Life needs CHNOPS, the six essential elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulphur. Curiosity found them on ancient Mars, but a new study shows Earth was born without them. Only a lucky impact with Theia made our world habitable. In contrast, Venus never stood a chance. Meet the three planetary siblings and discover why only Earth became a cradle for life.
NASA’s Europa Clipper is using Mars as a cosmic slingshot to get a speed boost on its journey to Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. While zipping past at 884 km, scientists will test its instruments before it heads off on its 2.9-billion-kilometr trek. But Europa isn’t the only icy world making waves—new data suggests Jupiter’s Callisto also has a hidden ocean, and Saturn’s Enceladus has a mushy zone under its ice shell that might be hiding alien microbes. Beyond the frost line, the search for life is heating up! 🚀❄️👽
Mars isn’t just a rusty desert—it’s a rusty, once-beachy desert! 🌊🔴 Scientists have discovered that Mars’ red color might come from wet rust, not dry oxidation, hinting at a past with more water than we thought. Meanwhile, China’s Zhurong rover has uncovered ancient Martian shorelines, suggesting liquid water stuck around for longer—which means more time for potential alien microbes to evolve. And where did all that water go? New research shows Mars’ soil can trap and hold water, preserving ice beneath the surface. Could this hidden water still support life? 🚀🔬
Last week was Mars Week at Oxford Area School in the South Island. It was a great week running Mars Missions and learning all about Mars.
The discovery of hydrogen in the plumes shooting out of Enceladus got everyone excited that the conditions might be right for life inside the icy moon. Now a lab experiment confirms that life could really be possible in those conditions likely to be found on Enceladus.
(And we can do something about it.)
Life needs CHNOPS, the six essential elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulphur. Curiosity found them on ancient Mars, but a new study shows Earth was born without them. Only a lucky impact with Theia made our world habitable. In contrast, Venus never stood a chance. Meet the three planetary siblings and discover why only Earth became a cradle for life.
Mars’s mantle contains ancient fragments up to 4km wide from its formation—preserved like geological fossils from the planet’s violent early history.
Cosmic rays are hitting the atmosphere constantly. One of the products of the collisions is muons, and we can detect muons on the surface of the Earth to learn about the cosmic rays.
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