Middle East war shows 'Europe must reinforce its autonomy', EIB chief tells Euronews

By Eleonora Vasques

Published on 04/03/2026 - EURONEWS

European Investment Bank chief Calviño tells Euronews a world in disarray means Europe 'must enforce its strategic autonomy' faster. Europeans worry new energy shock stemming from the war in Iran could rattle industry again.

Global uncertainty as the war in the Middle East escalates means Europe "must reinforce its strategic autonomy" from to energy to defense, according to Nadia Calviño, president of the European Investment Bank, who urged lawmakers to go faster and be bolder.

"These tensions are obviously not conducive to a framework of stability, peace and investment," she told Euronews' flagship morning show Europe Today. "The current escalation makes it more urgent than ever for Europe to reinforce its autonomy."

As Europe looks to re-arm by 2030, the EIB has emerged as a catalyst for defence spending and projects, and is facing pressure to become the equivalent of a European bank for defence stepping way from its traditional mandate.

The EIB spent 5% of its overall budget on defence, or roughly €4 billion. Still, under its current mandate, the bank is banned from investing directly in weapons or ammunition, but is allowed to finance so-called "dual use" equipment, like drones and helicopters.

While not directly involved in the US-Israeli military operation against Iran, the war comes with strings attached for Europe too, as the global energy market is rattled by Iranian strikes on the Gulf countries. This week alone, European benchmark gas prices jumped 80% in two days while brent crude edged closer to 84 dollars a barrel.

For Europe, energy has become its Achilles heel since the sudden rupture of cheap Russian gas flows after its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, the EU has sought to diversify suppliers from the United States, the Gulf and third countries like Azerbaijan.

Calviño said the difficult lessons from the war in Ukraine mean European companies have built alternative resources, but acknowledged it has been a drag on competitiveness compared to other regions like the US and China, which have access to cheaper energy and lower production costs associated to power supplies.

"European companies have shown they can adjust and can be flexible in changing conditions. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Europe has become much more resilient. I am confident we can tackle this crisis too," she added.

Asked about a diplomatic clash between the US and Spain following President Donald Trump's call to impose a trade embargo on Madrid, Calviño, who served as economy minister and was a vice-president under the government of Pedro Sánchez, said she hopes for de-escalation but insisted that respecting international law is critical.

"Europe speaks with one voice in this area (trade) and we are united. We all benefit from respecting international law and contributing to global peace," she added.

"The European Union is a force for good and win-win partnerships. I am sure we will continue to try to de-escalate," she told Euronews.

On Wednesday during a speech at the annual European Investment Bank forum, Calviño said Europe has emerged as a "sanctuary" for science and rule of law.

 

Spiders are ‘fundamental’ for planetary health – so why are they forgotten in conservation efforts?

Copyright Canva

By Angela Symons

Published on 03/03/2026 - EURONEWS

Almost 90% of insects and arachnids lack conservation status in the US, a new study reveals.

Creepy crawlies are vital to the health of our planet – but gaining support for them isn’t always easy.

Insects and arachnids – spiders, scorpions and harvestmen (daddy long legs) – “don’t usually get the same attention” as “popular charismatic animals like lions and pandas”, says Laura Figueroa, assistant professor of environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the US.

Back in 2017, it felt like this was beginning to shift. A study published in science journal PLOS One revealed a 75 per cent decline in flying insect biomass over a 27-year period across 63 nature reserves in Germany.

News of a pending ‘insect apocalypse’ made headlines around the world, triggering a wave of similar studies and giving momentum to insect monitoring programmes and protection initiatives.

But almost a decade on, has it made a difference?

Building on the global alarm raised by these declines, Figueroa and her graduate student, Wes Walsh, sought to investigate the state of insects and arachnids in North America – with worrying results.

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‘We simply have no idea how they are doing’

The pair gathered conservation assessments for the 99,312 known insect and arachnid species in North America, north of Mexico.

They were astounded at the lack of information available.

“Almost 90 per cent – 88.5 per cent to be precise – of insect and arachnid species have no conservation status,” says Figueroa, the senior author of a paper published on 2 March in science journal PNAS.

“We simply have no idea how they are doing. Almost nothing is known about the conservation needs of most insects and arachnids in North America.”

Among the few protections that are in place, butterflies and dragonflies receive a disproportionate share, along with aquatic species important for monitoring water quality, such as mayflies, stoneflies and caddisflies.

