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| Marketing to the Mothership |
| Topic: Alien Life |
11/02/04 |
| Summary: It is sometimes said that the best form of advertising is education. But what products would our global marketplace tolerate at the borders of an encounter with another, perhaps far different civilization? To get some perspective, an expert entertains the question of how to advertise our presence to a more universal demographic. |
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| Drilling on Autopilot |
| Topic: Mars |
09/23/04 |
| Summary: Drilling is complex work, even under the best of circumstances. Small wonder, then, that drilling rigs are usually attended by a crew of technicians who control their operation. But if scientists want to explore for life beneath the martian surface, they may have to send a fully autonomous drilling system. The NASA-funded MARTE project is doing a practice run in southern Spain. |
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| Coping with Contamination |
| Topic: Mars |
09/22/04 |
| Summary: Drilling is a messy business. Drilling fluid is anything but sterile. For most drilling applications, that's no problem. But when astrobiologists drill into the subsurface for new and unusual life forms, they need to be sure that the bacteria they find really do come from underground, that they're not being fooled by contaminants that hitched a ride down from the surface. |
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| Life on Earth: Signpost to Life on Mars |
| Topic: Mars |
09/21/04 |
| Summary: The RÃo Tinto is a river in Spain with highly acidic water the color of red wine. A group of astrobiologists wants to know what microbial life forms are lurking deep below the surface where the river's headwaters seep out of the ground. Then answer may help them search for subsurface life on Mars. |
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| Drilling for Weird Life |
| Topic: Mars |
09/20/04 |
| Summary: Scientists interested in the search for life on other planets often spend their time hunting for novel life forms and unique ecosystems here on Earth. The RÃo Tinto, a river in Spain with highly acidic water the color of red wine, has one group of researchers intrigued about what might be living underground, in the pyrite deposits along the river's edge. |
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| Citizen of the Solar System |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
08/25/04 |
| Summary: NASA's David Morrison won the 2004 Carl Sagan medal from the Division for Planetary Sciences. He talked with Astrobiology Magazine about the risks and rewards of extending science beyond our biosphere. |
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| Venus: Inhabited World? |
| Topic: Venus |
08/18/04 |
| Summary: In part 1 of this interview with Astrobiology Magazine editor Henry Bortman, planetary scientist David Grinspoon explained how Venus evolved from a wet planet similar to Earth to the scorching hot, dried-out furnace of today. In part 2, Grinspoon discusses the possibility of life on Venus. |
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| Venus: Hothouse Planet |
| Topic: Venus |
08/16/04 |
| Summary: Before spaceprobes could photograph Venus up close, the second planet from the Sun was often compared to a sister world, much like the Earth. Planetary scientist, David Grinspoon, discusses with Astrobiology Magazine how that view evolved to consider the extremes encountered on the Venusian surface. |
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| Saturn's Moon Titan: Prebiotic Laboratory |
| Topic: Titan |
08/11/04 |
| Summary: Jonathan Lunine, professor of planetary science and physics at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, has a longtime fascination with Saturn's largest moon, Titan. |
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| Saturn's Moon Titan: Planet Wannabe |
| Topic: Titan |
08/09/04 |
| Summary: Jonathan Lunine, professor of planetary science and physics at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory in Tucson, Arizona, has long been fascinated by Saturn's largest moon, Titan. |
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