astrobiology

Unlike many proposals in the unavoidably speculative field of astrobiology, the Hycean hypothesis can be directly tested, and soon.

Though claims about the possible discovery didn’t pan out, the news helped to spotlight the planet as an overlooked astrobiology target.

At a time when astrobiology is obsessed with ocean worlds, the study puts the focus back on places like Mars that haven’t been submerged in global waters.

The designing and building of the current version of SHERLOC began in 2012, but Beegle traces the instrument’s origins back to a 1996 discovery that shook the nascent field of astrobiology.

She informed her ideas by spending time with scientists doing different kinds of research that fit under the umbrella of astrobiology.

The findings have been published in the journal Astrobiology.