Mineral False Positives in the Search for Exoplanet Surface Biosignatures

arXiv:2605.10646 · astro-ph.EP · Submitted 2026-05-11 · Read on arXiv

Mia Belle Parkinson, Lisa Kaltenegger, Beth Biller, Grant Lach, Sean McMahon

astro-ph.EP

Submitted: 2026-05-11

Comments: Submitted to Astrobiology, manuscript ID is AST-2025-0217

License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

Terminology

• Habitable Worlds Observatory — 4× in this paper
• Planetary Spectrum Generator — 3× in this paper
• Spectral Signature — 3× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Abundance — 2× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Aperture — 2× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Accuracy — 1× in this paper · explained in 1 episode

Sources

• Probing the Limits of Habitability: A Catalog of Rocky Exoplanets in the Habitable Zone
• Comparative biosignatures with systemic retrievals
• The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) Mission Concept Study Final Report
• The LUVOIR Mission Concept Study Final Report

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