Prokaryotic life has dominated most of the evolutionary history of our planet, evolving to
occupy virtually all available environmental niches. Extremophiles, especially those thriving …

Permafrost constitutes a major portion of the terrestrial cryosphere of the Earth and is a
unique ecological niche for cold-adapted microorganisms. There is a relatively high …

A committee of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) has reviewed and
updated the description of Special Regions on Mars as places where terrestrial organisms …

The search for earth-abundant materials that can be used in solar water splitting cells
remains an important goal for affordable and environmentally friendly methods for energy …

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 …

We present a hybrid density functional theory (DFT) study of doping effects in α-Fe 2 O 3,
hematite. Standard DFT underestimates the band gap by roughly 75% and incorrectly …

To survive exposure to space conditions, organisms should have certain characteristics
including a high tolerance for freezing, radiation and desiccation. The organisms with the …

The search for life beyond Earth involves investigation into the responses of model
organisms to the deleterious effects of space. In the frame of the BIOlogy and Mars …

Space synthetic biology is a branch of biotechnology dedicated to engineering biological
systems for space exploration, industry and science. There is significant public and private …

Minerals might have played critical roles for the origin and evolution of possible life forms on
Mars. The study of the interactions between the “building blocks of life” and minerals …