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Caleb Scharf

@calebscharf.bsky.social
254 followers 44 following 146 posts

Thinker, writer, sometimes both at the same time. Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at NASA Ames. Personal account, anything expressed here is my fault alone.

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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
All our seminar videos are here: www.youtube.com/@AIML_Astrob...
youtube.com
AI-ML Astrobiology
Place to view previously recorded AI/ML Seminar talks.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Our latest seminar video on scientific AI/ML is out! An amazing talk by Dr Eric Wolf on his adoption of agentic workflows for exoplanetary climate modeling research. Parts technical, parts philosophical, and parts personal. An essential resource... www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRYt...
youtube.com
AI/ML Seminar Series - Agentic AI Workflows - 9/17/26
YouTube video by AI-ML Astrobiology
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The goal is to build AI models that may transform our ability to assess, predict, and work in Mars’s environment, as well as further our scientific understanding of this extraordinary world.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Future exploration, both robotic and human, relies on our understanding of the atmosphere, whether in assisting spacecraft landings or informing our machines and astronauts about weather systems and the dispersal of contaminants.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
From the behavior of CO2 that can cycle between gas and solid phases, to the remarkable influence of dust particles and a hydrological cycle that operates without surface liquid water.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
For Mars, two models are anticipated, one for the atmosphere, and one for the surface. The Martian atmosphere is a complex, alien system to understand.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This has resulted so far in the Prithvi model for geospatial Earth science data, the Surya model for heliophysics, and the recently released NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation Model, together with the Indus LLM trained on scientific and mission-related material.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and Data and AI leadership have been implementing an ambitious plan for a few years now to build at least one Foundation Model for each of its core divisions.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Scientific Foundation Models are already impacting many areas of research, from climate and weather modeling to bioinformatics and medicine, and even cosmology and astrophysics.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I’m very excited to share that I’ll be serving as Project Scientist for NASA’s First Look Science Team working with the remarkable Impact AI team at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville and at IBM to build a Mars Atmosphere AI Foundation Model (MAFM).
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Michael Wong @miquai.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Tomorrow at the @exploratorium.bsky.social! I’m so excited to be a part of this event at my childhood science museum!
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
New paper: Astrobiology in the Time of Artificial Intelligence - a look at the history and future of machine learning and computing for space exploration and life detection in the context of the Viking missions 50th anniversary arxiv.org/abs/2606.23854 (Astrobiology Journal)
arxiv.org
Astrobiology in the Time of Artificial Intelligence
The Viking missions showcased multiple spaceflight technologies representing state-of-the-art capabilities: from digital line-scan imaging to the operation of complex onboard laboratories and software...
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
If you want to be better informed about the history and possible future of space exploration I wrote the book for you: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/caleb...
hachettebookgroup.com
The Giant Leap
A leading astrobiologist argues that space travel is an evolutionary event at least as important as life’s first journey from sea to land"The Giant Leap is...
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
“Klingon prison” is quite a high bar though…
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
My interview on Planetary Radio about The Giant Leap and the past, present, and future of space exploration is now available! www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...
planetary.org
Book Club Edition: The Giant Leap: Why Space is the Next Frontier in…
Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf eloquently explores the future of humanity and what we will become when we live beyond Earth.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
New podcast about The Giant Leap just dropped : www.planetary.org/planetary-ra...
planetary.org
Book Club Edition: The Giant Leap: Why Space is the Next Frontier in…
Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf eloquently explores the future of humanity and what we will become when we live beyond Earth.
