astrobiology

Vials with orange liquid in the lab

A relatively simple mixture of chemicals can produce some of the compounds needed to form RNA, UNSW scientists have shown. 

Artist's depiction of the Mars Rover on the surface of Mars

New research published today in Nature Communications suggests the rovers’ current equipment might not actually be up to the task of finding evidence of life.

Artist's conceptual picture of phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus.

To confirm life on other planets, we need to detect far more molecules in their atmospheres than we currently do to rule out non-biological chemical processes.

Atacama desert

How ancient microbes survived in a world without oxygen has been a mystery. Scientists discovered a living microbial mat that uses arsenic instead of oxygen for photosynthesis and respiration.

Phosphene molecules and Venus

Considering what we know about the key ingredients for life's formation on Earth, here are three explanations for how this process may have occurred on our sister planet.

Planet Venus

The discovery of phosphine in the acidic clouds of Venus can't be explained by any known chemical or geological processes.

Luke Steller teaching students how to find fossils

As Perseverance prepares to launch for Mars, two UNSW PhD students look back on a field trip that gave Indigenous high school students a behind-the-scenes look at the rover’s upcoming mission.

Dr Anna Wang and Mr Luke Steller in Tikitere

Hot springs may have been the ‘spark’ that helped organic matter turn into life – these UNSW Sydney scientists have put this hypothesis to the test in New Zealand. 

Mars

Scientists have used the same methods that will soon be used to search for evidence of life on Mars to look for evidence of the earliest forms of life on Earth at a location in South Australia.

Pyrite

Western Australia’s famous 3.5-billion-year-old stromatolites contain microbial remains of some of the earliest life on Earth, UNSW scientists have found.

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