-
The NAI Director's Discretionary Fund
NAI Announces 2008 Director’s Discretionary Fund Awards
The NASA Astrobiology Institute is pleased to announce the selection of 18 proposals for support through the 2008 NAI Director’s Discretionary Fund. These awards allocate more than $1.4M toward strategic investments that advance the science of astrobiology, demonstrate impact to NASA’s space flight programs or its broader science activities, and/or contribute to NASA’s role as a federal R&D agency. The members of the Institute, in collaboration with members of the larger astrobiology community, responded to this year’s DDF Call for Proposals with a bold, interdisciplinary, and focused set of proposals.
In making selections, priority was given to proposals that are characterized by one or more of the following:
- Directly support flight programs, particularly through instrument development
- Expand the scope of NAI research (and the NAI community) in innovative ways, accepting some risk in return for high pay-off potential
- Respond in a timely way to new scientific results or programmatic opportunities
- Use funding particularly effectively, for example through leveraging or building on past investments
Selected Research Projects
Title: Spectral Library – An Online Database of Molecular Line Lists, Stellar Spectra, Photosynthetic Pigments and Other Spectra for Discerning Biomarkers Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: John Armstrong, Weber State/VPL Team; Nancy Kiang, GISS/VPL Team; Linda Brown, JPL/VPL Team Summary: Will develop a comprehensive database of molecular absorption spectra, photosynthetic pigments and mineral spectra for use by the astrobiology community, with query and visualization tools. Title: Volcanic SO2, atmospheric photochemistry, and climate on early Mars Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Mark Claire, U Washington/VPL Team; Jim Kasting, PSU/VPL Team; Jacob Haqq-Misra PSU/VPL Team; David Pollard, PSU/VPL Team; Megan Smith, PSU; Kevin Zahnle, ARC; David Catling, U Washington; Victoria Meadows, U Washington/VPL Team; Shawn Domagol-Goldman, U Washington/VPL Team; Ty Robinson, U Washington/VPL Team; Feng Tian, U Colorado/VPL Team; Giles Marion, Desert Research Institute Summary: Will model the conditions under which volcanic sulfur gases become substantial atmospheric components under early Mars irradiance and escape conditions. Title: Evolution of Organic Matter in Space: UV-Vis Spectroscopy investigation on Nanosatellites (EO-Mission) Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Pascale Ehrenfreund, George Washington U/U Wisconsin Team; and Antonio Ricco, Farid Salama, Lou Allamandola, Andrew Mattioda, NASA Ames Research Center Team Summary: Development of a prototype UV-Vis spectrometer to monitor for in-situ measurements of organic material on future free flyers and lunar surface exposure facilities. Title: Acquisition of Computational Equipment for Interdisciplinary Research on the Origin of Main Belt Comets and the Formation of Habitable Planets Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Nader Haghighipour, Karen Meech, David Jewitt, Ed Scott, U Hawaii Team; Alan Boss, Carnegie Institution Washington Team; Steinn Sigurdsson, PSU Team; Eric Agol, U Washington Summary: Will upgrade processors to allow detailed and efficient computer simulations of Main Belt Comet origins, dynamic stability, and role in the delivery of water to Earth, as well as to more effectively model habitable planet formation. Title: Modeling Biogenic Methane Flux in the Subseafloor: Quantification and diversity analysis of methanogens at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Julie Huber, MBL Team Summary: Will model the biogenic flux of methane in the subseafloor from diffuse flow vents at two hydrothermal sites in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Will use a combination of cultivation, geochemistry, and molecular based analyses to quantify and constrain methane flux in the deep sea. Title: Astrobiology Ice Chemistry Lab Facility Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Ralf Kaiser, Karen Meech, David Jewitt, U Hawaii Team; Bishun Khare, SETI Institute Team; Steve Charnley, GSFC Team Summary: Will complete the instrumentation for an experimental ice chemistry facility to develop a better understanding of the astrobiological and chemical evolution of the Solar System. Title: Thermodynamic efficiency of electron-transfer reactions in the Chlorophyll d-containing cyanobacterium, Acharyochloris marina Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Nancy Kiang, GISS/VPL Team; Robert Blankenship, Washington U/VPL