Astrobiology: Life in the Universe

NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)


  1. Now showing: Year 2008 projects that addressed Astrobiology Roadmap Objectives 4.2, 6.1

  2. Roadmap Goal 4: Understand how past life on Earth interacted with its changing planetary and Solar System environment

    Objective 4.2: Foundations of complex life

    3. Prebiotic Chemical and Isotopic Evolution on Earth

    TEAM: CIW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 7.1

    6. Molecular and Isotopic Biosignatures

    TEAM: CIW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    A Supertree Analysis of the Metazoan Phylogeny

    TEAM: UH / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2

    Bowring Project

    TEAM: MIT / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2

    Carbon Flow Between Organisms in Complex Communities

    TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2, 5.2

    DIVERSITY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE UNIQUE TROPICAL PHYLUM PLACOZOA

    TEAM: UH / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2, 5.1

    Erwin Project

    TEAM: MIT / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2, 6.1

    Ferry Report

    TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1

    Genomic Record of the Earth's Early Biosphere (Hedges)

    TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

    Isotopic Signatures of Methane and Higher Hydrocarbon Gases from Precambrian Shield Sites: A Model for Abiogenic Polymerization of Hydrocarbons

    TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    Modeling Early Earth Environments

    TEAM: VPL-UW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.2

    Module 1: The Building Blocks of Life

    TEAM: UA / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1, 3.2, 4.2, 7.1

    Origin of Life and Catalysis - Philosophical Considerations

    TEAM: MSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.2

    Origin of multicellularity and complex land-based ecosystem

    TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2, 5.2

    Pearson Project

    TEAM: MIT / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2, 4.2, 6.1, 7.1

    Philosophical Problems in Astrobiology; issues on the origin of life,

    TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2

    Requirements for the development and maintenance of complex life

    TEAM: MIT / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2, 4.2

    Sulfur biogeochemistry of the Early Earth

    TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 1.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    The Diversity of the Original Prebiotic Soup: Re-Analyzing the Original Miller-Urey Spark Discharge Experiments

    TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2

    Roadmap Goal 6: Understand the principles that will shape the future of life, both on Earth and beyond

    Objective 6.1: Environmental changes and the cycling of elements by the biota, communities, and ecosystems

    Untitled

    TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    6. Molecular and Isotopic Biosignatures

    TEAM: CIW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    Biogenic formation of high-magnesium calcite in sulfide-rich systems

    TEAM: UWIS / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1, 6.1, 7.1

    Biosignatures in chemosynthetic and photosynthetic systems

    TEAM: ARC / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    Climate, Habitability, and the Atmosphere on early Mars

    TEAM: CAL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 1.2, 3.1, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    DDF: Geomicrobiology of a Unique Ice-Sulfur Spring Ecosystem in the High Arctic

    TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    Design, construction and testing of a Cavity-Ring Down Spectrometer for determination of the concentration and isotopic composition of methane

    TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2

    Ecology of a Hawaiian lava cave microbial mat

    TEAM: UH / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1

    Erwin Project

    TEAM: MIT / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2, 6.1

    Evolution of a Habitable Planet (Stewart)

    TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1, 6.1

    Examination of the Microbial Diversity Found in Ice Cores (Brenchley)

    TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1

    Ferry Report

    TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.3, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.1

    High Lake Gossan deposit: An Arctic analogue for ancient Martian surficial processes?

    TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.1

    Hindcasting Ecosystems

    TEAM: ARC / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 6.1

    Identifying microbial life at crustal rock-water interfaces

    TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.2

    Iron and sulfur-based biospheres and their biosignatures

    TEAM: CAL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    Iron isotope biosignatures: Laboratory studies and modern environments

    TEAM: UWIS / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1, 6.1, 7.1

    Iron Oxidation - Shaping the Past and Present Environments

    TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 6.1

    Isotopic Signatures of Methane and Higher Hydrocarbon Gases from Precambrian Shield Sites: A Model for Abiogenic Polymerization of Hydrocarbons

    TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    Mars Forward Contamination Studies Utilizing a Mars Environmental Simulation Chamber

    TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 3.2, 3.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1

    Mechanisms of Marine Microbial Community Structuring

    TEAM: UH / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1

    Microbial Communities and Activities in the Deep Marine Subsurface

    TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2

    Modeling Early Earth Environments

    TEAM: VPL-UW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.2

    Molecular and Isotopic Microbial Community Analysis of Deep Subsurface Sediments

    TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1

    Pearson Project

    TEAM: MIT / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2, 4.2, 6.1, 7.1

    Planetary Habitability

    TEAM: VPL-UW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 4.1, 5.3, 6.1, 7.2

    Planetary Surface and Interior Models and Super Earths

    TEAM: VPL-UW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 1.2, 4.1, 5.2, 6.1, 7.2

    Planetary-Scale Transition from Abiotic to Biotic Nitrogen Cycle

    TEAM: SETI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1

    Sediment-buried basement deep biosphere

    TEAM: UH / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2

    Sulfur biogeochemistry of the Early Earth

    TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 1.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 7.1, 7.2

    The High Lakes Project (HLP)

    TEAM: SETI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 4.1, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1

    The Virtual Planetary Laboratory – The Life Modules - Photosynthesis

    TEAM: VPL-UW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 6.1, 6.2, 7.2

Change your results

Change the project list by adding or removing a year. Click a year to add, click the [x] to remove.

  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2005
  • 2006
  • 2007
  • 2008 [x]

  • Change the project list by adding or removing a roadmap objective. Click an objective to add, click the [x] to remove.

  • 1.1 Models of formation and evolution of habitable planets
  • 1.2 Indirect and direct astronomical observations of extrasolar habitable planets
  • 2.1 Mars exploration
  • 2.2 Outer Solar System exploration
  • 3.1 Sources of prebiotic materials and catalysts
  • 3.2 Origins and evolution of functional biomolecules
  • 3.3 Origins of energy transduction
  • 3.4 Origins of cellularity and protobiological systems
  • 4.1 Earth's early biosphere
  • 4.2 [x]
  • 5.1 Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in microorganisms
  • 5.2 Co-evolution of microbial communities
  • 5.3 Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments
  • 6.1 [x]
  • 6.2 Adaptation and evolution of life beyond Earth
  • 7.1 Biosignatures to be sought in Solar System materials
  • 7.2 Biosignatures to be sought in nearby planetary systems

  • Change the project list by adding or removing a team. Click a team to add, click the [x] to remove.

  • Carnegie Institution of Washington
  • Indiana University, Bloomington
  • Marine Biological Laboratory
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Montana State University
  • NASA Ames Research Center
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • SETI Institute
  • University of Arizona
  • University of California, Berkeley
  • University of Colorado, Boulder
  • University of Hawaii
  • University of Wisconsin
  • VPL at University of Washington