A team of space scientists at NASA has published a Perspective piece in the journal Nature calling for the establishment of a methodical approach to identifying life beyond Earth. In their paper, the group suggests the space science community begin using a "confidence of life detection" (CoLD) scale, similar in some respects to others used in the science community, such as the TRL scale NASA uses to chart the readiness of new technology to be used on missions.

Noting that science, technology and space exploration efforts have led humanity to the point that it might be possible to find evidence of life on Mars or elsewhere—and further noting that in the past, discoveries surrounding the possibility of life in other places, most often on Mars, has led to widespread speculation and often criticism of those reporting the evidence—the authors suggest a new approach may be needed. They suggest the adoption of the CoLD scale and outline its seven levels.

The first level would be assigned if detection of a biosignature suggested life might have been found. That would kick off the second level, which would involve ruling out other factors such as contamination.

This mockup of ESA's European Lunar Logistics Lander (EL3) is currently on display at the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai.

The versatile EL3 will be used to land cargo on the lunar surface in support of crewed expeditions as well as to host science payloads, potentially enabling sample returns as well.

This EL3 Landing and Descent Element mockup was created for ESA by startup Spartan Space in France. In practice this segment will be attached to a payload-hauling Cargo Platform Element, the subject of a study by ESA's Concurrent Design Facility (CDF).

There are lots of potential uses for a Mars colony. It could be a research outpost, mining colony, or even a possible second home if something happens to go drastically wrong on our first one. But it could also be a potential source of what is sure to be one of the most valuable elements in the space economy—hydrogen.

A new paper from Dr. Mikhail Shubov at the University of Massachusetts Lowell discusses just such an eventuality. Hydrogen is useful in myriad applications. From creating water to exploding as rocket fuel, the most abundant element in the universe sure has many uses. The problem is it's relatively hard to get access to in the broader solar system.

There is plenty of it in Jupiter or even the sun, but extracting the material from those enormous gravity wells is not particularly cost-effective. Smaller orbital bodies, such as asteroids, have some water that could be used as a hydrogen source, but they are not large enough to provide all of the solar system's needs.