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Astrobiology @astrobiology.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
If Alien Signals Reached Earth, Why Haven't We Seen Them? astrobiology.com/2026/02/if-a... #astrobiology #SETI #technosignature
astrobiology.com
If Alien Signals Reached Earth, Why Haven't We Seen Them? - Astrobiology
astronomers have scanned the Milky Way for signs of advanced extraterrestrial civilizations
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Excited to share preprint of my new research: The Interplanetary Habitable Zone - habitability for space-faring species. A maths framework & agent-based simulation approach: arxiv.org/abs/2602.13404
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
You know it's a good science day when you get to write "boundedly rational utility maximizers" in an astrobiology research paper
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Michael Wong @miquai.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
Why might our future in space look more like living on Deep Space Nine than colonizing other planets? Dr. @calebscharf.bsky.social explains on this recent episode of Strange New Worlds: A Science & Star Trek Podcast! soundcloud.com/strange-new-...
media.tenor.com
a space ship with the letter b on the front
ALT: a space ship with the letter b on the front
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Elise Cutts @elisecutts.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
New planet just dropped and it 1) is almost exactly Earth-sized 2) has a year that's almost exactly 1 Earth year. 3) orbits a star that is not a 💢temperamental little shit M-dwarf 💢but is instead a 🧡 good orange boi 🧡 Me for @science.org based on results presented at #RockyWorlds4: 🔭🧪
science.org
Earth-size planet spotted with yearlong orbit
Long-overlooked Kepler signal discovered by citizen scientists reveals promising world worth a closer look
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
Yup
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
If you want to know what it's like when two scientists who really enjoy each other's company sit down for a conversation about science, space, and life in the universe, well here's the answer:
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
I can attest that this is a terrific book!
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
@nautil.us has this excellent series of "greatest revelations" from authors and others. I got to have my turn in talking about The Giant Leap and the things it revealed to me along the way... nautil.us/space-explor...
nautil.us
Space Exploration Speaks to the Core of Who We Are
Space Exploration Speaks to the Core of Who We Are: Astrobiologist Caleb Scharf’s 3 greatest revelations while The Giant Leap.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
Thrilled to see a great review of The Giant Leap over at the @wsj.com ! “A scintillating tour of mankind’s explorations in space so far.” 😀 www.wsj.com/arts-culture...
wsj.com
‘The Giant Leap’ and ‘The Pale Blue Data Point’: Adventure Is Out There
Plus Jon Willis’s “The Pale Blue Data Point.”
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
For a moment this phrasing gave me a nice vision of pigs sitting around discussing ancestry…
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
San Diego?
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
New interview about The Giant Leap is now available - many thanks to Smithsonian Associates and Paul Vogelzang for a terrific conversation! podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
🎙️The Giant Leap: Is Space the Future of Life on Earth?
Podcast Episode · The Not Old - Better Show · 12/30/2025 · 39m
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
This is just incredible and lovely! Life in the abyss.
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Dr. Wildlife @drwildlife.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
I haven’t stopped thinking about this frog since learning about it a few days ago, so now this knowledge is your problem too. Meet the turtle frog (Myobatrachus gouldii) – a round burrow gremlin from Australia. It gets its name from looking like a turtle that lost its shell. 📸 Stephen Zozaya
Photo of a turtle frog. Attribution: By Stephen Zozaya - Vertucci S, Pepper M, Edwards DL, Roberts JD, Mitchell N, Keogh JS (2017) Evolutionary and natural history of the turtle frog, Myobatrachus gouldii, a bizarre myobatrachid frog in the southwestern Australian biodiversity hotspot. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0173348.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0173348.g001., CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58023200
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
Thanks @brianclegg.bsky.social for such a thoughtful review! Delighted that the book was of interest!
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
It's Friday, the holidays are upon us, what better time to read a book about the amazing enterprise of space exploration, and what it means for life on Earth!
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Another conversation about my new book The Giant Leap (@BasicBooks) is now live! Space exploration is such a rich topic and it stirs so many viewpoints, it's very fascinating. convergingdialogues.substack.com/p/456-the-fu...
