We present a testable hypothesis related to an origin of life on land in which fluctuating
volcanic hot spring pools play a central role. The hypothesis is based on experimental …

This review of material relevant to the Conference on Biosignature Preservation and
Detection in Mars Analog Environments summarizes the meeting materials and discussions …

The second ExoMars mission will be launched in 2020 to target an ancient location
interpreted to have strong potential for past habitability and for preserving physical and …

Abstract The ca. 3.48 Ga Dresser Formation, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, is well
known for hosting some of Earth's earliest convincing evidence of life (stromatolites …

Return of samples from the surface of Mars has been a goal of the international Mars
science community for many years. Affirmation by NASA and ESA of the importance of Mars …

While grounded in the hard sciences of physics, chemistry, geology, and astronomy, as well
as well-accepted principles in the life sciences, astrobiology remains the most speculative of …

The recognition of past habitable environments on Mars has increased the urgency to
understand biosignature preservation in and characterize analogues of these environments …

The Martian surface is cold, dry, exposed to biologically harmful radiation and apparently
barren today. Nevertheless, there is clear geological evidence for warmer, wetter intervals in …

Clay minerals, or analogously phyllosilicates, are some of the most astonishing minerals
ever discovered on Mars due to their roles as indicators of water-rock interaction. Their …

Microbial life permeates Earth's critical zone and has likely inhabited nearly all our planet's
surface and near subsurface since before the beginning of the sedimentary rock record …