NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

Letter from the Director

It is my pleasure to submit the NAI Annual Report covering the period July 2005-June 2006. This was a challenging year, during which the Institute began responding to a 50% Astrobiology Program budget cut while continuing to produce ground-breaking research results.

The NAI released its fourth Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN-4), soliciting proposals to replace four NAI teams whose 5-year Cooperative Agreements were concluding. Although proposals were received and reviewed, and the reviews distributed to the proposers, the Astrobiology Program budget cut led to a deferral of any selections. The result was a contraction...

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Project Reports

Organized by Astrobiology Roadmap Objective (2003 Version)

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

• Objective 1.1: Models of formation and evolution of habitable planets (Found: 56)
• Objective 1.2: Indirect and direct astronomical observations of extrasolar habitable planets (Found: 21)

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 (Found: 33)
• Objective 2.2: Outer Solar System exploration (Found: 17)

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

• Objective 3.1: Sources of prebiotic materials and catalysts (Found: 38)
• Objective 3.2: Origins and evolution of functional biomolecules (Found: 18)
• Objective 3.3: Origins of energy transduction (Found: 6)
• Objective 3.4: Origins of cellularity and protobiological systems (Found: 10)

Goal 4: Understand how past life on Earth interacted with its changing planetary and Solar System environment

• Objective 4.1: Earth's early biosphere (Found: 50)
• Objective 4.2: Foundations of complex life (Found: 28)
• Objective 4.3: Effects of extraterrestrial events upon the biosphere (Found: 19)

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

• Objective 5.1: Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in microorganisms (Found: 38)
• Objective 5.2: Co-evolution of microbial communities (Found: 31)
• Objective 5.3: Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments (Found: 45)

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

• Objective 6.1: Environmental changes and the cycling of elements by the biota, communities, and ecosystems (Found: 34)
• Objective 6.2: Adaptation and evolution of life beyond Earth (Found: 23)

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 (Found: 27)
• Objective 7.2: Biosignatures to be sought in nearby planetary systems (Found: 27)

Goal 0:

• Objective NAI1: carrying out, supporting and catalyzing collaborative interdisciplinary research (Found: 12)
• Objective NAI2: training the next generation of astrobiology researchers (Found: 11)
• Objective NAI3: providing scientific and technical leadership on astrobiology investigations for current and future space missions (Found: 5)
• Objective NAI4: exploring new approaches using modern information technology to conduct interdisciplinary and collaborative research amongst widely-distributed investigators (Found: 9)
• Objective NAI5: supporting outreach by providing scientific content for K-12 education programs, teaching undergraduate classes, and communicating directly with the public (Found: 13)

Project Reports

Organized by Team

• Carnegie Institution of Washington
• Indiana University, Bloomington
• Marine Biological Laboratory
• Michigan State University
• NASA Ames Research Center
• NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
• Pennsylvania State University
• SETI Institute
• University of Arizona
• University of California, Berkeley
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Colorado, Boulder
• University of Hawaii
• University of Washington
• Virtual Planetary Laboratory (JPL/CalTech)