Content with the tag: “extremophiles”
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Islands of Life: On Yungay Salar
Chile’s Atacama desert has provided a great deal of information about how life on Earth is able to survive in harsh conditions. An area known as ‘Yungay salar’ is where bacteria were first discovered living inside halite (salt) rocks. Although other salars with colonized halite rocks have since been found, much of the ongoing research into how these bacteria survive such an arid environment still takes place in Yungay. Astrobiology Magazine Field Research Editor Henry Bortman recently accompanied a group of researchers in the Atacama, and in this installment he reports on the work of two young researchers,...
Source: [astrobio.net]
July 18, 2011 / Written by: Henry Bortman -
Islands of Life, Part 2
The Atacama Desert in northern Chile has long been utilized by astrobiologists as an analog environment for ancient Mars. Here, even bacteria have a hard time surviving. In the second in a series of reports, field research editor Henry Bortman recounts a day of research activities at Salar de Navidad. This area of the Atacama is covered in places by vast fields of small, knobby salt rocks, some of which are colonized by microbes.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
July 7, 2011 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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Islands of Life, Part I
The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of the driest places on our planet, and astrobiologists have long studied this unique location as an analog environment for ancient Mars. Astrobiology Magazine’s field research editor, Henry Bortman, recently traveled to the Atacama desert with a group of scientists who are studying microorganisms living in stubby, knob-shaped rocks made of pure halite. In the first in a series of reports, the team takes a road trip to one of the Atacama’s ‘wettest’ regions to collect samples and study how soil bacteria might act to colonize halite and other rocks.Source: [astrobio.net]
June 29, 2011 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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Thermophiles Lurking in your Basement
Exotic life forms may be lurking in your home, and a new citizen science project seeks to find them. Thermophile microorganisms similar to those that live in the hot springs of Yellowstone were identified in domestic water heaters forty years ago. Now, with support from the NASA Astrobiology Institute, researchers are asking people to sample the hot spring in their own basement. By sampling home water heaters, scientists can learn more about the types of life we may find beyond Earth.Source: [astrobio.net]
April 14, 2011 / Written by: Michael Schirber
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Get Your Biology Textbook...and an Eraser!
Geomicrobiologist Felisa Wolfe-Simon, collecting lake-bottom sediments in the shallow waters of Mono Lake in California. Wolfe-Simon cultured the arsenic-utilizing organisms from this hypersaline and highly alkaline environment. Credit: ©2010 Henry Bortman
One of the basic assumptions about life on Earth may be due for a revision thanks to research supported by NASA’s Astrobiology Program. Geomicrobiologist Felisa Wolfe-Simon has discovered a bacterium in California’s Mono Lake that uses arsenic instead of phosphorus in its DNA. Up until now, it was believed that all life required phosphorus as a fundamental piece of the ‘backbone’ that holds DNA together. The discovery of an organism that thrives on otherwise poisonous arsenic broadens our thinking about the possibility of life on other planets, and begs a rewrite of biology textbooks by...Source: [NASA]
December 2, 2010 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Sampling Microbial Muck
Forgoing the use of the Mat Sampler 3000, Eric Collins gets down and dirty with a handful of lakeshore mud, performing a sniff test before deciding to add it to his collecting jar. Credit: Henry Bortman
Astrobiology Magazine’s field research editor Henry Bortman spent a week alongside members of the Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP) in British Columbia, Canada. In Bortman’s sixth and final report, he describes a day trip to collect nasty-smelling microbial slime at nearby lakes. Visit Astrobiology Magazine now to ask questions of researchers in the field and watch their video responses.Source: [astrobio.net]
July 27, 2010 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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On the Beach with the Gaviators
Astrobiology Magazine’s Henry Bortman is spending a week alongside members of the Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP). This second field report describes the glitches and problems researchers have had to overcome so that their “Gavia” robotic vehicles can explore the lake as planned.
