exoplanets

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Did Life on Earth Begin on Mars? Sample 25, Viking, and the Evidence We Left Behind

Perseverance sealed the strongest potential Martian biosignature yet inside Sample 25. Viking's 1976 results are being re-litigated. NASA's return architecture lost funding as the evidence strengthened. This report reconstructs the science, the institutional bottleneck, the 2028 propulsion test, and the larger possibility that Mars sits upstream of Earth's biology.

Published Aug 9, 2026 Article · related

Oxygen on Venus: The Discovery That Is Not Life, but Still Changes the Search

Scientists directly detected atomic oxygen in Venus’ atmosphere on both the day side and night side, but this is not breathable oxygen and it is not proof of life. The real story is more important than the headline: Venus shows how oxygen can appear through planetary chemistry, solar radiation, and atmospheric circulation without biology, which matters deeply for how we interpret future biosignatures on exoplanets.

Published May 21, 2026 Article · related

K2-18 b: The Planet That Shows How Close We Are to the Edge of Knowing

K2-18 b is not proof of alien life, but it may be one of the most important exoplanets ever studied because it shows how the search for life is shifting from imagination to contested atmospheric chemistry. JWST has detected methane and carbon dioxide in its atmosphere, while disputed DMS and DMDS claims show how difficult it will be to separate biology, chemistry, instrument noise, media hype, and human hope.

Published May 18, 2026