"Why was it decided that Pluto is no longer a planet? How do they decide what is and isn't considered a planet?"
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Letter from the Director
Starting NAI’s Second Decade
The year reported here, July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009, marks a major transition and the start of the second decade of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI). What began as an experiment in science management has matured into a vibrant community of geographically distributed researchers and educators linked together by some of the most modern collaborative technologies. The major transition was the start of the ten teams selected in the Cycle-5 NAI competition. The new teams were announced in October 2008, and began their tenure on Feb. 1, 2009.
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Project Reports
Organized by Astrobiology Roadmap Objective (2003 Version)
- Objective 1.1: Models of formation and evolution of habitable planets (Found: 74)
- Objective 1.2: Indirect and direct astronomical observations of extrasolar habitable planets (Found: 25)
- Objective 2.1: Mars exploration (Found: 31)
- Objective 2.2: Outer Solar System exploration (Found: 40)
- Objective 3.1: Sources of prebiotic materials and catalysts (Found: 62)
- Objective 3.2: Origins and evolution of functional biomolecules (Found: 45)
- Objective 3.3: Origins of energy transduction (Found: 24)
- Objective 3.4: Origins of cellularity and protobiological systems (Found: 14)
- Objective 4.1: Earth's early biosphere (Found: 40)
- Objective 4.2: Foundations of complex life (Found: 22)
- Objective 4.3: Effects of extraterrestrial events upon the biosphere (Found: 18)
- Objective 5.1: Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in microorganisms (Found: 23)
- Objective 5.2: Co-evolution of microbial communities (Found: 24)
- Objective 5.3: Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments (Found: 33)
- Objective 6.1: Environmental changes and the cycling of elements by the biota, communities, and ecosystems (Found: 32)
- Objective 6.2: Adaptation and evolution of life beyond Earth (Found: 27)
- Objective 7.1: Biosignatures to be sought in Solar System materials (Found: 37)
- Objective 7.2: Biosignatures to be sought in nearby planetary systems (Found: 37)
Goal 1: Understand the nature and distribution of habitable environments in the Universe
Goal 2: Explore for past or present habitable environments, prebiotic chemistry and signs of life elsewhere in our Solar System
Goal 3: Understand how life originates from cosmic and planetary precursors
Goal 4: Understand how past life on Earth interacted with its changing planetary and Solar System environment
Goal 5: Understand the evolutionary mechanisms and environmental limits of life
Goal 6: Understand the principles that will shape the future of life, both on Earth and beyond
Goal 7: Determine how to recognize signatures of life on other worlds and on early Earth
Project Reports
Organized by Team
- Arizona State University
- Carnegie Institution of Washington
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Icy Worlds)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Titan)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Montana State University
- NASA Ames Research Center
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Pennsylvania State University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- University of Hawaii, Manoa
- University of Wisconsin
- VPL at University of Washington
See reports from other years:
Project reports organized by team:
NAI Central:
