Interstellar Updates

 

These are items of interest to the interstellar exploration community that we’ve found in our quest for information that will help us advance toward our goals.  If you know of anything we’ve overlooked, or any sources of such information we should monitor, or if you would like to be added to our IRG-updates mailing list and receive these updates in you email every weekday, please send that information to info@irg.space.

You can now search our database of interstellar updates and find items of interest to you.

February 06, 2026 updates

Planetary analog sites in the Indian subcontinent and the Indian Ocean: Underexplored environments suited for astrobiological and space research
https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/10330/

Reproductive biomedicine in space: implications for gametogenesis, fertility and ethical considerations in the era of commercial spaceflight
https://www.rbmojournal.com/article/S1472-6483(25)00638-8/fulltext

Long-duration human spaceflight induces atrophy in the left ventricular papillary muscles
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-025-00531-7

WISE/CatWISE Constraints on Dysonian Waste-heat Technosignatures in Nearby Galaxies
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ae31e9

Toward Reliable Interpretations of Small-exoplanet Compositions: Comparisons and Considerations of Equations of State and Materials Used in Common Rocky Planet Models
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/PSJ/ae2ea2

Organic Acid Chemistry in ISM: Detection of Formic Acid and its Prebiotic Chemistry in Hot Core G358.93−0.03 MM1
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1674-4527/ae2f4b

Impact of magnetic field gradients on the development of the magneto-rotational instability: Applications to binary neutron star mergers and protoplanetary disks
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/02/aa55395-25/aa55395-25.html

High Pressure Formation of the Eight-Fold Coordinated Post-Post Spinel MgFe2O4
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL120161

SOLAR External: 2I/Borisov — Coherence Signature on SOLAR Baseline (CP364)
https://zenodo.org/records/18458621

The Discovery of Alien Life on an Interstellar Object and the Future of Humanity: A Study of Scientific, Philosophical, Political, and Civilizational Transformation.
https://zenodo.org/records/18496089

ALMA 873 µm Polarization Observations of the PDS 70 Disk
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05247

Habitability of Tidally Heated H2-Dominated Exomoons around Free-Floating Planets
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05378

The Effects of Non-ideal Mixing in Planetary Magma Oceans and Atmospheres
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.05917

The Effect of Tidal Heating and Volatile Budgets on the Outgassed Atmosphere of 55 Cancri e
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.23235

February 05, 2026 updates

Resolving the terrestrial planet-forming region of HD 172555 with ALMA: I. Post-impact dust distribution
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/02/aa57986-25/aa57986-25.html

New Observations and TTV Analyses of the Exoplanetary Systems WASP-36 and XO-3
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1674-4527/ae2f4d

Sundivers performance analysis with locally optimal control law
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027311772600164X

Facilities to detect and confirm transiting exoplanets
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/chapter/referencework/abs/pii/B978044321439400047X

Highlights from Exoplanet Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope
https://link.springer.com/rwe/10.1007/978-3-319-30648-3_216-1

Propulsion Trades for a 2035-2040 Solar Gravitational Lens Mission
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04198

A Two-Dimensional Analytic Solution for the Generation of Hyperbolic Trajectories Via A Single Close Encounter with Applications To Interstellar Objects
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04806

The EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope (EXCITE): A balloon-borne mission to measure spectroscopic phase curves of transiting hot Jupiters
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.04840

First Astrometric Limits on Binary Planets and Exomoons orbiting β Pictoris b
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.00160

February 04, 2026 updates

Faster than Light Travel at Last? (via Metric Engineering of the Soliton Displacement Field: Theoretical Propulsion Frameworks for the Pathfinder Mark V-B), No Exotic Matter Required
https://rxiverse.org/abs/2601.0048

Hybrid Linear–Cyclic Topological Structures for Digital Sequence Encoding and Technosignature Analysis
https://zenodo.org/records/18473473

Reproductive biomedicine in space: implications for gametogenesis, fertility and ethical considerations in the era of commercial spaceflight
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1472648325006388

ExoplaNeT accRetion mOnitoring sPectroscopic surveY (ENTROPY): II. Time series of Balmer line profiles of Delorme 1(AB)b
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/02/aa54644-25/aa54644-25.html

SPHEREx Reobservation of Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS in 2025 December: Detection of Increased Post-perihelion Activity, Refractory Coma Dust, and New Coma Gas Species
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ae3f95

Earth-Cosmos Binary
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S001632872600025X

Visual inspection of potential exocomet transits identified through machine learning and statistical methods
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02701

Imaging Venus-like Worlds: Spectral, Polarimetric, and UV Diagnostics for the Habitable Worlds Observatory
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02728

Ultra-hot Jupiter atmospheres at high spectral resolution
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02845

ExoDNN: Boosting exoplanet detection with artificial intelligence. Application to Gaia Data Release 3
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02910

The ESO SupJup Survey IX: Isotopic evidence of a recent formation for Luhman 16AB
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.03409

Atmospheric characterization of HIP 67522 b with VLT/CRIRES+. VLT/CRIRES+ suggests a heavier planet and hints at deuterium fractionation
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.03498

Architectures of Planetary Systems II: Trends with Host Star Mass and Metallicity
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.03657

Probing Atmospheric Escape Through the Near-Infrared Helium Triplet
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.03667

Observational imprints of tidal internal gravity wave dissipation in star-planet systems
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.03723

Mapping the Orbital Landscape of Perturbing Planet Solutions for Single-Planet Systems with TTVs
https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.10493

February 03, 2026 updates

Applying Novel Techniques from Physical and Biological Sciences to Life Detection
https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/space.0040

