NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

Letter from the Director

We live in exciting times. From an astrobiological perspective, the enduring triumph of the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity , the promise of Cassini-Huygens, and the accumulating catalog of extrasolar planets and planetary systems, are obvious highlights. We also live in interesting times. The transformation of NASA from an agency focused on the origin, future, and occurrence of life in the Universe (NASA 2003 Strategic Plan) to one with a novel Vision for Space Exploration is still underway.

The broad astrobiological goals, articulated in the Strategic Plan and the Astrobiology Roadmap, remain the...

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Project Reports

Organized by Astrobiology Roadmap Objective (2003 Version)

Goal 1: Understand the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the Universe

• Objective 1.1: Models of formation and evolution of habitable planets (35 reports)
• Objective 1.2: Indirect and direct astronomical observations of extrasolar habitable planets (23 reports)

Goal 2: Explore for past or present habitable environments, prebiotic chemistry and signs of life elsewhere in our Solar System

• Objective 2.1: Mars exploration (19 reports)
• Objective 2.2: Outer Solar System exploration (9 reports)

Goal 3: Understand how life originates from cosmic and planetary precursors

• Objective 3.1: Sources of prebiotic materials and catalysts (27 reports)
• Objective 3.2: Origins and evolution of functional biomolecules (20 reports)
• Objective 3.3: Origins of energy transduction (6 reports)
• Objective 3.4: Origins of cellularity and protobiological systems (9 reports)

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

• Objective 4.1: Earth's early biosphere (44 reports)
• Objective 4.2: Foundations of complex life (29 reports)
• Objective 4.3: Effects of extraterrestrial events upon the biosphere (21 reports)

Goal 5: Understand the evolutionary mechanisms and environmental limits of life

• Objective 5.1: Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in microorganisms (34 reports)
• Objective 5.2: Co-evolution of microbial communities (31 reports)
• Objective 5.3: Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments (38 reports)

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 (31 reports)
• Objective 6.2: Adaptation and evolution of life beyond Earth (27 reports)

Goal 7: Determine how to recognize signatures of life on other worlds and on early Earth

• Objective 7.1: Biosignatures to be sought in Solar System materials (25 reports)
• Objective 7.2: Biosignatures to be sought in nearby planetary systems (32 reports)

Project Reports

Organized by Team

• Carnegie Institution of Washington
• Indiana University, Bloomington
• Marine Biological Laboratory
• Michigan State University
• NASA Ames Research Center
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Pennsylvania State University
• SETI Institute
• University of Arizona
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Colorado, Boulder
• University of Hawaii
• University of Rhode Island
• University of Washington
• Virtual Planetary Laboratory (JPL/CalTech)