-
Timetree of Life
Scientists and non-scientists now have easy access to information about when living species and their ancestors originated, information that previously was difficult to find or inaccessible. Free access to the information is part of the new Timetree of Life initiative developed by NAI’s Blair Hedges, professor of biology with the Penn State Astrobiology Research Center, and Sudhir Kumar, a professor of life sciences at Arizona State University.
The Timetree of Life project debuted with the simultaneous release of a book titled The Timetree of Life (Oxford University Press), which is written by a consortium of 105 experts...
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
June 15, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
-
Astrobiology Night at the Ballpark
This past weekend, minor-league baseball fans in Madison, Wisconsin got treated to an out of this world experience at the local Madison Mallards game. NAI’s Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Center (WARC) sponsored ‘Astrobiology Night’ at the ballpark, and delivered a fun and educational experience for the 6250 fans in attendance.
A rover delivered the ball to WARC researcher Eric Roden who threw out the first pitch, but that was just the beginning of the festivities. Kids and families played with extremophile trading cards and special frisbees with an astrobiology timeline printed on them. ...
June 10, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
-
A New Way to Keep Clean
It is almost impossible to get a spacecraft completely clean before launch. Therefore, missions to other planets carry some risk of forward contamination – where microorganisms from Earth travel along with the spacecraft to its destination. This is a big problem in the search for life on planets like Mars, because you don’t want to contaminate the site you’re going to be studying. To help combat this problem, a team of scientists funded by a NASA ASTEP award have developed a new cleaning protocol that could be used for future missions to Mars and beyond.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
June 9, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
-
Microbial Habitability During the Late Heavy Bombardment
Credit: Don Davis/NASAIn a new paper in the current issue of Nature, NAI Postdoctoral Fellow Oleg Abramov at the University of Colorado, Boulder leads a modeling study investigating the degree of thermal metamorphism of the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) on the crust of the young Earth. The models were designed to recreate the effect of the LHB on the Earth as a whole, with special attention to the impact on a possible subsurface or near-surface primordial microbial biosphere.
The team’s analyses revealed that there is no plausible situation in which the habitable zone could...
May 20, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
-
Planetary Science Decadal Survey: White Papers Posted for Comment
Comments are being solicited from members of the astrobiology community on the following paper(s) that will be submitted to the 2009-2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. Papers will be revised based on community feedback. Additonal papers will be posted here as they become available.
- Astrobiology Research Priorities for Exoplanets (Last Updated: May 28, 2009)
- Astrobiology Research Priorities for Mercury, Venus, and the Moon (Added: June 8, 2009)
- Astrobiology Research Priorities for Mars (Added: June 10, 2009)
- Astrobiology Research Priorities for the Outer Solar System (Added June 15, 2009)
Please send comments to ps_decadal@nx.arc.nasa.gov no later than...
May 20, 2009 / Posted by: Marco Boldt
-
NAI Team Seminars Recorded and Available Online
A series of virtual seminars highlighting the work of the NAI’s fourteen teams concluded on April 27, 2009. In successive seminars held two per week over a period of two months, each team presented their science, education and outreach and other activities. The seminars were open to all, and participants had the option of joining in by phone and web, or by videoconference. The seminars attracted audiences that ranged from ~50-80 people each, and were recorded and archived on the NAI website. The seminars may be downloaded as podcasts or viewed as web recordings that play...
Source: [Link]
May 8, 2009 / Posted by: Marco Boldt
-
NAI Ames Research Center Team Launches New Website
The NAI Ames Research Center Team announces the launch of their new website at http://www.amesteam.arc.nasa.gov. The site contains news, highlights, a member directory, research overviews, E/PO information and more.
May 4, 2009 / Posted by: Marco Boldt
- Planetary Science Decadal Survey
Planetary Science Decadal Survey: White Papers Posted for Comment- 2008 Annual Report
- NASA Selects New Science Teams for Astrobiology Institute
- NAI Team Overview Presentations
- 2008 Astrobiology Roadmap
- 2009 Santander Summer School
- NRC Assessment of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, 2008
- Astrobiology Small Payloads Workshop Report
- Seminar Series Podcasts
- Astrobiology Primer
- 6/29 NAI Director's Seminar: Chris Scholin, "Application of the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) in Deep-sea and Coastal Ocean Biomes"
- MIRS 2009 Sabbatical Awards
- 2009 Selections Announced for the NAI/APS Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research
- Recently Published Research from the NAI
- New Book: "Astrobiology of Earth: The Emergence, Evolution and Future of Life on a Planet in Turmoil"
- Ph.D. Position in Experimental Isotope Geochemistry/Petrology - Utrecht University
- Astrobiology Night at the Ballpark
- NASA Accepting Proposals for the Global Climate Change Education Cooperative Agreement Notice
- Expanding Horizons in Montana
- Planetary Science Decadal Survey: White Papers Posted for Comment
- ROSES-09 Amendment 6: New proposal opportunity in Appendix D.11 entitled "Technology Development for Exoplanet Missions."
- Timetree of Life
June 16, 2009 
