Blues for a red planet: Dr. Azua-Bustos uses a unique approach to understand life in the extreme environment of the Atacama Desert  by Rabeea Rasheed Our knowledge of life is based on our observation and understanding of organisms living on Earth or that lived here in the past. The complexity and diversity of life developed over the course of a million years. From the tiniest microbe to the mighty blue whale, Life evolved and adapted to its environment.Biological diversity includes […]

By Shireen Mathur, to fulfill the ethics in science requirement for the Young Scientist Program at BMSIS. (Note: This post is an opinion piece concerning an issue with ethical implications within our communities. Opinions presented within this piece are those of the author and do not inherently represent those of Blue Marble Space, the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, or our affiliates.) It is an undeniable fact that animals have always had a major contribution in the advancement of […]

Is the pursuit of space exploration through commercial organisations advantageous to humanity? Submitted by Adam Suttle to fulfill the ethics in science requirement for the Young Scientist Program at BMSIS. The benefits of space exploration go far beyond humankind’s shared desire to discover and explore new worlds. While playing an important role in engaging the public’s eyes, space exploration also directly inspires the generations of today and tomorrow to pursue many space science disciplines. The interdisciplinary nature and international corporation innate to […]

By Sarah Treadwell On October 20, 2020, NASA reached a significant achievement with a spacecraft named OSIRIS-REx. This was a mission nearly 10 years in the works. OSIRIS-REx’s mission objective was to sample and return to Earth 60 g of small, dusty particles from an asteroid named Bennu, 200 million miles from Earth. Upon its successful return, this will deliver some of the first samples of fresh asteroid material brought back from our solar system. Other return sample missions have […]

By Kurt Ger Jacob Haqq-Misra is a research scientist at Blue Marble Space Institute of Science. His areas of focus include planetary habitability, atmospheric dynamics, environmental ethics, extraterrestrial life, and space settlement (he has an upcoming book on the subject with the University Press of Kansas). He completed his Ph.D. in meteorology and astrobiology (2010) and his M.S. in meteorology (2007) from Penn State University. He also holds degrees in astrophysics and computer science from the University of Minnesota (2005). […]

By Elisabeth Lee One of the biggest worries an undergraduate student may have is whether or not they are pursuing the proper degree or chasing the perfect career. But as senior scientists and researchers shower their wisdom upon younger students, there is a common theme of uncertainty and an overall normalization to adjust what you pursue as you gain more experiences. Dr. Mrina Nikrad is a senior scientist at the pharmaceutical company Editas Medicine, and she takes part in developing […]