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Astrophysicists discovered that an exoplanet is covered with so many active volcanoes that seen from a distance it would take on a fiery, glowing-red hue.

Researchers report a new method that reduces the amount of iridium needed to produce hydrogen from water by 95%, without altering the rate of hydrogen production. This breakthrough could revolutionize our ability to produce ecologically friendly hydrogen and help usher in a carbon-neutral hydrogen economy.

Astrobiology is the field of science that studies the origins, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the Universe. In practice, this means sending robotic missions beyond Earth to analyze the atmospheres, surfaces, and chemistry of extraterrestrial worlds. At present, all of our astrobiology missions are focused on Mars, as it is considered the most Earth-like environment beyond our planet. While several missions will be destined for the outer Solar System to investigate “Ocean Worlds” for evidence of life (Europa, Ganymede, Titan, and Enceladus), our efforts to find life beyond Earth will remain predominantly on Mars.

If and when these efforts succeed, it will have drastic implications for future missions to Mars. Not only will great care need to be taken to protect Martian life from contamination by Earth organisms, but precautions must be taken to prevent the same from happening to Earth (aka. Planetary Protection). In a recent study, a team from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, recommends that legal or normative frameworks be adopted now to ensure that future missions do not threaten sites where evidence of life (past or present) might be found.

The study was led by Clare Fletcher, a Ph.D. student with the Australian Centre for Astrobiology (ACA) and Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre at UNSW. She was joined by Professor Martin Van Kranendonk, a researcher with the ACA and the head of the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Curtin University, and Professor Carol Oliver of the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at UNSW. Their research paper, “Exogeoconservation of Mars,” appeared on April 21st in Space Policy.

The search for life on Mars can be traced to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Percival Lowell made extensive observations from his observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. Inspired by Schiaparelli’s illustrations of the Martian surface (which featured linear features he called “canali”), Lowell recorded what he also believed were canals and spent many years searching for other indications of infrastructure and an advanced civilization. During the ensuing decades, observatories worldwide observed Mars closely, looking for indications of life and similarities with Earth.

However, it was not until the Space Age that the first robotic probes flew past Mars, gathering data directly from its atmosphere and taking close-up images of the surface. These revealed a planet with a thin atmosphere composed predominantly of carbon dioxide and a frigid surface that did not appear hospitable to life. However, it was the Viking 1 and 2 missions, which landed on Mars in 1976, that forever dispelled the myth of a Martian civilization. But as Fletcher told Universe Today via email, the possibility of extant life has not been completely abandoned:

“It’s my personal belief that it is unlikely we will find evidence of extant (current) life on Mars, as opposed to evidence of past life on Mars. If we were to find extant life on Mars that could be proven to be endemic to Mars and not contamination from Earth, some think it might be found underground in lava tubes, for example, and some think the ice caps or any possible source of liquid water might be suitable places.”

Ironically, it was the same missions that discredited the notion of there being life on Mars that revealed evidence that water once flowed on its surface. Thanks to the many orbiter, lander, and rover missions sent to Mars since the turn of the century, scientists theorize that this period coincided with the Noachian Era (ca. 4.1 – 3.7 billion years ago). According to the most recent fossilized evidence, it was also during this period that life first appeared on Earth (in the form of single-celled bacteria).

Artist’s impression of Mars during the Noachian Era. Credit: Ittiz/Wikipedia Commons

Our current astrobiology efforts on behalf of NASA and other space agencies are focused on Mars precisely for this reason: to determine if life emerged on Mars billions of years ago and whether or not it co-evolved with life on Earth. This includes the proposed Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission that will retrieve the drill samples obtained by the Perseverance rover in the Jezero Crater and return them to Earth for analysis. In addition, NASA and China plan to send crewed missions to Mars by 2040 and 2033 (respectively), including astrobiology studies.

These activities could threaten the very abodes where evidence of past life could be found or (worse) still exists. “Human activities might threaten sites like this in part due to possible microbial contamination,” said Fletcher. “Evidence of life (past and extant) also has greater scientific value when in its palaeoenvironmental context, so any human activities that might damage the evidence of life and/or its surrounding environmental context pose a risk. This could be something innocuous, like debris falling in the wrong spot, or something more serious, like driving over possibly significant outcrops with a rover.”

Conservation measures must be developed and implemented before additional missions are sent to Mars. Given humanity’s impact on Earth’s natural environment and our attempts to mitigate this through conservation efforts. In particular, there have been numerous cases where scientific studies were conducted without regard for the heritage value of the site and where damage was done because of a lack of proper measures. These lessons, says Fletcher, could inform future scientific efforts on Mars:

“It’s important that we learn from what has been considered “damaging” on Earth and take this into consideration when exploring Mars. If a site is damaged beyond being able to be studied in the future, then we limit what can actually be learned from a site. When considering Mars missions cost billions of dollars and are to meet specific scientific goals, limiting the information being learned from a site is incredibly detrimental. My recommendations are that of my paper: interdisciplinary cooperation, drawing on experience and knowledge from Earth, creating norms and a code of practice (part of my PhD work), and working towards creating legislation for these issues.”

