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Water is one of the simplest molecules, composed of one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, and can be found in all celestial bodies of the solar system. However, water is only useful for life in a liquid state, and extraterrestrial water is commonly found as water vapor or ice. Liquid water also has several properties that are beneficial for lifeforms.
Human explorers may be potential carriers back to Earth of microorganisms acquired on Mars, if such microorganisms exist. [45] Another issue is the contamination of the water supply by Earth microorganisms shed by humans in their stools, skin and breath, which could have a direct effect on the long-term human colonization of Mars. [8]
The immediate needs for breathable air and drinkable water are addressed by a life support system, a group of devices that allow human beings to survive in outer space. [15] The life support system supplies air, water and food. It must also maintain temperature and pressure within acceptable limits and deal with the body's waste products ...
Such a situation can be expected on water-rich planets located too far from their star to allow surface liquid water, but on which subsurface water is in liquid form because of the geothermal heat. Two examples of such an environment are Europa and Enceladus. In such worlds, not only is light not available as an energy source, but the organic ...
The bright colors of Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park, are produced by thermophiles, a type of extremophile.. An extremophile (from Latin extremus 'extreme' and Ancient Greek φιλία (philía) 'love') is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e., environments with conditions approaching or stretching the limits of what known ...
Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to make a landmark discovery of water vapor in the atmosphere of a planet just twice Earth’s diameter in size.
NASA says its scientists found that water on Jupiter-family Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko, the first comet to be orbited and landed upon by robotic spacecraft from Earth, had a similar ...
Surface planetary habitability is thought to require an orbit at the right distance from the host star for liquid surface water to be present, in addition to various geophysical and geodynamical aspects, atmospheric density, radiation type and intensity, and the host star's plasma environment. [2]