“There are several life forms even on Earth that do not require oxygen to survive,” Mitra said. “I don’t think of it as a ‘setback’ to habitability—only that there was probably no oxygen-based lifeforms.”
Planetary science
At Phys.org: Comet impacts could bring ingredients for life to Europa’s ocean
“Comet strikes on Jupiter’s moon Europa could help transport critical ingredients for life found on the moon’s surface to its hidden ocean of liquid water—even if the impacts don’t punch completely through the moon’s icy shell.”
At SciTech Daily: SOFIA Finds No Phosphine – a Potential Sign of Life – on Venus
No chemical signature of life on Venus – anybody surprised?
At Science Daily: Exploring the possibility of extraterrestrial life living in caves
Spelunking on Mars? I’m sure it could be fascinating, but it bears keeping in mind that environment doesn’t produce life.
At Phys.org: Glaciers flowed on ancient Mars, but slowly
Whether one maintains a belief in ID or not, the stark contrast between the vibrancy of life on Earth and the desolation of our nearest planetary neighbors is worth a moment of reflection and gratitude.
At Sci News: Transits through Milky Way’s Spiral Arms Helped Form Early Earth’s Continental Crust, Study Says
New research led by Curtin University geologists suggests that regions of space with dense interstellar clouds may send more high-energy comets crashing to the surface of the Earth, seeding enhanced production of continental crust. The findings challenge the existing theory that Earth’s continental crust was solely formed by processes inside our planet. Earth is unique Read More…
At Sci.News: Voyagers Mark 45 Years in Space
NASA: “The Voyagers have continued to make amazing discoveries, inspiring a new generation of scientists and engineers.”
At Phys.org: Underwater snow gives clues about Europa’s icy shell
Researchers: “When we’re exploring Europa, we’re interested in the salinity and composition of the ocean, because that’s one of the things that will govern its potential habitability or even the type of life that might live there.”
From Big Think: Chinese rover makes surprise discovery about liquid water on Mars
A Chinese rover has found evidence that there was liquid water on Mars far more recently than we thought — a discovery that could affect plans to one day colonize the Red Planet.