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 […]
NASA AStrobiology Institute
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Impact Experiments on a Chondrite Meteorite
A study of the Northwest Africa 869 (NWA869) meteorite has provided new information about the physical characteristics of asteroids. NW869 refers to a collection of samples from an L chondrite […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Titan
Possible Organic Precursors in Titan's Hydrocarbon
NASA researchers have confirmed the existence in Titan’s atmosphere of vinyl cyanide, which is an organic compound that could potentially provide the cellular membranes for microbial life to form in […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Impact events
Rethinking a Geologic Indicator for Impact Events
A new study brings into question the use of the molecule fullerene as a geologic indicator of impact events on ancient Earth. Fullerene is a form of carbon found in […]
Posted inNASA Astrobiology Program, Press Release
Penelope Boston Selected as New Director for NASA Astrobiology Institute
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 […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Antarctic Microbes Hold Clue to Earth's Oxygen
At the bottom of an icy Antarctic lake, a thin, slimy layer of bright green microbes is generating a tiny oasis of oxygen that might give a picture of what […]
Posted inIcy Worlds, Status Report, Titan
Early Titan Was a Cold, Hostile Place
Titan is a mysterious orange-socked moon of Saturn that is exciting to astrobiologists because it has some of the same kinds of chemicals that were precursors to life on Earth. […]
Posted inMars
Mars 2020 Will Continue Search for Habitability
How habitable was Mars in the past? Since the Curiosity rover touched down on Mars in August 2012, it has helped answer a few of these questions in the area […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones
Solving a Temperature Mystery on Extrasolar Planets
Astrobiologists supported by the NASA Astrobiology Institute have found that a peculiar feature in the atmosphere of Earth could also be present on billions of extrasolar planets. The new findings […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life
Serpentinization of Ocean Crust and The Origin of Life
In a new study published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, scientists funded by the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) advance a theory about life’s origins based on the […]