“Arachnids, in particular, are really missing from conservation; most states don’t even protect a single species,” says Walsh, the paper’s lead author.

The researchers also found that states reliant on extractive industries like mining and fossil fuels were less likely to protect either insects or arachnids.

Why are spiders important?

Spiders are often demonised as predators but only a tiny fraction of species are actually dangerous to humans – around 25-30 out of over 50,000 – and even fewer regularly cause serious harm

Their predatory skills, however, are invaluable for controlling insect populations. They keep flies, mosquitoes, aphids and other agricultural pests in check.

As prey themselves, they provide a vital food source for birds, lizards and other predators, sending energy up the food chain.

Their presence, or lack thereof, is also a key early indicator of ecosystem health – and without them, the resulting imbalance could have disastrous cascading effects. Pest populations could explode, crops could suffer, and entire ecosystems might destabilise.

“Insects and arachnids are fundamental for human society,” says Laura Figueroa, assistant professor of environmental conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the US.

“They help with pollination and biological control of pests; they can serve as monitors of air and water quality, and they have worked their way deeply into many cultures throughout the world.”

“Insects and arachnids are more than objects of fear,” says Walsh, who has a tattoo of a spider on his arm. “We need to appreciate them for their ecological importance, and that begins with collecting more data and considering them worthy of conservation.”

Can insects benefit from lessons in bird conservation?

Currently, protections for insects and arachnids are fragmented, varying widely across different the US – and seemingly influenced by local industry.

Looking to the success of bird conservation, Figueroa notes the importance of unity.

“The research shows that you get the best conservation efforts when broad, diverse coalitions come together,” she says. “In the case of birds, it was hunters, bird watchers, nonprofit organisations and many other constituencies who banded together to reach a common goal.”

 

The cult of Mithras: Archaeologists find signs of ancient men-only mysterious religion in Germany

Copyright ARCTEAM GmbH, Regensburg

By Nela Heidner & Tokunbo Salako

Published on 04/03/2026 - EURONEWS

German archaeologists have discovered new insights into Bavaria's Roman past from an ancient buried temple where Roman legionaries once worshipped the sun god Mithras.

During recent excavations in Regensburg’s old town, German archaeologists uncovered a temple dedicated to the god Mithras

Because the building was originally constructed in wood, only a few structural remains have survived. Finds such as an inscribed votive stone and fragments of metal votive plaques, however, clearly point to its use as a place of worship.

Further evidence of the still enigmatic Mithras cult includes shards of a ceramic vessel decorated with snakes, incense chalices and handled jugs. Experts assume that ritual banquets were an integral part of the cult of Mithras.

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Coins, including specimens from the reign of Emperor Hadrian (AD 117–138), make it possible to date the temple to between AD 80 and 171. This makes it the oldest of the nine Mithraea so far known in the Roman province of Raetia, in what is now Bavaria.

Raetia, a Roman province in central Europe that existed roughly from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD, encompassed parts of what is now southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria and northern Italy.

The cult of Mithras, or Mithraism, was a mysterious religion. It was particularly widespread in military and commercial centres, and Roman legionaries were often among its followers. Only men were admitted. A local community typically consisted of around 15 to 40 members.

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In ancient Persia, Mithras was called "Mitra" and was a god of covenants, loyalty and justice. The Romans turned him into a sun god. The Roman Mithras cult adopted many elements from Persian mythology, but also developed its own fundamental rituals and symbols. The motif of the "tauroctony" (from Latin taurus, bull) became central: Mithras kills the bull as an act of cosmic renewal.

The Romans had a graded system of initiation, with seven levels known to us: Corax (raven), Nymphus (bridegroom), Miles (soldier), Leo (lion), Perses (Persian), Heliodromus (sun-runner) and Pater (father), each with its own symbols, rituals and presumably tests or ordeals.

With the spread of Christianity, the secret cult disappeared.

Only now has the significance of the discovery become clear

The finds were made in the run-up to a construction project. In cities with a long history such as Regensburg, archaeologists must first be brought in before new buildings can be erected. Specialists actually made the discovery back in 2023, but only now, after intensive investigations, has its full significance become clear.

Like other Mithras temples, this roughly seven-metre-long timber structure was designed as an elongated building and partially sunk into the ground. Followers of the mystery cult probably descended via a ramp into the sanctuary.

