News

Stay up to date with all of the Blue Marble Space news and happenings here.

Podcast: Why Explore Space?

Our “Beer with BMSIS” podcast for May features a discussion between Dr. Sanjoy Som and Dr. Jacob Haqq-Misra about the philosophical question “Why explore space?“. One of the questions raised by skeptics of space exploration is the particular value that this enterprise adds to human civilization. The auxiliary discoveries of space exploration often are cited as the reasons for public investment, such as technologies that resulted from investment in space exploration but now benefit everyday consumers. Other reasons for valuing […]

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Astrobiology: An Evolutionary Approach

A new astrobiology textbook is scheduled for publication in October and includes chapters written by our own Dr. Jim Cleaves and Dr. Sara Walker! The book is titled Astrobiology: An Evolutionary Approach and will be released by CRC Press on October 2, 2014. The book provides an interdisciplinary cross-section of many contemporary issues in astrobiology and could form the basis for an undergraduate or graduate course. Pre-orders can be placed now on Amazon.com!

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Iceland Photoblog

Join Dr. Sanjoy Som on a recollection of his field work in Iceland from this past June. Follow along on his SAGANet.org blog as he shares photos, memories, and strategies from exploring the basaltic rock systems in Iceland and discusses possible research applications for his collected data. [read the blog on SAGANet.org]

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Podcast: Are science appropriations appropriate?

Our “Beer with BMSIS” podcast for April features a conversation with our own Dr. Jeff Bowman titled “Dispatch from the AAAS-CAS workshop: How a bill becomes a law, what you can do about it, and are science appropriations appropriate?“. Science today is characterized by uncertain funding cycles that largely are dependent on government support, and many scientists–including professors at large state universities–will receive only partial salary at one (or many) points in their career due to a lack of available […]

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Updated Support Page

Our support page has been revamped! We can now accept credit card donations directly through our website with SSL security verified by Geotrust. Donations can be marked for a particular BMS initiative, and donors can also select the option to make monthly recurring payments. We have retained options for PayPayl and Dwolla, and we still have some minor design improvements to make to the page over the next few weeks. In the meantime, feel free to spread the word about […]

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Dr. Azua-Bustos Wins Chilean Scientific Photo Contest

The Chilean National Commission for Scientific Research and Technology (CONICYT) recently sponsored a photography contest, and our own Dr. Armando Azua-Bustos has won first place! The photo (above) was taken inside a cave of the Coastal Range of the Atacama. Here, Dr. Azua-Bustos and colleagues found a very primitive microalgae of the Cyanidium genus, which was able to photosynthesize with extremely low levels of light. This finding is of astrobiological interest because if photosynthetic life exists on Mars, then it […]

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Pubs: Habitable Zones & Planetary Mass

A new paper led by Dr. Ravi Kopparapu explores the liquid water habitable zone for terrestrial planets and how these limits change with planetary mass. Astronomers are currently interested in identifying extrasolar planets that may be habitable, and calculations such as those led by Dr. Kopparapu help to understand the range of planetary parameters that could retain such conditions. The paper is titled “Habitable zones around main-sequence stars: Dependence on planetary mass” and is available as a pre-print on arXiv.org. […]

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“Hijos de las Estrellas”

A new Documentary show titled “Hijos de las Estrellas” features BMSIS research scientist Dr. Armando Azua-Bustos as an interviewee. Providing an overview of contemporary planetary exploration. Dr. Azua-Bustos contributes to the discussion through a guided tour of his research of the Atacama Desert—which may hold some clues to undertsanding the environment of Mars and the role of water in life. The show will air soon on television in Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and other Latin American Countries, and you can stay […]

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Podcast: Mentoring & Developing a Culture of Scholarship that Matters

Our “Beer with BMSIS” podcast for March features a conversation with our own Dr. Emma Miller titled “Mentoring: Developing a Culture of Scholarship that Matters“. Success in school (and in life) requires teachers to guide us in our studies and career ambitions. Mentorship adds a dimension to these interactions by acknowledging the breadth of experiences in life that can positively and negatively affect our performance and well-being. Dr. Miller describes her experiences in developing mentorship programs to effectively engage students […]

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NAI Seminar with Dr. Mark Claire

Our own Dr. Mark Claire will be featured April 14th @ 11 AM (Pacific) on the NASA Astrobiology Institute’s NPP Alumni Seminar Series. Dr. Claire’s will discuss themes from his ongoing research in his talk titled, “Clues to Atmospheric Evolution in Earth’s Earliest Sediments”, where he explores the concentration of atmospheric oxygen through time. NAI NPP Alumni Seminar Series with Dr. Mark Claire April 14th @ 11:00 AM (Pacific) Join via Adobe Connect: https://connect.arc.nasa.gov/npp-alumni/

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