Blue Marble Space Institute of Science

While Livingstone's legacy is complex, reflecting the contradictions of 19th-century exploration and colonialism, his documentation of Victoria Falls introduced the world to one of nature's most spectacular wonders. The statue stands near falls that local peoples had known and revered for millennia

Livingstone's explorations of central and southern Africa, driven by his mission to end the slave trade, brought European attention to the continent's interior.

This monument honors the Scottish explorer and missionary who became the first European to document Victoria Falls in 1855, naming it after Queen Victoria.

The statue of Dr. David Livingstone at Victoria Falls in Zambia was #EarthFlagged!

Photo by Misheck Mutuzana

Feedback on Astrobiology Workforce Development Tools, Resources, and Opportunities The purpose of this form is to assess how well important tools, resources, and opportunities for career development are advertised in and used amongst the astrobiology community. Feedback shared here…

The NASA DARES Task Force 2 is seeking input from those currently pursuing careers in astrobiology regarding the question: "What tools, resources, and opportunities have impacted your astrobiology career so far?"

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The Space Needle in Seattle was #EarthFlagged!

Photo by Sanjoy Som.

EarthFlagged at the Kāpehu Whetū — Tauranga's Celestial Compass - Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Standing in a flat green field near the harbor at Sulphur Point in Tauranga, Aotearoa, New Zealand, a ring of white wooden posts reaches toward the sky. At first glance, the installation might seem…

The Kāpehu Whetū — Tauranga's Celestial Compass at Sulphur Point, Aotearoa New Zealand — was #EarthFlagged!

Read more: bmsis.org/earthflagged...

📸 Sanjoy Som

The Roman Bridge in Cangas de Onís was #EarthFlagged!

Photo by Abigail Calzada

The story of the first telephone call – nine words that changed the world Alexander Graham Bell was not the only person trying to invent the telephone. But 150 years ago, he won the race – just – and the rest is history.

150 years ago today, Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call.

theconversation.com/the-story-of...

Volcanic Brimstone at Kawah Ijen Harvesting of sulfur at Kawah Ijen volcano, where the yellow mineral melts to red and burns in blue

From BMSIS scientist, Dr. Graham Lau, an exploration of the coloration of sulfur minerals at Kawah Ijen volcano.

cosmobiota.substack.com/p/volcanic-b...

Stormy space weather may be garbling messages from aliens, new research suggests Researchers who listen for signs of non-human life say signals ‘can slip below detection thresholds, even if it’s there’

Some more reporting on the study released last week from Dr. Vishal Gajjar and colleagues, which they also shared during the IAU symposium on "Advancing the Search for Technosignatures" hosted by Blue Marble Space.

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

The Rock of Raouché in Beirut was #EarthFlagged!

Photo by Alex Karl.

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur were #EarthFlagged!

Photo by Andrea Boyd

The Tunguska Event Learn more about the Tunguska event in 1908, a highly destructive asteroid explosion that occurred in a remote area of Siberia

An explainer article on the Tunguska Event

www.rmg.co.uk/stories/spac...

Spacecraft's impact changed asteroid's orbit around the sun in a save-the-Earth test, study finds A new study has found that an asteroid NASA used for target practice a few years ago was nudged into a slightly different route around the sun.

An update on how the DART mission deflected the orbit of Dimorphos and Didymos around the Sun.

apnews.com/article/aste...

The Paul-Henri Spaak Building in Brussels was #EarthFlagged!

Photo by Rachel Drummond.

The NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling) deep ice core drilling site was #EarthFlagged!

Photo by Kristin Poinar.

Why SETI Might Have Been Missing Alien Signals Turbulent plasma near distant stars could blur ultra-narrow signals before they leave their home star systems, making them difficult to detect.

The IAU symposium on Advancing the Search for Technosignatures continues, and the hits keep rolling!

Symposium speaker Dr. Vishal Gajjar and colleagues have a new paper out on how ultra-narrow signals may be difficult to detect due to stellar plasma sources.

www.seti.org/news/why-set...

The National Mall in Washington, D.C. was #EarthFlagged!

Photo by Mark Claire.

This meme brought to you by @astrojaket.bsky.social #astrobiology #technosignatures #IAUS404 #SETI @bluemarblespace.bsky.social

“Radical mundanity” could explain why we haven’t met aliens – Sciworthy An astronomer recently argued that if aliens are similar to humans, they may face logistical limitations that prevent them from contacting Earth.

In response to the question, “Where are all the aliens?”, one astronomer argued that, if they are similar to humans, they may have faced logistical limitations long ago that prevented them from contacting Earth.

sciworthy.com/radical-mund...

Terraforming Earth - Blue Marble Space Institute of Science By Dr. Graham Lau, Senior Research Investigator at BMSISOriginally published at The Cosmobiologist (shared here with minor edits) The concept of terraforming has been a mainstay in sci-fi and the…

BMSIS scientist, Dr. Graham Lau, argues that the future of our world must include planetary scale geoengineering in the most recent piece in the News and Views section of the BMSIS website.

bmsis.org/terraforming...

Are aliens receiving radio signals from Earth? – Sciworthy Scientists calculated the maximum distance at which extraterrestrials could detect radio signals from Earth.

Scientists calculated the maximum distance at which extraterrestrials with modern human-level technology could detect radio signals from Earth.

Ask the question "Are aliens receiving radio signals from Earth?" with reporting from Ben Pauley and Sciworthy.

sciworthy.com/are-aliens-r...

These gases could signify intelligent life beyond Earth – Sciworthy Astronomers proposed new industrial gases that could provide measurable signs of advanced technology on distant exoplanets.

Sciworthy has covered research from Sara Seager, the first keynote speaker in this week's IAUS404 symposium!

sciworthy.com/these-gases-...

Sorry that you didn't make it in under the wire. We're recording everything and will eventually release public videos from the talks as well as symposium proceedings.

BMSIS scientist, Dr. Carl Pilcher, will be among this fantastic line-up of speakers for the Evolution, Mind, Embodiment, and the Environment meet at Dharma College on 27 March!

Learn more and join here: conference.bioneers.org

We have officially launched the applications for the 2026 BMSIS Young Scientist Program!

Learn more and view our available projects for this year here:
bmsis.org/ysp/projects/

Hidden bacteria dominate Earth’s deep soils - Blue Marble Space Institute of Science Scientists showed that an understudied bacterium is widespread in deep soils worldwide and adapted to life with very little energy. Written By Arda Sems and originally published on Sciworthy Deep…

New research reveals that a largely unknown group of bacteria — the CSP1-3 phylum — dominates Earth's deep soils, sometimes comprising over 60% of microbial life at depths exceeding 17 meters.

bmsis.org/hidden-bacte...

Mystery of snowman-shaped space objects cracked Research adds weight to theory Arrokoth’s two lobes produced by gravitational collapse – and reveals process

Researchers at Michigan State University found that gravitational collapse within ancient pebble clouds could cause two small planetesimals to gently spiral together and merge, forming a double-lobed "contact binary" like Arrokoth.

www.theguardian.com/science/2026...

NASA is offering an in-person summer internship opportunity at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., for students interested in advancing open science and evaluating its impact on research and discovery.

stemgateway.nasa.gov/s/course-off...