Fragment of a votive stone with inscription; the text can no longer be deciphered. Credit: Museen der Stadt Regensburg

In the middle there was a trench-like depression, while raised platforms were built along the sides on which the faithful could sit or recline. Mithras temples were modelled on caves in their design, because one of the central motifs of the mythology is Mithras killing a bull in a cave, explained Stefan Reuter to Bavarian public broadcaster B after he analysed the finds

The temple was once illuminated by candles and oil lamps. The ceramic vessels and handled jugs that have been found suggest there were extensive ritual feasts. Analysis of the food containers is still under way. It already appears certain that high-quality food was consumed.

The finds from the temple are to be put on display at Regensburg’s Historical Museum, which is currently redesigning its Roman galleries. In the new exhibition, the Mithras sanctuary will play a prominent role.

 

South Korean stocks suffer worst day on record amid Iran war shocks

Copyright AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

By Quirino Mealha with AP

Published on 04/03/2026 -  EURONEWS

Asian markets suffered heavy losses on Wednesday, with South Korea’s main index (Kospi) plunging more than 12%, recording its worst single-day decline in history as the widening conflict in Iran continues to disrupt global markets.

The Kospi in Seoul closed down 12.1% at 5,093.54, triggering a temporary trading halt.

A circuit breaker was also activated on the tech-heavy Kosdaq which saw an even bigger drop of 14%.

Shares in Samsung Electronics fell 11.7% and the semiconductor supplier SK Hynix lost 9.6%, as investor optimism about AI demand for semiconductors was overwhelmed by concerns over energy security.

South Korea, which imports virtually all its crude oil and sources from the Middle East, was one of the world’s best-performing stock markets earlier this year but is now particularly exposed to the interruption in maritime trade caused by the Iran conflict.

The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a major flashpoint. About 20 million barrels pass through it per day, mainly to energy-hungry economies in Asia including South Korea, Japan, China and India, which account for roughly 75% of the oil flows via the chokepoint, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Oil prices continued to rise, though gains moderated after President Trump announced measures to safeguard shipping.

At the time of writing, US benchmark crude is trading at $77 per barrel, while international Brent crude is above $84, the highest price since 2024. Both contracts have surged roughly 15% since the start of the week and markets remain highly volatile.

In a post shared by the White House on X, President Trump stated he ordered the US Development Finance Corporation to offer political risk insurance and guarantees for maritime trade.

President Trump announcing maritime security measures

“If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible,” President Trump added.

Nonetheless, analysts cautioned that the steps would only partly ease risks.

Higher insurance costs alone could add between $5 and $15 per barrel, with the “war premium” likely to remain in place amid ongoing attacks.

Asian markets slump

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 also dropped 3.9% but has since pared most of the intraday decline. However, the index is down more than 6% this week.

Japan, similar to South Korea and Taiwan, depends heavily on oil and natural gas imports from the Gulf region.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 2% to 25,249.48, while the Shanghai Composite lost around 1% closing at 4,082.47.

Taiwan’s Taiex also shed 4.4% to 32,829.

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Francis Lun, chief executive of Venturesmart Asia, a Hong Kong-based financial services company, described the situation as increasingly serious.

“I think the Iran situation is getting out of hand, and I think that US President Donald Trump miscalculated enormously,” the CEO stated while adding that “the situation is very grim”.

The sell-off reflects broader anxiety that prolonged instability in the Middle East could squeeze corporate profits and slow the global economy, particularly for trade-dependent Asian nations.

Berlinale crisis: Top film festival directors rally to defend Berlinale boss Tricia Tuttle

fears that she may be fired over filmmakers expressing their support for Palestine

Copyright AP Photo

By David Mouriquand

Published on 04/03/2026 - EURONEWS

“Supporting freedom of expression has never been more important.” Film festival bosses from Cannes, Locarno, London, San Sebastian, Tokyo and Toronto have signed a letter to support Berlinale boss Tricia Tuttle, amid fears that she may be fired over filmmakers expressing their support for Palestine.

Global film festival directors, including Cannes’ Thierry Frémaux, Sundance’s Eugene Hernandez, London’s Kristy Matheson and Toronto’s Cameron Bailey, have published a statement throwing their support behind Berlinale boss Tricia Tuttle, amid reports that she may be getting fired.

Tuttle, who is currently two years into a five-year mandate, faces political backlash following pro-Palestinian speeches at this year’s Berlinale awards ceremony.

“We stand in support of Tricia Tuttle’s wish to continue as Berlinale Festival Director, in full trust and with institutional independence,” began the letter signed by 32 execs at the helm of the world’s most prestigious film festivals.