Introduction to the Life Detection Knowledge Base Project
https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/space.0040

Groundwork for Life Detection
https://baas.aas.org/pub/2021n4i202/release/1

Carbonaceous Cosmic Dust Analogs Distinguish between Ion Bombardment and Temperature
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/ae2bfe

Protein nano-bioactives against microgravity-induced endothelial dysfunction
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41526-025-00554-0

Detecting and Characterizing Companions with a Calibrated Gaia DR2, DR3, and Hipparcos Catalog (G23H)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00235

Dynamical Interactions and Habitability in the TOI-700 Multi-Planet System
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.00235

Modeling the Dynamics and Thermochemistry for the Outer Atmospheres of the Ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.01364

Chasing the Tides: Searching for Orbital Decay Signatures in Transit Timing Data and Tidal Models for 20 Hot Jupiters
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.01446

exoALMA XIX: Confirmation of Non-thermal Line Broadening in the DM Tau Protoplanetary Disk
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.01620

A whole-planet model of the Earth without life for terrestrial exoplanet studies
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02267

Helium escape in context: Comparative signatures of four close-in exoplanets
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02289

What to make of the Earth’s curiously intermediate land fraction?
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02392

A parametric model for externally irradiated protoplanetary disks with photoevaporative winds
https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.02011

Classification and Nomenclature of Planets in the Mass-Radius Plane
https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.16063

SPHEREx Reobservation of Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS in 2025 December: Detection of Increased Post-perihelion Activity, Refractory Coma Dust, and New Coma Gas Species
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/2515-5172/ae3f95

Relativistic Limits of Spaceflight
https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/5.9781563479953.0455.0470

Twelve-Day Space Station Isolation Simulation: The Effect of Virtual Nature Therapy on Depression in an Isolated, Enclosed Environment
https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/space.0361

Developing Explainable Artificial Intelligence Models for Space Science Applications
https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/space.0255

Distinguishing Biotic vs. Abiotic Origins of ‘Bio’signatures: Clues from Messy Prebiotic Chemistry for Detection of Life in the Universe
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1729/13/3/766

Solar Sail Transfers under Uncertainties: A Deep Reinforcement Learning Approach
https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/space.0297

H-SPAR DB: human spaceflight platform for analysis and research—an integrative omics database for space health
https://academic.oup.com/database/article/doi/10.1093/database/baaf083/8426099

Setting a polyphasic approach to study Antarctic cryptoendolithic communities as a toolkit for astrobiology
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-astrobiology/article/setting-a-polyphasic-approach-to-study-antarctic-cryptoendolithic-communities-as-a-toolkit-for-astrobiology/55E114A9FF65B22C11534B3FC26CA1BE

Navigating life in the extremes: a bibliometric exploration of extremophiles and astrobiology
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/international-journal-of-astrobiology/article/navigating-life-in-the-extremes-a-bibliometric-exploration-of-extremophiles-and-astrobiology/D50EAEA3D9366BA14492E8A9ACBA8F85

On astrotheology as natural theology
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/religious-studies/article/on-astrotheology-as-natural-theology/4690EB2A9D4D611926DA2DD2BA1397E7

AI and Social IoT for Autonomous Space Missions and Exoplanet Discovery
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-032-10122-8_14

The Design of a Bioinspired Integrated Total Habitability Instrument for Planetary Exploration: A Review of Potential Sensing Technologies
https://www.mdpi.com/2313-7673/10/11/742

Sustainable Water Systems in Space: A Review of Current Technologies and Future Prospects
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025WR041273

Mineral Weathering Experiments for Terrestrial Planetary Analogs in a Continuous-Flow Reactor
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025JE009384

Exoplanet Metallicity as a Probe of Nuclear Astrophysics
https://sympnp.org/proceedings/69/C33.pdf

PLANETARY SCIENCE THEORIES AND OBSERVATIONS – Exoplanetary system and exoplanet
https://zenodo.org/records/18458701

Exploring student attitudes in astrobiology laboratory sessions within an astronomical observatory: A questionnaire-based study
https://zenodo.org/records/18453425

Coherent Biology: Life in Electromagnetic and Plasma-Structured Environments
https://zenodo.org/records/18217838

Coherent Plasma Biology: Life, Nervous Systems, and Resonant Stability in Field-Defined Habitats
https://zenodo.org/records/18217818

Subtractive Metacryptography: Communication by Thermodynamics of Carrier Modulation
https://zenodo.org/records/18226925

February 02, 2026 updates

Philosophical Approach to CETI: Developing a Conceptual Framework Based on Umwelt Theory
https://www.academia.edu/128111921/A_Philosophical_Approach_to_CETI_Developing_a_Conceptual_Framework_Based_on_Umwelt_Theory

Astrochemistry: The building blocks of life in the universe
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214552426000234

On the rarity of rocket-driven Penrose extraction in Kerr spacetime
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.19616

The Inward Transition: Computational Optimization and the Fermi Paradox
https://www.academia.edu/146191620/The_Inward_Transition_Computational_Optimization_and_the_Fermi_Paradox

Warps survive beyond fly-by encounters in protoplanetary disks. RW Aur A as a case study
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22223

The SPIRou Legacy Survey: Detection of a nearby world orbiting in the habitable zone of Gl725B achieved by correcting strong telluric contamination in near-infrared radial velocities with WAPITI
https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.22815

How internal structure shapes the metallicity of giant exoplanets
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/02/aa57645-25/aa57645-25.html

A transiting hot Jupiter with two outer siblings orbiting an intermediate-mass post-main-sequence star
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/02/aa57200-25/aa57200-25.html