Recently in the NASA Astrobiology Program Category

Dear Colleagues, For all of us, for many reasons, 2020 has been a tough year and its impacts will be felt in many ways in 2021 and beyond. I am writing to inform you of some changes planned for the Astrobiology Program in Fiscal Year 2021 to meet the continuing challenges.

The NASA Astrobiology Program announces the selection of eight new interdisciplinary research teams today, inaugurating its Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) program.

The NASA Science Mission Directorate is soliciting community feedback and recommendations on the structure and science goals of the NASA Astrobiology Program's Research Coordination Network (RCN) focused on "Early Cells to Multicellularity" (ECM) research. Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) will be used by NASA to further inform planning and development of the ECM RCN and to ensure that this RCN is scoped to advance the big science questions in this research area.

The Network for Life Detection (NfoLD) is a NASA Research Coordination Network focused on advancing life detection research by building a strong, diverse, and interactive community of scientists and technologists.

Join us on November 14, 2019 8:30AM - 5:00PM PST to celebrate the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) at 20. As the NAI completes its 20-year tenure, we remember the origin of astrobiology, the impact of the NAI to the field of astrobiology, share the current development of the field, and discuss the future direction of astrobiology at NASA, the Ames Research Center, and the broader community.

To better support the broad, interdisciplinary field of astrobiology - the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe - NASA is announcing a new programmatic infrastructure for the Astrobiology Program.

Penelope Boston has been selected as the director of NASA's Astrobiology Institute (NAI), in Moffett Field, California, to lead the scientific activities of the institute's member teams and all operational aspects of the organization. Her appointment is effective May 31.

Over the past two years 800 members of the astrobiology community have contributed, through in person meetings, white papers, a series of webinars and reviews, to define a new strategy for the next decade of astrobiology research. Mary Voytek, the Senior Scientist for Astrobiology, and Michael New, the Astrobiology Discipline Scientist, described the goal of the endeavor to create an "inspirational and aspirational" document. The strategy will replace the 2008 Astrobiology Roadmap.

NASA seeks a new Director for the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI). The ideal candidate will be an internationally recognized scientist with proven experience in leading or managing large interdisciplinary research programs or projects, possessed with a vision for leading the Institute into the future.

NASA's Astrobiology Institute (NAI) announced that the SETI Institute has been selected as a new member of theNAI for a 5-year research program, "Changing Planetary Environments and the Fingerprints of Life."