“A core aspect of our role as cultural custodians is to create and protect the space for filmmakers, artists, professionals and audiences to come together,” the letter continues. “This includes people who bring with them not only a shared love of cinema, but also a huge variety of lived experiences and viewpoints.”

“We must also navigate – with care – the fact that ‘everyone’ can include people with political and personal views that don’t always align, with each other, or with socially accepted or politically mandated positions.”

Scroll down to read the letter in full.

The signatories also include Jung Hanseok (Busan International Film Festival), Ilda Santiago (Festival do Rio), Vanja Kaludjercic (International Film Festival Rotterdam), Karel Och (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival), Giona A. Nazzaro (Locarno Film Festival), Lucía Olaciregui (San Sebastian International Film Festival), Frances Wallace (Sydney Film Festival) and Julie Huntsinger (Telluride Film Festival).

At first, the Berlin Film Festival was accused of censoring political talk when prominent attendees, including jury president Wim Wenders, declined to discuss politics.

The controversy blew up on closing night, when some prize-winners used their acceptance speeches to voice support for Palestine and Gaza.

German Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider walked out of the ceremony after Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib, whose film Chronicles From The Siege won the top prize in the Perspectives section, accused the German government of “being partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel” - referring in part to Germany maintaining a staunchly pro-Israel stance, rooted in the weight of historical guilt.

German conservative tabloid Bild, which is openly pro-Israel, suggested that Tuttle was about to be sacked. A column by right-wing journalist Gunnar Schupelius accused Tuttle of having “posed for Gaza propaganda,” citing a photo of Tuttle with Al-Khatib and the Chronicles From The Siege crew at the film’s Berlinale world premiere. He accused Tuttle of allowing the Berlinale to be used as a tool by “antisemitic” activists.

These accusations were countered by support for Tuttle – not only from the Berlinale but also from more than 3,000 film professionals, who signed an open letter stating that the Berlinale’s strength “lies in its ability to hold divergent perspectives and to give visibility to a plurality of voices.”

Speaking to the German press, Tuttle admitted she and German culture minister Wolfram Weimer “discussed the possibility of my mutual resignation” at a meeting of the festival’s supervisory board last week but that she is determined to stay on the job.

“I am very proud of my team and the festival and want to continue the work we have started together with full confidence and institutional independence,” Tuttle told German press agency dpa.

We need to maintain spaces where discomfort is embraced, where debates can be expansive, where new ideas can propagate and where unexpected – and sometimes conflicting – perspectives are made visible. 

 Letter from international film festival directors 

Here is the full letter of support from the festival heads:

As film festival directors and leaders, we stand in support of Tricia Tuttle’s wish to continue as Berlinale Festival Director, in full trust and with institutional independence.

In the debates that have surrounded the 2026 Berlinale and other cultural and artistic events in preceding months, we recognise the mounting pressures on film festivals everywhere to navigate volatile times while maintaining a safe space for the exchange of cinema, and of ideas.

A core aspect of our role as cultural custodians is to create and protect the space for filmmakers, artists, professionals and audiences to come together. This includes people who bring with them not only a shared love of cinema, but also a huge variety of lived experiences and viewpoints. This is what gives our film festivals their vitality, relevance and value, and it is what festival ‘spirit’ is made from.

We must also navigate – with care – the fact that ‘everyone’ can include people with political and personal views that don’t always align, with each other, or with socially accepted or politically mandated positions. And while film festivals that are long-lived, and well-attended, may appear to be indestructible meeting places, these spaces are often fragile, hard-won and complex to preserve.

Film festivals as we know, and need them, are becoming increasingly challenging to sustain in a climate where the appreciation of nuance is collapsing. Supporting genuine freedom of expression, including the freedom to articulate imperfect or unpopular opinions, has never been more important. We need to maintain spaces where discomfort is embraced, where debates can be expansive, where new ideas can propagate and where unexpected – and sometimes conflicting – perspectives are made visible.

We need all our stakeholders – audiences, creators, festival teams, public and private partners, industry, media, fellow institutions – to show each other grace, respect and solidarity as communities and networks connected through the love of film, or we risk losing these spaces completely. It is so much easier to destroy than it is to build.