Team; Steven Mielke, GISS/VPL Team; David Mauzerall, Rockefeller U. Summary: Will compare electron-harvesting pathways in the oxygenic Chl-d containing cyanobacterium A. marina to examine the efficiency of photosynthesis at long wavelengths. This will address the range of extrasolar environments within which oxygenic photosynthesis might arise, and inform the choice of target systems for planet-finding missions. Title: A Virtual Resource Center for Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Intelligent Life Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Lori Marino, Emory U/SETI Institute Team and Kathryn Denning, York U Summary: Development of an online Virtual Resource Center to facilitate interdisciplinary research on intelligence. Title: Extra-cellular Polymeric Substances as Armor Against Cell Membrane Rupture on Mineral Surfaces: Evolution of Cellularity, and Potential Biosignature Preservation Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Nita Sahai, Eric Roden, William Hickey, U Wisconsin Team; Martin Schoonen, Stony Brook U/Montana State U Team Summary: Examine the evolution of cellularity and the role of the extracellular matrix in interactions with mineral surfaces. Title: Towards precision measurements of low mass planets around M-stars Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Steinn Sigurdsson, L.W. Ramsey, S. Redman, PSU Team Summary: Will develop and test instrumentation to extend astronomical precision radial velocity measurements into the near-infrared, enabling extrasolar planet search to be broadened to include faint M dwarf stars. Title: Laser Ablation-Electron Impact Ionization-Miniature Mass Spectrometer (LA-EI-MMS) for in-situ Geochronology and Hydrology of Martian Rocks Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Mahadeva Sinha, JPL/ U Wisconsin Team and Brian Beard, U Wisconsin Team Summary: Development of a Laser Ablation-Electron Impact Ionization front end for a previously developed miniature mass spectrometer aimed at achieving capability for in situ Rb-Sr age dating on Mars.
Title: Creating a Global Repository for Astrobiology Microbial Metagenomics Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Larry Smarr, UCSD/MBL Team; Mitchell Sogin, MBL Team; Thomas Schmidt, Michigan State U; Norman Pace, U Colorado Summary: Creating a Global Repository for Astrobiology Microbial Metagenomics Data and providing leadership to the Genomics Standards Consortium, an international working group formed to develop minimum information standards for genomes, metagenomes, and metadata Title: Detection of Microbial Metabolic Activity at Very Low Levels Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: David Summers, SETI Institute Team and Tullis Onstott, Princeton/IPTAI Team Summary: Will use multiphoton detection of I-125 incorporation into DNA to measure lower temperature limit at which metabolic activity can be detected. Will help to define environmental limits for microbial activity. Selected Workshops
Title: Origin of Earth Water Mission Instrumentation Development Workshop Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Karen Meech and David Jewitt, U Hawaii Team Summary: A two-day workshop for instrument specialists and comet volatile specialists to explore detection of volatiles. Title: NAI-Nordic Summer School – Water, Ice and the Evolution of Life in the Universe Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Karen Meech, U Hawaii Team and Wolf Geppert, Stockholm University Summary: Development of logistics, program and lectures for a two week summer school including lectures, excursions and laboratory investigations. Title: Workshop to Develop an Astrobiology Roadmap of Societal Issues Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Margaret Race and Rocco Mancinelli, SETI Institute Team Summary: A 2.5 day workshop of astrobiology scientists and technologists to develop a roadmap and framework for Astrobiology Societal Issues. Title: Workshop on the Habitability of Super-Earth Planets Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Steinn Sigurdsson, PSU Team Summary: A 5 day workshop on the Habitability of Super-Earth Planets from August 18 – 22, 2008, concurrent with a Super-Earths workshop in Aspen Colorado. Title: AbGradCon 2009 hosted by the University of Washington Investigator/Home Affiliation/NAI Team: Sanjoy Som, U Washington/VPL Team, and Aaron Goldman, Rika Anderson, Marcela Ewert, Eva Stueeken, Darci Snowden, Nick Cowan, Mark Claire, U Wash Summary: To host the 2009 Astrobiology Graduate Student Conference (AbGradCon) at the University of Washington from July 14 – 17, 2009. More information:
July 16, 2008