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
New conversation about my book The Giant Leap and quite a lot more - life in the universe, data, and the future of space w. Brad Carr: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5Kd...
youtube.com
Caleb Scharf: Searching for Life in Space and the Shadow Biosphere
YouTube video by Brad Carr
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Science Magazine @science.org · 20/11/2025
This image shows 3D, millimeter-thick, and cell-embeddable semiconducting hydrogel fibers. These fibers can be used to construct interwoven living transistors that mimic real neuronal connections in the brain, redefining the boundary between technology and life. Learn more: scim.ag/4rqTOCj
This image shows three-dimensional, millimeter-thick, and cell-embeddable semiconducting hydrogel fibers.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
(and I recognize the irony in posting this here where it will not be seen...🤣)
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
I am puzzled by Bluesky: posts here seem to have a really hard time being seen by...well, anyone. Maybe I'm just losing my touch...
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
In my new book I explore the complex history of space exploration and its staggering impacts on human life and all life on Earth - for better or worse. To see what the future might bring we have to place space into context, as fundamental change to evolutionary possibilities.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
A must listen…!
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 17/11/2025
ICYMI had a terrific time talking with @adamfrank4.bsky.social for this @bigthink.com interview about The Giant Leap (Basic Books) and the implications of space exploration for the near and far future of life on Earth. bigthink.com/13-8/the-nex...
bigthink.com
The next great leap in evolution may lie beyond Earth
NASA’s Caleb Scharf talks with Big Think about how life’s story may be entering a new chapter — one that unfolds beyond Earth.
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Corey S. Powell @coreyspowell.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Marvelous new image of interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS, taken by photographer Satoru Murata before dawn this morning. On the right you can also see galaxy NGC 4691. There should be a lot more pictures coming in soon. 🧪🔭 www.facebook.com/groups/22700...
Interstellar comet ATLAS seen early this morning as a thin crescent moon passed immediately next to it. Still was able to capture three separate jets of ionic tail, and an anti tail? Or the dust tail? The comet was also passing by the galaxy NGC4691, which really gave the impression of the object being from another world.
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Great news!
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Fabulous! You might be interested in this too, some adjacent musings on latent representations and space science arxiv.org/abs/2507.11400
arxiv.org
The model is the message: Lightweight convolutional autoencoders applied to noisy imaging data for planetary science and astrobiology
The application of convolutional autoencoder deep learning to imaging data for planetary science and astrobiological use is briefly reviewed and explored with a focus on the need to understand algorit...
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Carnegie Science @carnegiescience.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
ICYMI: Last week, @calebscharf.bsky.social asked us to imagine space exploration as life’s next "Giant Leap" during our most recent #NeighborhoodLecture. We pulled out 5 of the most mind-blowing ideas and posted the full recording here.👇🤯 carnegiescience.edu/five-ways-ca...
carnegiescience.edu
Five ways Caleb Scharf’s "The Giant Leap" might rewire how you think about life
At a recent Neighborhood Lecture, NASA astrobiologist Caleb Scharf invited audiences to see space exploration not as a race to new worlds, but as biology in motion—life extending its reach beyond Eart...
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
New video! My full presentation about The Giant Leap to a live audience at @carnegiescience.bsky.social is now online! We grappled with science, philosophy, and the meaning of life! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG1V...
youtube.com
The Giant Leap
YouTube video by Carnegie Science
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Lee Billings @leebillings.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
Now on @sciam.bsky.social: In his new book, The Giant Leap, NASA astrobiologist @calebscharf.bsky.social says the fate of life on Earth may hinge on leaving our planet behind. www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-s...
scientificamerican.com
Is Space the Place for Earth’s Next Evolutionary Leap?
In a new book, NASA astrobiologist Caleb Scharf says the fate of life on Earth may hinge on leaving our planet behind
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
Simultaneously beautiful and the stuff of small human nightmares...
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
It's intriguing to think about planetary systems this way, and if 'going interplanetary' is something that life does when the option arises, it could be an important addition to our search for evidence of life elsewhere. [7/7]
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Caleb Scharf @calebscharf.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
And there are zones that involve the availability of space-farer resources, like asteroids. We can already chart that to some extent for our solar system, and it will only matter more and more...[6/n]
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