 Elon Musk faces court over claims he tanked Twitter stock before buyout

Copyright AP Photo
By Una Hajdari & AP
Published on 04/03/2026

The billionaire faces a shareholder lawsuit alleging he deliberately spread false information about fake accounts to drive down Twitter's stock price ahead of his takeover of the social media platform.


Elon Musk is expected to take the stand in a shareholder trial on Wednesday in San Francisco, where he is accused of making false and misleading statements that drove down Twitter's share price before he bought the social media platform for $44 billion (€37.9 billion) in 2022.

The lawsuit was filed in October 2022 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of Twitter shareholders who sold the stock between 13 May and 4 October 2022, a few weeks before Musk's purchase of Twitter was finalised.

It claims Musk violated federal securities laws by making false public statements that "were carefully calculated to drive down the price of Twitter stock".

The billionaire Tesla chief executive reached a deal to buy Twitter and take it private in April 2022.

On 13 May, however, he declared his plan "temporarily on hold" and said he needed to identify the number of spam and fake accounts on the platform.

Twitter's stock tumbled as a result. A few days later, he tweeted that the deal "cannot go forward" and claimed that almost 20% of Twitter accounts were "fake," according to the lawsuit.

Musk's tweet on 13 May, saying "Twitter deal temporarily on hold pending details supporting calculation that spam/fake accounts do indeed represent less than 5% of users" was "false because the buyout was not, in fact, 'temporarily on hold,'" the lawsuit states.

That is because Twitter did not agree to put the deal on hold, and there was nothing in the merger agreement the two parties signed that allowed Musk to do so, according to the lawsuit.

In the following weeks, Musk continued to try to delay or withdraw from the deal, which the lawsuit claims he did through false, disparaging statements about Twitter's business that drove the San Francisco company's share price down sharply.

In July 2022, Musk doubled down on the bots issue and said he would abandon his offer to buy Twitter after the company failed to provide sufficient information about the number of fake accounts.

This was despite the lawsuit noting that Musk had waived due diligence for his "take it or leave it" offer to buy Twitter — meaning he had waived his right to examine the company's non-public finances.

The stock closed at $36.81 (€31.66) on 8 July, when Musk tweeted he was abandoning the deal over the fake accounts issue. That is 32% below Musk's offer price of $54.20 (€46.61) per share.

"To try to renegotiate the price or delay the merger, Musk made materially false and misleading statements and omissions, and engaged in a scheme to deceive the market, all in violation of the law," the lawsuit states.

The problem of bots and fake accounts on Twitter was not new.

The company had paid $809.5 million (€696.2 million) in 2021 to settle claims that it was overstating its growth rate and monthly user figures.

Twitter also disclosed its bot estimates to the Securities and Exchange Commission for years, whilst cautioning that its estimate might be too low.

Twitter sued Musk to force him to complete the deal, and Musk countersued.

On 4 October, Musk offered to proceed with his original proposal to buy Twitter for $44 billion (€37.9 billion), which Twitter accepted. The deal closed later that month.

In the ensuing months, Musk slashed the company's workforce, gutted its trust and safety team and rolled back content moderation policies.

In July 2023, he renamed Twitter to X.

This is not the first time that Musk has been dragged into court to defend himself against allegations of duping investors with his social media posts.

Three years ago, Musk spent around eight hours giving evidence in a San Francisco federal trial about his plans to buy Tesla — the electric vehicle manufacturer that he still runs as a publicly listed company — for $420 (€361.20) per share in a proposed 2018 deal that never materialised.

A nine-member jury absolved Musk of wrongdoing in that case.

SPACE/COSMOS

Astronomers spot 8.5 billion year old 'jellyfish galaxy'

Copyright Credit: NASA, ESA

By Theo Farrant

Updated 04/03/2026

EURONEWS

Seen as it was 8.5 billion years ago, the galaxy shows that the early universe was harsher than scientists previously thought.

Researchers have identified what could be the most distant jellyfish galaxy ever observed, using data from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope.

The discovery, published in the Astrophysical Journal, was made by a team at the University of Waterloo, who spotted the unusual object while analysing deep space observations.

Launched in 2021 through a collaboration between NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), the JWST is the largest, most powerful and most sophisticated telescope ever sent into space.

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What is a jellyfish galaxy?

Jellyfish galaxies get their nickname from the long, flowing streams of gas that trail behind them like tentacles.

These galaxies move rapidly through crowded galaxy clusters filled with extremely hot gas.

As they travel, that surrounding gas acts like a headwind, sweeping material away from the galaxy and leaving behind flowing strands in a process known as ram-pressure stripping.

