Astrobiology Magazine is a NASA-sponsored online popular science magazine. Established in the year 2000, Astrobiology Magazine now has a vast archive of stories covering a broad array of topics. Astrobiology Magazine covers science and nature topics relevant to space, innovation and biology, with an emphasis on the existence, detection and exploration of life in the universe.
Fierce 'superflares' from the sun zapped an infant Earth
Our young sun may have routinely blasted Earth with gobs of energy more powerful than any similar bombardments recorded in human history.
Water-world Earths could host life, even if they're askew
Life could be habitable on an Earth-sized waterworld tilted on its side if the oceans aren't too shallow, a new study reveals.
Could ionized gas do A better job of sterilizing spacecraft?
Earth's microbes are a hardy bunch. They can survive in extreme environments, such as inside hot springs at the bottom of the ocean. Some have even remained alive despite being exposed to the ultraviolet ...
Planets can alter each other's climates over eons
A new study sheds light on how exoplanets in tightly-packed solar systems interact with each other gravitationally by affecting one another's climates and their abilities to support alien life.
Guiding our search for life on other earths
A telescope will soon allow astronomers to probe the atmosphere of Earthlike exoplanets for signs of life. To prepare, Lisa Kaltenegger and her team are modeling the atmospheric fingerprints for hundreds ...
The search for volcanic eruptions on Mars reaches the next level
A new study of emissions from Martian volcanoes suggests there is no activity going on right now, but researchers aren't ruling out recent eruptions.
Planets orbiting red dwarfs may stay wet enough for life
Small, cold stars known as red dwarfs are the most common type of star in the Universe, and the sheer number of planets that may exist around them potentially make them valuable places to hunt for signs of ...
How did multicellular life evolve?
Scientists are discovering ways in which single cells might have evolved traits that entrenched them into group behavior, paving the way for multicellular life. These discoveries could shed light on how complex ...
How can we protect Mars from Earth while searching for life?
The search for life on Mars presents us with many challenges – not the least of which is microbial contamination. How do we ensure that microbes from Earth don't hitchhike all the way to the Red Planet ...
How would the world change if we found extraterrestrial life?
In 1938, Orson Welles narrated a radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" as a series of simulated radio bulletins of what was happening in real time as Martians arrived on our home planet. The broadcast is ...
Earth's moon may not be critical to life
The Moon has long been viewed as a crucial component in creating an environment suitable for the evolution of complex life on Earth, but a number of scientific results in recent years have shown that perhaps our ...
The cosmic chemistry that gave rise to water
Earth's water has a mysterious past stretching back to the primordial clouds of gas that birthed the Sun and other stars. By using telescopes and computer simulations to study such star nurseries, researchers ...
How the code of life passed through primitive kinds of cells
Life's origins are a mystery, but every year scientists get a little bit closer to understanding what made life possible on Earth, and possibly on other planets or moons.
Rare mineral found in a Wisconsin crater
Scientists have discovered one of the rarest minerals on Earth in a Wisconsin impact crater.
Life might thrive a dozen miles beneath Earth's surface
Life teems all over our planet's exterior and even down into the lightless oceanic depths. But just how far underground might life be able to hack it?