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From diving in Antarctica’s ice-covered lakes to exploring Mexico’s Cave of the Crystals, NASA astrobiologist Chris McKay has been searching for life in a wide variety of extreme environments on Earth. He’s also working on an idea to send a probe called Icebreaker to the polar caps of Mars. Beyond merely finding life on another planet, he’s excited about the idea that potential life on a place lik...

Some of the most fascinating targets in the search for life in our solar system are moons of giant planets. Did you know If you had wings, you could fly on Titan, a moon of Saturn? Did you know that Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is thought to have more water than Earth under its icy shell? NASA is planning to send spacecraft to both of these places in the coming years to look for signs and ingredient...

When Earth was just a baby, meteors and asteroids rained down, delivering all sorts of chemicals to our developing planet. These small objects could have delivered the chemicals needed to spark life on Earth for the first time. The OSIRIS-REx mission will collect and return a sample from asteroid Bennu, a 4.5-billion-year-old fossil of the early solar system. By looking at pieces of Bennu in labor...

Imagine a future where the Perseverance Rover actually found definitive evidence of life on Mars. What would happen next? The Explore Mars Society recently held a virtual discussion on this topic with NASA’s chief scientist Jim Green and astrobiologist Penelope Boston from NASA’s Ames Research Center. Hosted by Mat Kaplan of the Planetary Society’s Planetary Radio podcast, the panelists talked abo...

Mars has long been the subject of fascination among those who have ever wondered if there is life beyond Earth. NASA’s upcoming Mars Perseverance rover, scheduled to launch in July, is bringing a set of technologies to explore the Red Planet in new ways. The rover will search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars in the astrobiology portion of its mission. Perseverance will also characterize...

When we search for life beyond Earth, we have to figure out what we could measure that would tell us that life was, or is, there. And the starting place for that search must be Earth itself, the only place where we know for sure that life has lived. Every rock tells a story, and so does each fatty acid called a lipid. Your cholesterol, which is part lipid and part protein, could last for billions...

To study the history of life on Earth and look for it beyond our planet, scientists in the field of astrobiology look for signs called “biosignatures.” NASA Goddard researcher Heather Graham discusses some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth and what scientists are searching for when they look for biosignatures in ancient rocks. By looking at what life on Earth was like millions and even billi...

How did life originate and evolve here on Earth? What form could life take elsewhere – and where else could life survive beyond our planet? These are questions that scientists called astrobiologists tackle every day. By using space telescopes, doing laboratory experiments and studying extreme environments on Earth, astrobiologists hope to uncover new insights about what it means to be “life” and g...

Besides learning how to live in space, astronauts training for Artemis missions to the Moon will need to become experts in geology, so they know what to look for when they're scoping out rocks and other features. Kelsey Young of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center describes her experience of teaching astronauts through analog sites, places on Earth that resemble parts of the Moon.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed far from where they had anticipated because, 50 years ago, we didn't have a complete understanding of the Moon's gravity. Recent maps of the Moon's gravity have taught us a lot about its overall shape, and have been invaluable for lunar exploration. Maria Zuber, principal investigator of NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, reflects...

Just like earthquakes help scientists figure out what's going on inside our home planet, moonquakes have taught scientists a lot about the interior of the Moon. NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission has also given us a clearer picture of the Moon beneath its surface. Seismic activity on the Moon is one area of scientific interest as NASA makes plans to send the first woma...

Early in its history, the Moon was molten, with “fire fountains” erupting from its surface. Astronauts have found tiny beads of glass on the Moon that preserve this history. How did the Moon cool down and become the quiet, cratered world we know today? NASA’s Chief Scientist Jim Green chats with NASA’s Deputy Chief Scientist Dave Draper about the Moon’s volcanic past and what we have learned from...

From lunar samples brought back in the Apollo program, scientists have figured out that the Moon once had a shield around it called a magnetosphere, just like the Earth has today. As NASA prepares to send humans to the Moon, and eventually on to Mars, scientists are exploring the Moon's magnetic past.

It's been 50 years since humans walked on the moon. Now NASA is planning to return, this time to stay. What will future lunar missions look like? Why do we go back at all?

Why do we see only one face of the Moon? What would happen to Earth if the Moon didn't exist? We dive into questions you asked on social media.

Learn how Moon rocks can reveal all kinds of information about our nearest neighbor, as NASA prepares to send astronauts to the Moon and on to Mars.

Sonification is the process of translating data into sound and music. In this musical data sonification of lunar knowledge and exploration, we can hear the progress made throughout the Apollo program to now as our understanding of the Moon expands. Listen to the percussion, which signals launches and the passage of time; the pitch of the string and brass instruments conveys the amount of scientifi...

Sonification is the process of translating data into sound and music. In this musical data sonification of lunar knowledge and exploration, we can hear the progress made throughout the Apollo program to now as our understanding of the Moon expands. Listen to the percussion, which signals launches and the passage of time; the pitch of the string and brass instruments conveys the amount of scientifi...

What happened to the lost data from the Apollo era? Get to know the “data detectives” who are tracking it down. The science experiments the Apollo astronauts conducted from the surface of the Moon provide a long-term data record that’s crucial to understanding our Moon as a complete system. Today’s scientists are looking forward to future human exploration of the Moon and the discoveries to follow...

Meet the scientists who are making big discoveries by studying some very tiny rocks. The women of NASA’s Mid-Atlantic Noble Gas Research Laboratory (MNGRL) are getting ready to analyze never-before-seen Moon samples. These samples, collected by Apollo astronauts and brought back to Earth, have been carefully preserved for half a century so they could be studied by future generations of scientists....

Lunar exploration runs in the family for the Petros. NASA lunar scientist Noah Petro interviews his father, Denis, about his work as an Apollo program engineer. In a heartfelt conversation, Noah and his dad examine the human impact of the momentous Apollo 11 mission and their shared passion for science and learning. Ginny from Danville, Kentucky, tells a story about celebrating the Moon landing wi...

What does a half-century of lunar science sound like? Join Moon data expert Ernie Wright on a musical time-traveling journey through the Apollo program and the exploration era of today. We explore what we knew about the Moon before Apollo, what we discovered because of it and the mysteries today’s scientists are working to solve. Elena, from Nantes, France, shares her memory of watching the Apollo...

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, launched 10 years ago this month, has made groundbreaking discoveries about the Moon, and will pave the way for future human exploration with NASA's Artemis mission.

NASA's Artemis program will send astronauts to the lunar South Pole by 2024, where there is a giant impact crater. Learn how craters teach us about the history of both the Moon and Earth.

The Moon has a large supply of water that could be useful in future human exploration, says NASA scientist Jennifer Heldmann.