Visit Astrobiology Magazine to pose questions directly to the scientist and astronauts working in the field at Pavilion Lake.Source: [astrobio.net]
July 5, 2010 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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Flying the North Basin
Photo Credit: Henry Bortman
Astrobiology Magazine’s Henry Bortman is in the field this week alongside scientists and astronauts who are working on the Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP). The team is studying microbialites, carbonate structures that line the lakebed and are usually not found in freshwater lakes. This field report looks at the complex process of communicating with scientists as they explore underwater. With Astrobiology Magazine, ask questions of researchers in the field, and watch their video responses.Source: [astrobio.net]
July 1, 2010 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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Probing Pavilion Lake
A team of scientists and astronauts have returned to Pavilion Lake in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The scientists will be continuing their effort to understand what role biology plays in forming the strange structures that line the lakebed, while the astronauts will be learning how to do field science. With Astrobiology Magazine, ask questions of researchers now in the field at Pavilion Lake, and watch their video responses.Source: [astrobio.net]
June 30, 2010 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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Hunting for Fossils on Europa
Side-by-side images of the Moon Europa.
Jupiter’s moon Europa has a salty ocean where life could exist, but in order to explore it, we need to drill through the moon’s thick ice shell. However, some scientists believe that the remains of marine life on Europa could be accessible on the surface for a lander to find. The icy surface of Europa is covered in cracks and fissures, and it might be possible that organisms are dragged to the surface as these features form. Experiments performed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs even suggest that orbiters could investigate the infrared signature of Europa’s icy crust...Source: [astrobio.net]
June 17, 2010 / Written by: Charles Q. Choi
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Exploring Beneath Antarctic Ice
The NASA-funded ENDURANCE project has completed its second field season robotically exploring the waters of an ice-covered lake in Antarctica. Insight gained by the expedition will help scientists prepare for a future mission to Jupiter’s moon Europa.
During EUDURANCE’s second field season, the robot was used to study the west lobe of Antarctica’s Lake Bonney and the underwater face of Taylor Glacier. Over the course of a month, ENDURANCE produced what is perhaps the most extensive 3-D biogeochemical map of any lake on Earth.Source: [astrobio.net]
April 8, 2010 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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Discoveries in the Deep
NASA astronaut Michael Gernhardt at Pavilion Lake.
Credit: Darlene Lim
Scientists from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency have been using Pavilion Lake as a testing ground for the future human exploration of other worlds. Pavilion Lake, in British Columbia, Canada, is home to a biological mystery. Microbialites, coral-like structures built by bacteria, in a variety of sizes and shapes, carpet the lakebed. That’s unusual for a freshwater lake like Pavilion. Exploration of Pavilion Lake is helping biologists understand this unique environment – and it’s also helping astronauts prepare for future human exploration of other worlds.Source: [astrobio.net]
November 13, 2009 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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Diving Through A Microbial Landscape
Scientist Dale Andersen prepares to dive in Lake Untersee in Queen Maud Land in Antarctica. Photo: Dale Andersen
The ice-covered lakes of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys have long been of interest to astrobiologists. These remote and extreme environments harbor unique microbial ecosystems that could provide clues about how life might survive on other worlds – such as Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Recently, a team of scientists funded by the NASA Exobiology Program began exploring the unique habitat of the ice-crusted Lake Joyce.
Lake Joyce is of special interest, because it’s waters harbor carbonate structures known as microbialites. These unique structures are formed with layers of cyanobacteria. The research team is interested in how these organisms...Source: [OnOrbit]
October 29, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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NASA participates in the Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) 2009
Throughout most of the month of August, an international team of scientists participated in the Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) in Norway, conducting scientific research and testing instruments for future NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Mars robotic missions.The Svalbard archipelago is unique in the diversity of geological formations it contains. Few places in the world include a record of so many geological eras exposed in outcrops that can be studied without moving significant amounts of soil and vegetation. Some of these formations are considered interesting analogues for Mars terrains. AMASE 2009 test...
