Planetary science articles within Nature Communications

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  • Comment
    | Open Access

    A long-standing issue in astrobiology is whether planets orbiting the most abundant type of stars, M-dwarfs, can support liquid water and eventually life. A new study shows that subglacial melting may provide an answer, significantly extending the habitability region, in particular around M-dwarf stars, which are also the most promising for biosignature detection with the present and near-future technology.

    • Amri Wandel

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    The early Hadean eon (>4Ga) may have had a periodically ice-covered global ocean and limited subaerial landmass, and this could have resulted in infrequent lightning occurrence. This infrequency of lightning may have limited the synthesis of prebiotic compounds necessary for life’s origins. Here I present a hypothesis that lightning associated with volcanic island eruptions created focal points for the generation of prebiotic ingredients and ultimately the origin of life.

    • Jeffrey L. Bada

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Observations are reported of HClO3 and HClO4 in the atmosphere and their widespread occurrence over the pan-Arctic during spring, providing further insights into atmospheric chlorine cycling in the polar environment.

    • Yee Jun Tham
    • , Nina Sarnela
    •  & Alfonso Saiz-Lopez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Uracil was identified in the sample returned from the asteroid Ryugu. Having been provided to the early Earth as a component in such asteroidal materials, these molecules might have played a role for prebiotic chemical evolution on the early Earth

    • Yasuhiro Oba
    • , Toshiki Koga
    •  & Yuichi Tsuda

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Here the authors demonstrate that Hawaiian lavas are formed by partial melting of mantle peridotite with subsequent fractionation of clinopyroxene and garnet in the deep magma chamber (90 km) and reequilibration with harzburgite at a shallower depth (<60 km).

    • Junlong Yang
    • , Chao Wang
    •  & Zhenmin Jin

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission intentionally impacted the asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022, and this kinetic impact changed Dimorphos’ orbit around its binary companion Didymos. This first planetary defense test explored technological readiness for this method of asteroid deflection.

    • Andrew S. Rivkin
    •  & Andrew F. Cheng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Heterogeneous shock impedances of planetary materials cause abrupt changes of ejection angles, forming non-radial ejecta. Interpretations for provenances of surface deposits and ages derived from crater counts are affected by such untrackable ejecta.

    • Rui Xu
    • , Zhiyong Xiao
    •  & Jun Cui

  • Comment
    | Open Access

    Searching for evidence of life on Mars is a major impetus for exploration. A new study published in Nature Communications finds that current Mars mission instruments lack the essential sensitivity to identify life traces in Chilean desert samples that strongly resemble the martian area currently under study by NASA’s Perseverance rover.

    • Carol R. Stoker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Rapid compression experiments on quartz provide evidence for a metastable high-pressure phase with rosiaite structure. The phase forms as lamellae and breaks down to glass during decompression. These discoveries may solve the enigma of lamellar amorphization of quartz during impact events.

    • Christoph Otzen
    • , Hanns-Peter Liermann
    •  & Falko Langenhorst

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electrohydrodynamic features of dust storm turbulence have puzzled scientists for over a hundred years. Here, the authors reveal the characteristics of the multifield spectra in dust storms using a combined observational and theoretical approach.

    • Huan Zhang
    •  & You-He Zhou

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How complex organics form in a prebiotic world remains a missing key to establish where life emerged. The authors present a road to abiotic organic synthesis and diversification in hydrothermal contexts involving magmatism and rock hydration.

    • Muriel Andreani
    • , Gilles Montagnac
    •  & Bénédicte Ménez

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors show that the Martian crust, ~4300 km from the InSight landing site, has a subsurface interface similar to that beneath the lander, suggesting it is a regional or global feature that may be related to the closure of pore spaces at depth.

    • Jiaqi Li
    • , Caroline Beghein
    •  & W. Bruce Banerdt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Dust devils are common on Mars and understanding their dynamics is important to gain insights about the meteorology of the planet. Here, the authors show characteristics of a Martian dust devil and its sound from Perseverance rover multi-sensor data combined with modelling.

    • N. Murdoch
    • , A. E. Stott
    •  & D. Mimoun

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The simulation of slab buoyancy in 2-D models shows that Venus’ light slabs, due to a less eclogitized crust, experience more resistance to subduction. Thus, plate tectonics might have been more difficult to develop on Venus than on Earth.

