Astrobiology: Life in the Universe

NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)


  1. Now showing: Years 2003, 2008 projects that addressed Astrobiology Roadmap Objective 6.2

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

    Objective 6.2: Adaptation and evolution of life beyond Earth

    5. Life in Extreme Environments

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: CIW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1, 5.1, 5.3, 6.2, 7.1

    7. Astrobiotechnology

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: CIW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 5.3, 6.2, 7.1

    A New Molecular Recognition Instrument for Astrobiological Applications

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: CIW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 5.1, 6.2, 7.1

    Bacterial Adaptation to Low Temperatures

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: MSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.3, 6.2

    Benner - Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: SRI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2

    Biogeochemistry of the Early Earth

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 3.1, 4.1, 4.3, 5.2, 5.3, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2

    Biological Consequences of Impacts

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 4.3, 6.2

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

    Year: 2008 / 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

    Ellington - Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: SRI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2, 3.4, 4.2, 6.2

    Environmental genomics reveals a single species ecosystem deep within the Earth.

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.2

    Enzymes of Ancient Metabolic Pathways

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2

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

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1

    Expanding the List of Target Stars for Next Generation SETI Searches

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: SETI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 1.2, 4.3, 6.2, 7.2

    First-Stage Biofilm Formation Under Extreme Conditions in Ice

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: UW / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.2

    Genome-Genome Integration: Symbiosis, genetic assimilation, and evolutionary innovation

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.2, 6.2

    Genomic and Proteomic Analysis of Permafrost Bacteria

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: MSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.3, 6.2

    Genomics of sulfidic cave extremophiles (Supplement to NNA04CC06A)

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.3, 6.2

    Ghadiri - Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: SRI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2, 4.2, 6.2

    Hyperthermophiles of the hydrothermal vent subsurface: limits of life and extraterrestrial analogs

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 5.1, 5.3, 6.2

    Icelandic subglacial lakes

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: UH / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 4.1, 5.3, 6.2

    Identifying microbial life at crustal rock-water interfaces

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.2

    Impact Frustration and Subsequent Generation of Biologically Tenable Climates on Earth and Mars

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: JPL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 4.3, 6.2

    Interplanetary Pioneers

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: ARC / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.3, 6.2

    Isolation of psychrophilic microorganisms

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: PSU / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.4, 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2

    Life Beyond the Planet of Origin

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: ARC / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.3, 6.2

    Mars Forward Contamination Studies Utilizing a Mars Environmental Simulation Chamber

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 3.2, 3.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2, 7.1

    micro*scope (http://www.mbl.edu/microscope) - a web-based tool for microbial diversity research<BR>

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1, 4.2, 5.2, 6.1, 6.2

    Microbial Communities and Activities in the Deep Marine Subsurface

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2

    Microbial symbionts: Agents for reorganizing genome architectures.

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.2, 5.1, 5.2, 6.2

    Physiological Regulation of Cytosolic pH in Eukaryotic Acidophiles

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: MBL / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.1, 5.1, 5.3, 6.2

    Planet Formation and Dynamical Modeling

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: CUB / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 3.1, 6.2

    Radiolytic oxidation of sulfide minerals as a source of sulfate and hydrogen to sustain microbial metabolism

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 2.1, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.3, 6.2

    Rebek - Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

    Year: 2003 / TEAM: SRI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2, 4.2, 6.2

    Sediment-buried basement deep biosphere

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: UH / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1, 3.3, 4.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 6.1, 6.2

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

    Year: 2008 / TEAM: IPTAI / ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 6.2, 7.1, 7.2

    The High Lakes Project (HLP)

    Year: 2008 / 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

    Year: 2008 / 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 [x]
  • 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 Foundations of complex life
  • 5.1 Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in microorganisms
  • 5.2 Co-evolution of microbial communities
  • 5.3 Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments
  • 6.1 Environmental changes and the cycling of elements by the biota, communities, and ecosystems
  • 6.2 [x]
  • 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
  • Michigan State University
  • NASA Ames Research Center
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • SETI Institute
  • Scripps Research Institute
  • University of Colorado, Boulder
  • University of Hawaii
  • University of Washington
  • VPL at University of Washington