What we know about the new discovery

The newly identified galaxy sits at a redshift of z = 1.156. This means its light has taken around 8.5 billion years to reach Earth - so what we're seeing is a view of the galaxy when the universe was much younger.

The team found the galaxy while studying the COSMOS field - the Cosmic Evolution Survey Deep field - one of the most intensely studied patches of sky. Astronomers favour this region because it lies away from the busy plane of the Milky Way, which means less interference from nearby stars and dust.

"We were looking through a large amount of data from this well-studied region in the sky with the hopes of spotting jellyfish galaxies that haven't been studied before," said Dr. Ian Roberts, from the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics in the Faculty of Science. "Early on in our search of the JWST data, we spotted a distant, undocumented jellyfish galaxy that sparked immediate interest."

The galaxy itself has a relatively typical disk shape. What stands out are bright blue clumps scattered along its trailing streams. These glowing knots are extremely young stars.

Their ages suggest they formed outside the galaxy's main body, within gas that had been stripped away. That type of star formation is consistent with what astronomers expect in jellyfish galaxies undergoing ram-pressure stripping.

Significance of the find

The discovery is important because it pushes evidence of ram-pressure stripping much further back in time.

Many researchers had assumed that galaxy clusters 8.5 billion years ago were still developing and not yet dense or extreme enough to strip gas so effectively. This galaxy suggests that clusters were already harsh environments capable of reshaping galaxies.

"The first is that cluster environments were already harsh enough to strip galaxies, and the second is that galaxy clusters may strongly alter galaxy properties earlier than expected," Roberts said.

He continued: "Another is that all the challenges listed might have played a part in building the large population of dead galaxies we see in galaxy clusters today. This data provides us with rare insight into how galaxies were transformed in the early universe."

The researchers have now applied for additional observing time with the James Webb Space Telescope to take a closer look and provide further evidence.

‘First Light’ From World’s First Commercial Space Science Satellite Heralds New Era For Astronomical Data And King’s Collaborations

Pink: Spectrum of eta UMa acquired in a single capture by Mauve on 9 February 2026 with a 5s integration time. Blue: Hubble Space Telescope STIS spectra of the same star recorded by three grisms.

 Credit: Blue Skies Space Ltd.

February 28, 2026 0 Comments

By Eurasia Review


Mauve, the world’s first commercial space science satellite, has successfully achieved ‘first light’, sending back data to astronomers about the universe for the first time.

Created by Blue Skies Space Ltd., a British space company co-founded by current King’s staff and alumni, Mauve will study stars in the ultraviolet and visible light, enabling a greater understanding of their magnetic activity, stellar flares, and how they impact the habitability of nearby exoplanets – planets that orbit stars that are not our sun.

The start-up hopes the craft will pioneer a new era of exploration founded on low-cost, rapidly built space telescopes, delivering high-quality information about the universe directly to researchers.

Professor Giovanna Tinetti, Vice Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Natural, Mathematical and Engineering Sciences and co-founder of Blue Skies Space, said of the milestone, “The launch of Mauve has been a really emotional moment – seeing the project we worked hard for a number of years being sent to space!

“But as a scientist the real excitement comes when the data start flowing in: seeing the first spectrum from Mauve has suddenly made me realise that we’ll soon do science with the first privately funded space science mission ever!”

Mauve used its 13 cm spectrophotometric telescope, designed to measure and collect data on the spectrum of light emitted by stars, to observe Eta Uma, a star 104 light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major or the Great Bear.

A hot, blue-white star, much hotter than the Sun, Eta UMa shines in ultraviolet light which makes it an ideal calibration target for an observatory collecting ultraviolet data like Mauve.

Dr Marcell Tesseny, CEO and co-founder Blue Skies Space, as well as an alumnus from the Department of Physics, said “Blue Skies Space was founded to provide access to space science data for scientists worldwide through a fleet of small, agile satellites. The first light from Mauve is a demonstration of this vision to serve the space science community.”

Throughout its three-year mission, Mauve also hopes to gather information on early-stage planetary evolution, test theories of gravity through examination of binary star systems and chart how stars live and die – in addition to research priorities highlighted by members of the science community who sign up to Mauve’s observational programme.