    • Junxing Chen
    • , Hehe Jiang
    •  & Xu Chu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Liquid water is key for life as we know it. Here, the authors show even with a modest geothermal heat flow, subglacial oceans of liquid water can form at the base of and within the ice sheets on exo-Earths, which may provide habitable conditions for an extended period.

    • Lujendra Ojha
    • , Bryce Troncone
    •  & George McDonald

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hayabusa2 mission impact experiment on asteroid Ryugu formed a crater larger than expected. Here, the authors show numerical impact simulations and find that the target cohesion may be very low, indicating the Hayabusa2 impact experiment probably occurred in the transitional cratering regime.

    • Martin Jutzi
    • , Sabina D. Raducan
    •  & Masahiko Arakawa

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The authors report photolytic H atom transfer reactions of HOSO• in astronomical CO & CO2 ices, forming reactive acyl radicals & molecular complexes with SO & SO2. Connecting the photochemistry of S oxides & C oxides in cold molecular clouds in the interstellar medium.

    • Xiaolong Li
    • , Bo Lu
    •  & Xiaoqing Zeng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electrification is a decarbonization strategy that has the potential to reduce pollutant emissions and improve air quality. Here the authors evaluate CO2 and air quality co-benefits of electrification scenarios in the United States and find that electrification can substantially lower CO2 and improve ozone and fine particulate matter regionally.

    • John E. T. Bistline
    • , Geoffrey Blanford
    •  & Greg Yarwood

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Combining 13 years of satellite measurements led to the discovery of 300 global hotspots of atmospheric ethylene (C2H4). They are found to be linked to heavy industries and megacities, and are currently misrepresented in emission inventories.

    • Bruno Franco
    • , Lieven Clarisse
    •  & Pierre-François Coheur

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Distinguishing biotic compounds from abiotic ones is critical to the search for life in the universe. Here, the authors demonstrate that the abiotic ethane has distinctively low 13C-13C abundances compared to biotic ethane.

    • Koudai Taguchi
    • , Alexis Gilbert
    •  & Yuichiro Ueno

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lunar soils returned by China’s Chang’E−5 (CE5) mission record the unique information of solar wind essential to understanding the preservation and distribution of lunar surficial water. Here the authors report abundant water formed by solar wind implantation in minerals of CE5 lunar soils; the water content in CE5 lunar soils is estimated to be ~ 170 ppm.

    • Chuanjiao Zhou
    • , Hong Tang
    •  & Yuanyun Wen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Phosphate is critical for all life on Earth but its origins have remained enigmatic. Experiments indicate that phosphate may have been abundant in ancient Fe-rich seawater, providing a crucial ingredient for the origins of life on Earth.

    • Matthew P. Brady
    • , Rosalie Tostevin
    •  & Nicholas J. Tosca

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Juno spacecraft experienced unknown accelerations near the closest approach to Jupiter. Here, the authors show that Jupiter’s axially symmetric, north-south asymmetric gravity field measured by Juno is perturbed by a time-variable component, associated to internal oscillations.

    • Daniele Durante
    • , Tristan Guillot
    •  & Scott J. Bolton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Large impacts can create deep lying porosity far away from the crater. This result explains GRAIL’s findings and suggests impacts could support widespread fluid circulation, which has implications for habitable environments on early Earth and Mars.

    • Sean E. Wiggins
    • , Brandon C. Johnson
    •  & Simone Marchi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    We show cryovolcanic eruptions released sufficient methane to source volatile products on Charon. Irradiated methane products are found on other Kuiper belt objects, so endogenically sourced volatiles could be important across the Kuiper belt.

    • Stephanie M. Menten
    • , Michael M. Sori
    •  & Ali M. Bramson

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Polysulfur compounds have been ascribed as the unknown near-UV absorbers in Venusian atmosphere and play a key role in the sulfur chemical cycle of this planet. Here, authors establish their production from (SO)2 on the grounds of quantifications of photochemical and thermal pathways involved in the sulfur chemical cycle of the planet.

    • Antonio Francés-Monerris
    • , Javier Carmona-García
    •  & Daniel Roca-Sanjuán

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