Alex Pontefract

What an incredible place for an Astrobiology meeting. Loving the #BEACON2025 conference here in Reykjavik.

02.07.2025 15:16 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

THIS!!! ⬇️

17.04.2025 12:33 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Community need for an Astrobiology Sample Repository and Sample Reference Suite As we prepare for the next planetary mission charged with finding life beyond Earth, the Astrobiology community must continue to improve its understanding of what constitutes a biosignature, through t...

How can we change the paradigm of Astrobiology research? Check out our NASA DARES white paper on the need for a community sample repository, and sample reference suite: arxiv.org/abs/2504.03813

10.04.2025 15:20 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Thank you. This.

11.03.2025 17:34 — 👍 1    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

That has started happening to me frequently. I actually sent an angry response once when I got an invite Friday afternoon, and a guilt-trip email Monday morning.

03.03.2025 15:33 — 👍 3    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

Firings are happening right now at the National Science Foundation. Essential staff are being cut.

This isn’t about the budget. If it was, they’d be going after the military (17%) or state appropriations (38%). NSF is 0.7% of the federal budget. All federal employees make up only 4% of the budget.

18.02.2025 17:45 — 👍 4205    🔁 1612    💬 96    📌 53

A Dragonfly for Titan - Eos A new eight-rotor robotic probe will head to the solar system’s most Earth-like moon. Here’s what its team is doing to prepare.

Scientists are preparing to launch a drone to Saturn’s largest moon.

Story by @bowlerhatscience.org

eos.org/features/a-d...

14.02.2025 16:14 — 👍 41    🔁 21    💬 0    📌 8

Spent a beautiful week up at the Basque Lakes, where I've had the privilege to study some really cool hypersaline lakes for the past several years. Always a joy to get up here, with some awesome people. #saltygoodness #astrobiology

11.01.2025 14:13 — 👍 2    🔁 1    💬 0    📌 0

Science and PUPPIES!!! #AGU24 #parkersolarpuppies

11.12.2024 18:29 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

I'll be in DC this week at #AGU. If you'd like to talk to me about my research, or about Astrobiology @jhuapl.bsky.social, come find me at the APL booth (#923, look for the awesome full-scale model of Parker Solar Probe!).

I'll also be giving a poster on Friday morning, B51L-1661. #saltygoodness

10.12.2024 02:11 — 👍 0    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Dragonfly Mission - NASA NASA has selected SpaceX to provide launch services for the Dragonfly mission, a rotorcraft lander mission under NASA’s New Frontiers Program, designed to

We have a launch vehicle!! Dragonfly will be riding a Falcon Heavy 😃 🚀#Dragonfly #APL #NASA
www.nasa.gov/news-release....

26.11.2024 14:42 — 👍 2    🔁 0    💬 0    📌 0