October 26, 2009 / Written by: Linda Billings
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Goddess of the Arctic
Members of the 2009 AMASE Expedition describe their work in the ‘scientific playground’ of Bockfjorden on the arctic island of Svalbard. The team collected samples of rock and ice that will be examined for signs of life. In doing so, they are testing technologies that will one day be used on Mars.
Part 1: AMASE 2009 Expedition Takes Off
Part 2: Roving the AMASEing Arctic
Part 3: The AMASEing Adventure Continues
Part 4: Amase-ing Life on the IceSeptember 7, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Amase-ing Life on the Ice
Far north in the arctic, the AMASE 2009 expedition team is collecting samples of unique life that inhabits the glacial ice of Svalbard, Norway. The expedition is a test for technology that could one day be used in the search for life on Mars.
Part 1: AMASE 2009 Expedition Takes Off
Part 2: Roving the AMASEing Arctic
The AMASEing Adventure ContinuesSource: [astrobio.net]
August 31, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Wanted: Easy-Going Martian Roommates
Mars is not for the finicky. If something does live there, it’s likely going to be similar to the more adaptive life forms on our planet. A group of researchers is studying a particular microbe that they think could be a model for Mars life.
Source: [astrobio.net]
July 13, 2009 / Written by: Michael Schirber
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The Search for Life on Earth
The search for life on other worlds could prove that Earth is not the only planet capable of supporting biology. If we found life that was completely different from life on Earth, the discovery would be even more profound because it would mean that there are multiple ways in which living systems can originate and function. But what if a second genesis of life, a type of life unrelated to DNA-based life, is here on Earth? Some scientists believe we should also be searching closer to home.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
June 10, 2009 / Written by: Henry Bortman
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First Native American Research Laboratories(NARL) ignites excitement about Astrobiology
The University of Montana is buzzing about its first new Native American Research Laboratories. The NARL was conceptualized and established by a Native American Scientist, Professor Michael Ceballos with funding from both the National Science Foundation and NASA.
May 15, 2009 / Written by: Benita P. Bell -
Outer Space Oreos
Scientists have previously exposed organisms and biomolecules to the many rigors of space, but those experiments only managed to take “before” and “after” pictures of their samples. A planned small satellite will monitor on a continuous basis the negative effects of space on biology. The upcoming O/OREOS mission will be the first demonstration flight of the ASTID small payloads initiative.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
May 7, 2009 / Written by: Michael Schirber
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Program Solicitation in Antarctic Research
The National Science Foundation (
Antarctica has long been a research site of interest for astrobiologists. The continent supports a range of unique organisms that can survive...March 12, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Opportunities in Microbial Genome Sequencing
Microbial Genome Sequencing Program, Fiscal Year 2009
The National Science Foundation has released details on the final year of the Microbial Genome Sequencing Program. This interagency program supports genome sequencing of microorganisms and the metagenomes of mixed microbial communities. One major goal is to make novel genome sequences more valuable to the research community.
By studying genome sequences, researchers can gain valuable insight into how microorganisms function, live and interact with their environments. This information is invaluable for astrobiologists studying the potential for life on other celestial bodies in the solar system. Investigators in the program are focused on topics...Source: [NSF]
January 26, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal -
Life in Transition
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a new initiative from the Biological Sciences Directorate to support emerging interdisciplinary research at the intersection of the life and physical sciences. The program will focus particularly on the fundamental questions of ‘Life in Transition’, including areas relevant to the goals of astrobiology. These areas include “how the living world has and is adapting to and transforming the Earth’s climate, the diverse strategies by which living systems obtain and use energy, and life’s origins and indispensable properties.“
Target and deadline dates for proposals are...Source: [NSF]
January 22, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Life's Boiling Point
Some proteins can work above the boiling point of water, but these vital biomolecules may have a harder time evolving at high temperature. A new project is searching for the maximum temperature for protein-based life.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
November 12, 2008 / Written by: Michael Schirber
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"Alien" Water Bears Amaze Scientists
Tardigrades, commonly known as “water bears”, have been reared under laboratory conditions and subjected to a barrage of tests. Their survivability shows that animals can survive extreme conditions, and also may indicate how humans could adapt to the rigors of space.Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
October 16, 2008 / Written by: Lee Pullen
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Can the Martian Arctic Support Extreme Life?
