated organic species, trans-(E)-cyanovinylacetylene and vinylcyanoacetylene, using the second data release of the GOTHAM deep survey towards TMC-1 with the 100 m Green Bank Telescope.
Astrogeology
BioAsteroid Payload On Orbit
Inside one of the containers of this 40-cm-across miniature laboratory in orbit, a battle is set to start between asteroid-like fragments and rock-hungry microbes, to probe their use for space mining in the future.
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