PANSPERMIA

Life Forms Can Planet Hop On Asteroid Debris – And Survive

After shooting the microbes, the team determined whether they survived and examined the survivors’ genetic material for clues to how they handled the pressure. The bacteria proved very hard to kill. They survived nearly every test at 1.4 Gigapascal of pressure and 60% at 2.4 Gigapascals of pressure. The cells showed no signs of damage after the lower pressure hits, but after the higher pressure experiments, the team observed some ruptured membranes and internal damage. CREDIT: Johns Hopkins University

March 4, 2026 
By Eurasia Review


Tiny life forms tucked into debris from an asteroid hit could catapult to other planets – including Earth – and survive, a new Johns Hopkins University study finds.

The work demonstrates that a certain hardy bacterium easily withstands extreme pressure comparable to an ejection from Mars after an asteroid hit, as well as the inhospitable conditions it would face during the ensuing interplanetary journey.

The study, published today in PNAS Nexus, suggests that microorganisms can survive remarkably more extreme conditions than expected, and raises questions about origins of life. The work also has significant implications for planetary protection and space missions.

“Life might actually survive being ejected from one planet and moving to another,” said senior author K.T. Ramesh. “This is a really big deal that changes the way you think about the question of how life begins and how life began on Earth.”

Impact craters cover the surfaces of most bodies in the solar system. Mars, a planet that could harbor life, is one of the most cratered celestial bodies. We know asteroid strikes can launch material across space—and Martian meteorites have been found on Earth.

However, scientists have long wondered if life forms could also be launched from an asteroid impact. Tucked inside ejected debris, they might land on another planet—a theory called the lithopanspermia hypothesis.

Previous experiments to test the theory have been inconclusive, and targeted organisms widely found on Earth, rather than a life form that would suit the extreme environments of other planets.

To study how a microorganism would realistically handle the stress of a planetary ejection, the team devised a way to replicate the pressure and a singular biological model.

The team chose to test Deinococcus radiodurans, a desert bacterium found in the high deserts of Chile that is notorious for its ability to survive the most inhospitable, space-like conditions—everything from extreme cold and dryness to intense radiation. It has a thick shell and a remarkable ability to self-repair.

“We do not yet know if there is life on Mars, but if there is, it is likely to have similar abilities,” Ramesh said.


The experiment simulated the pressure of an asteroid strike and ejection from Mars by sandwiching the microbe between metal plates and then firing a projectile at it from a gas gun. The projectile hit the plates at speeds up to 300 mph, generating 1 to 3 Gigapascals of pressure.

For perspective, the pressure at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of the Earth’s oceans, is a tenth of a Gigapascal. Even the lowest pressure in this experiment is more than ten times that.

After shooting the microbes, the team determined whether they survived and examined the survivors’ genetic material for clues to how they handled the pressure.

The bacteria proved very hard to kill. They survived nearly every test at 1.4 Gigapascal of pressure and 60% at 2.4 Gigapascals of pressure. The cells showed no signs of damage after the lower pressure hits, but after the higher pressure experiments, the team observed some ruptured membranes and internal damage.

“We expected it to be dead at that first pressure,” said lead author Lily Zhao. “We started shooting it faster and faster. We kept trying to kill it, but it was really hard to kill.”

In the end, what did die was the equipment. The steel configuration holding the plates fell apart before the bacteria did.

When asteroids hit Mars, ejected fragments experience a range of pressures, perhaps close to 5 Gigapascals, though some could see much higher. Here the microbe easily survived almost 3, much higher than previously thought possible.


“We have shown that it is possible for life to survive large-scale impact and ejection,” Zhao said. “What that means is that life can potentially move between planets. Maybe we’re Martians!”

The possibility of life spreading between planetary bodies has significant implications for planetary protection and space missions, the team said.

Space mission protocols evaluate the likelihood of life surviving on the target planet. When missions travel to planets that might sustain life, like Mars, there are tight restrictions and safety measures to prevent contaminating the planet with Earth life. And when a mission brings back materials from a planet, there are very strict measures to control the possible release of that life on Earth. Because this work demonstrates that materials from Mars might reach other bodies, particularly its two nearby moons that aren’t currently restricted, the team said policies might need to be reassessed.

Phobos, in particular, orbits so close to Mars that any ejecta that gets there is probably exposed to much less pressure than what is required to get to Earth, the team said.

“We might need to be very careful about which planets we visit,” Ramesh said.

The team next hopes to explore whether repeat asteroid impacts result in hardier bacterial populations—or whether bacteria adapt to this kind of stress. They’d also like to see if other organisms, including fungi, can survive these conditions.