ABC.com features NASA’s Phoenix lander and the search for life on Mars in a new article on their Technology and Science website. Harkening back to Viking, and citing new discoveries of microbes in Greenland’s glaciers, the article focuses on the need to understand the microbiology of Earth’s extreme environments in order to best search for life on other planets.
Source: [ABC]
June 25, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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How Low Can Geologists Go?
Scientists have begun the final leg of a five-year, NASA-funded mission to reach the bottom of Cenote Zacatón in Mexico, the world’s deepest known sinkhole.
No one has ever reached bottom and at least one diver has died in the attempt. Scientists want to learn more about Cenote Zacatón’s physical dimensions, the geothermal vents that feed it and the forms of life that exist in its murky depths.
Previous expeditions tested the robotic probe that will make the dive. The Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer, known as DEPTHX, is a tangerine-shaped submarine designed to survey...
November 13, 2007 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Microbes of the Deep
In this week’s Science, researchers from NAI’s Indiana, Princeton, Tennessee Astrobiology Initiative (IPTAI) and Carnegie Institution of Washington Teams report that they have found an extant microbial biome at 2.8km depth in a South African mine. Analyses showed thermophilic sulfate reducers existing “with no apparent reliance on photosynthetically derived substrates.”
Source: [Link]
October 20, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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NAI Scientists Successfully Drill into Subglacial Lake
Last month, scientists from NAI’s University of Hawai’i Team, in collaboration with Icelandic research institutes, successfully drilled into and sampled a lake deep beneath a glacier in Iceland. The lake and other subglacial lakes are the focus of studies of life in “extreme environments,” and may resemble potential habitats on Mars and icy satellites in the outer Solar System
Source: [Link]
July 7, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe
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Going Deep
Some of the most arresting images of life on our planet have come from the deep-sea world of hydrothermal vents. Massive chimneys belching superheated fluids, colonies of giant crimson-tipped tubeworms swaying in the current, swarms of tiny shrimp, albino crabs. These ecosystems, although isolated from life on the surface, contain a virtual zoo of creatures, thriving under conditions of heat and pressure so extreme that, until the vent communities were discovered in the late 1970s, scientists did not even imagine that they existed.
Perhaps even more fascinating – at least to biologists – has been the cataloging of the microbial...
March 30, 2006 / Posted by: Yael Kovo
- .planetary dynamics 3d simulations 16srrna 17p 26al 55 cancri e 79 ceti 85p 238u/235u 247cm 1999 1999 and 2000 2000 2008 aas abiogenic abiogenic methane abiotic abiotic chemistry abiotic synthesis abscicon abscicon 2010 abundances acarychloris marina accretion acid mine drainage acidophile activity adaptability adaptive optics adenosine triphosphate aerobic aerosol aerosol chemistry aerosol nucleation aerosols akila akilia island alaska algae algal-sarcodine photosymbiotic relationships algal cultures alh84001 alh 84001 alien earths alien life alkaline waters allan hills alpha centauri altiplano aluminum-26 alvin amase amase 2009 american astronomical society american type culture collection amino acid amino acids ammonia ammonia formation ammonium amorphization anaerobic anaerobic metabolism analog analog environments analogue ancient atmospheres ancient dna ancient earth ancient life ancient pathways. andes and k content anerobic methane oxidation animal animal evolution animals anoxia anoxia biomarker permian cambrian terrestrial paleosol oxygen archean proterozoic biogeochemistry extinction euxinia hydrogen sulfide sulfur bacteria anoxic environment anoxygenic photosynthesis antarctica antarctic endolithic communities antarctic lakes antartic antartica antennas apollo missions aqueous alteration archae archaea archaean archaeoglobus archea archean arctic area 9 argon diffusion arid and semi-arid soils aromatic arsenic art asap (astrobiology sample analysis program) aspartic acid assembly astep asteroid asteroid 