Artist’s rendition of NASA’s Dragonfly on the surface of Titan. Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben

The need for exogeoconservation is paramount at this juncture. In addition to Mars, multiple astrobiology missions will travel to the outer Solar System this decade to search for evidence of life on icy moons like Europa, Ganymede, Titan, and Enceladus. This includes the ESA’s JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) mission, currently en route to Ganymede, and NASA’s Europa Clipper and Dragonfly missions that will launch for Europa and Titan in October 2024 and 2028 (respectively). Therefore, the ability to search for extant or past life without damaging its natural environment is an ethical and scientific necessity.

“I hope this paper is very much a starting point for anyone working in Mars science and exploration, as well as anyone thinking about space policy and exogeoconservation,” said Fletcher. “My goal was to start drawing attention to these issues, and that way start a generation of researchers and practitioners focused on exogeoconservation of Mars.”

Further Reading: Space Policy

The post We Need to Consider Conservation Efforts on Mars appeared first on Universe Today.

Surprising recent measurements hint that the universe isn’t expanding in the way we had thought, and it could be explained by still-theoretical dark radiation

On Saturday I’m leaving for Amsterdam for eight days, at least two of which will be devoted to work (a lecture on science and religion on May 16 at Tilburg University and, the next day, a group discussion of ideology’s incursion into science at the Science Department at the University of Amsterdam). There may be interviews or podcasts, but I don’t yet know.

This means that posting will be very light during that time, as not only do I have work, but I want to see more of this beautiful city. Of course I have to return to the Van Gogh Museum, but will ferret out other things to do.  I will post as often as time permits.

Please keep emails to me to a minimum during this period, and please don’t send readers’ wildlife, as it may get lost.  Matthew will be putting up the Hili Dialogue every day, and, as always, I’ll do my best.

In honor of this trip, here’s an old song that nobody but me recalls:

A new machine-learning technique can train and control a reconfigurable soft robot that can dynamically change its shape to complete a task. The researchers also built a simulator that can evaluate control algorithms for shape-shifting soft robots.

A new machine-learning technique can train and control a reconfigurable soft robot that can dynamically change its shape to complete a task. The researchers also built a simulator that can evaluate control algorithms for shape-shifting soft robots.

A 'crazy idea' hatched during a walk in the woods and first tested by a high school student is now an innovative research tool used by scientists worldwide to predict neurotransmitters in fruit fly connectomes.

An analysis of a mathematical economic game suggests that even learning from past mistakes will almost never help us optimise our decision-making – with implications for our ability to make the biggest financial gains

Perovskites are among the most researched topics in materials science. Recently, a research team has solved an age-old challenge to synthesize all-organic two-dimensional perovskites, extending the field into the exciting realm of 2D materials. This breakthrough opens up a new field of 2D all-organic perovskites, which holds promise for both fundamental science and potential applications.

Perovskites are among the most researched topics in materials science. Recently, a research team has solved an age-old challenge to synthesize all-organic two-dimensional perovskites, extending the field into the exciting realm of 2D materials. This breakthrough opens up a new field of 2D all-organic perovskites, which holds promise for both fundamental science and potential applications.

Researchers have developed a new 3D printing method called blurred tomography that can rapidly produce microlenses with commercial-level optical quality. The new method may make it easier and faster to design and fabricate a variety of optical devices.

Researchers present Tripath: new, deep learning models that can use 3D pathology datasets to make clinical outcome predictions. The research team imaged curated prostate cancer specimens, using two 3D high-resolution imaging techniques. The models were then trained to predict prostate cancer recurrence risk on volumetric human tissue biopsies. By comprehensively capturing 3D morphologies from the entire tissue volume, Tripath performed better than pathologists and outperformed deep learning models that rely on 2D morphology and thin tissue slices.

Researchers have developed a robotic feeding system that uses computer vision, machine learning and multimodal sensing to safely feed people with severe mobility limitations, including those with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.

Researchers have developed a robotic feeding system that uses computer vision, machine learning and multimodal sensing to safely feed people with severe mobility limitations, including those with spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis.

Walking and running is notoriously difficult to recreate in robots. Now, a group of researchers has overcome some of these challenges by creating an innovative method that employs central pattern generators -- neural circuits located in the spinal cord that generate rhythmic patterns of muscle activity -- with deep reinforcement learning. The method not only imitates walking and running motions but also generates movements for frequencies where motion data is absent, enables smooth transition movements from walking to running, and allows for adapting to environments with unstable surfaces.

Walking and running is notoriously difficult to recreate in robots. Now, a group of researchers has overcome some of these challenges by creating an innovative method that employs central pattern generators -- neural circuits located in the spinal cord that generate rhythmic patterns of muscle activity -- with deep reinforcement learning. The method not only imitates walking and running motions but also generates movements for frequencies where motion data is absent, enables smooth transition movements from walking to running, and allows for adapting to environments with unstable surfaces.

The global chemical industry is a major fossil fuel consumer and climate change contributor; however, new research has identified how the sector could clean up its green credentials by getting dirty.

Scientists delve into the composition of nanocomposites for ultraviolet metasurface fabrication.

Scientists delve into the composition of nanocomposites for ultraviolet metasurface fabrication.