A serverless computing architecture for Martian aurora detection with the Emirates Mars Mission.

Remote sensing technologies are experiencing a surge in adoption for monitoring Earth's environment, demanding more efficient and scalable methods for image analysis. This paper presents a new approach for the Emirates Mars Mission (Hope probe); A serverless computing architecture designed to analyze images of Martian auroras, a key aspect in understanding the Martian atmosphere. Harnessing the power of OpenCV and machine learning algorithms, our architecture offers image classification, object detection, and segmentation in a swift and cost-effective manner.

Habitability Models for Astrobiology.

Habitability has been generally defined as the capability of an environment to support life. Ecologists have been using Habitat Suitability Models (HSMs) for more than four decades to study the habitability of Earth from local to global scales. Astrobiologists have been proposing different habitability models for some time, with little integration and consistency among them, being different in function to those used by ecologists.

Investigating the biological potential of galactic cosmic ray-induced radiation-driven chemical disequilibrium in the Martian subsurface environment.

There is growing evidence suggesting the presence of aqueous environment on ancient Mars, raising the question of the possibility of life in such an environment. Subsequently, with the erosion of the Martian atmosphere resulting in drastic changes in its climate, surface water disappeared, shrinking habitable spaces on the planet, with only a limited amount of water remaining near the surface in form of brines and water-ice deposits. Life, if it ever existed, would have had to adapt to harsh modern conditions, which includes low temperatures and surface pressure, and high radiation dose.

On the possibility of galactic cosmic ray-induced radiolysis-powered life in subsurface environments in the Universe.

Photosynthesis is a mechanism developed by terrestrial life to utilize the energy from photons of solar origin for biological use. Subsurface regions are isolated from the photosphere, and consequently are incapable of utilizing this energy. This opens up the opportunity for life to evolve alternative mechanisms for harvesting available energy.

Galactic cosmic ray-induced radiation dose on terrestrial exoplanets.

This past decade has seen tremendous advancements in the study of extrasolar planets. Observations are now made with increasing sophistication from both ground- and space-based instruments, and exoplanets are characterized with increasing precision. There is a class of particularly interesting exoplanets that reside in the habitable zone, which is defined as the area around a star where the planet is capable of supporting liquid water on its surface.