10537 (1991 ry16) asteroid belt asteroid impacts asteroids asteroids--dynamics astid astrobiology astrobiology (journal) astrobiology drilling program astrobiology journal astrobiology magazine astrobiology small payload astrobiotechnology astrochemical modeling astrochemistry astrometry astronaut astronauts astronomical journal astronomical observations astrophysical journal astrophysical journal letters astrophysics atacama atacama desert atlantis atmopsheric photochemistry atmosphere atmosphere escape atmosphere evolution atmospheric airglow atmospheric carbon dioxide atmospheric chemistry atmospheric evolution atmospheric formation atmospheric photochemistry atmospheric temperature atp-binding proteins australia australian centre for astrobiology autonomous vehicles autotrophic auv avatar avhrr database aviris awards axial volcano subsurface fluids axis bacteria bacterial metagenomes bacteriorhodopsin banded iron formation banded iron formations barrow baruch s. blumberg basalt basaltic basaltic lava basalt tuff basalt weathering baseball beacon valley bif bifs binaries binaries: spectroscopic binary star systems binary systems bioastronomy biochemical adaption biochemistry bioenergetics biofilms biogenic mineral structure biogenic molecules biogeochemical cycles biogeochemistry biogeography biological biology biomarker biomarkers biome biomimetic chemistry biomimetic synthesis biomineralization biopan biosignature biosignatures biosphere biosphere-atmosphere interactions biosustaining energy blue holes bodonids boethin books borehole brine britian brown dwarfs burgess shale-type c-xanes ca cai calcite calcite nano-fibers calcium calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions cambrian cambrian explosion cambrian radiation canada canyon canyons carbon carbon-13 carbonaceous chondrite carbonaceous chondrites carbonate carbonate rocks carbonates carbon chemistry carbon cycle carbon dioxide carbon dioxide ice carbon flux carbon isotopes carbon monoxide cargill salt company cassini catalysis catalytic caves cavity ring-down spectrometer cayman rise cdna celestial mechanics celestial mechanics - methods: n-body simulations - planets and satellites: general - solar system: celestial mechanics. cells chaos charon chelation chemcam chemical catalysis chemical enrichment chemical weathering chemin (chemical and mineralogical xrd/xrf instrument) chemoautotrophy chemolithoautotrophs chemolithtrophic chemostat chemostratigraphy chemosynthetic communities chemotrophs chile chimpanzee china chip chiral chirality chlamydomonad chlorophyll chlorophyll concentration chlorophyll d choanoflagellate chondritic meteorites chronology chrysophyte chrysophytes circumstellar disk circumstellar disks circumstellar dust. citations clathrates climate climate change climate evolution climate model climate modeling climate models clouds cnidaria cnn co-evolution co3 coenzyme m coevolution of life cold environments cold regions cold seeps collaborative technology collaborative tools colors comet comet 176p/linear cometary comet recovery comets comet wild 2 comic book comics community community software complex iron-sulfur cluster biosynthesis complex life complex organics composition compound specific isotopic analysis compuational chemistry computational chemistry computer science conference conferences contamination contamination control continental core accretion core collapse cork observatories cork observatory cosmic rays cosmochemistry countermeasures coupled models cryovolcanism cryptoendolith. crystalline water ice crystallography cuatro cienegas cubesat curiosity curium curriculum cyanide cyanobacteria cycling cystallography cytotoxicity d/h d/h ratio dance darwin sequence analysis data data analysis database databases data mining data processing techniques dawn ddf decoherence deep-esp deep biosphere deep impact deep impact extended mission deep marine sediments deep subsurface biosphere deep terrestrial biosphere deepworker definition of life deglaciation degradation dehydratases dehydrogenases deinococci denitrifcation denitrification density functional theory depthx desulfobulbus desulforhopalus detectability detecting life detection methods: transit photometry detection of terrestrial planets deuterium deuterium enrichements deutertation development devonian devon island dice dinosaurs director direct planet detection disk-averaged spectra. disk chemistry disks dissimilatory dissimilatory iron reduction dissolved organic carbon