NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

University of California, Berkeley

Executive Summary

BioMARS

Project Reports

Landforms made by groundwater discharge on Mars and Earth

Adaptation to salinity in microbial communities

Climate, Habitability, and the Atmosphere on early Mars

Early oceans on Mars

Earthbound microbial and geological robotic based observations for Mars

Evolution of the interior and its consequences for water on Mars

Evolution of the Martian Interior

History and evolution of surface water on Mars

Hydrology and microbiology of active springs

Interaction between the atmosphere and water on Mars

Iron and sulfur-based biospheres and their biosignatures

Isotopic fingerprints of past life and surface conditions on Mars

The History of Evolution of Surface Water on Mars

EPO Reports

Project Reports

Organized by Astrobiology Roadmap Objective

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

• Objective 1.1: Models of formation and evolution of habitable planets (5 reports)
• Objective 1.2: Indirect and direct astronomical observations of extrasolar habitable planets (1 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 (7 reports)
• Objective 2.2: Outer Solar System exploration (3 reports)

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

• Objective 3.1: Sources of prebiotic materials and catalysts (1 reports)
• Objective 3.2: Origins and evolution of functional biomolecules (1 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 (2 reports)

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

• Objective 5.1: Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in microorganisms (2 reports)
• Objective 5.2: Co-evolution of microbial communities (2 reports)
• Objective 5.3: Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments (4 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 (1 reports)
• Objective 7.2: Biosignatures to be sought in nearby planetary systems (3 reports)