distributed temperature sensor diversity dna dna. dna damage dna sequencing dolomite dolphin doppler spectroscopy dreams drilling drilling on mars dry valley dry valleys dune dust dust activity dust flux dust grains dwarf star dwarf stars dynamical modeling dynamic global vegetation model dynamics dynamics (asteroids) dynamo e. coli ea early animals early atmosphere early atmospheres early earth early earth geochemistry early evolution of life early life early mars early oceans early planetary system evolution early solar system earth earth's early atmosphere earth's early biosphere earth's water earth-like planets earth-moon impact earth-moon system earth and planetary science letters earth and planetary science letters (journal) earth evolution earth formation earthlike planets earthshine earth system east pacific rise eccentricity eclipsing ecogenomics ecosystem model edax ediacara ediacaran education educators eigenbrode ejsm elastic scattering electric discharge electrochemistry electrocorrosion electronic arts electronic structure electron transfer elemental composition elemental cycles element cycling element fractionation elements el nio embedded star formation enceladus encyclopedia of life endosymbiosis endourance endurance england ent environment environmental chemistry environments enzyme enzymes eoarchean eooss epimerases epoxi epr spectroscopy eps erosion esa ethane eubacteria eukaryote eukaryote evolution eukaryotes eukaryotic-specific primers eukaryotic microbial community europa euxinia evaporation evaporite evolution evolution and environment evolution of organic molecules in space exo-planetary systems exobiology exoplanet exoplanet atmospheres exoplanet detection exoplanets exoplanetsat exosolar planets exploration expose express exremophiles extinct radionuclides extra-solar planets extracellular polymeric substances extrasolar life extrasolar moons extrasolar planet extra solar planets extrasolar planets extrasolar planets (detection) extraterrestrial extraterrestrial life extreme conditions extreme environment extreme environments extreme life extremeophile extremeophiles extremephiles extremophiles faint companion farmer fe fe isotopes femo-cofactor femtochemistry femtosecond laser ablation fiction fido field studies fieldwork in april of 1999 in the tinto river located in the huelva district of southwestern spain fingerprint fischer-tropsch catalysis flash flood fluorescence in situ hybridization flux balance analysis focus group folding footprinting formaldehyde formation routes formose forward contamination fossil fossilization fossils fracture frogs fun functional genomics funding fungi fu orionis fuse future of life galaxies galileo galileo extended mission game games ganymede gardening gas gas giants gas phase gcm gene detection gene duplication gene expression gene fusions general genes genetics genome-genome interaction genome evolution genomes genome sequencing genomics genotype-phenotype geobiology geobiology (journal) geochemical geochemical cycles geochemical fellows geochemical record geochemical tca cycle geochemistry geochemsitry geochronology geodynamics geologic mapping geology geology (journal) geomicrobiology geophysics geothermal hot springs geysers giant planet atmosphere giant planet formation giant planet models giant planets glacial ice glacier glaciers glass glavin glutamic acid glycine google google mars gossan graduate students graduate summer school grain growth grain surface chemistry great dying great oxidation even great oxidation event greenhouse effect greenland ground currents groundwater gsfc guaymas basin guerrero negro gullies gypsum habcat habitability habitable extrasolar planets habitable moons habitable planet formation habitable planets habitable star catalog habitable zone habitablity in the universe habitat hadean hadean eon halophiles handbook of star forming regions hard materials haughton crater hawaii hawaiian volcanic rocks hawaii team haze h cluster hd 46375 hd 209458 heavy elements helix 65 helix 66 hematite h escape heterotrophic flagellates high-lakes high-magnesium calcite high-pressure minerals high altitude research high angular resolution high contrast highly siderophile elements high ph high school historical science history of astrobiology holmes homochirality honeybee horizontal gene transfer hot spots hot spring hot springs hubble human human exploration human factors human lunar mission human mars mission huygens hvb hydrate hydrocarbons hydrodynamics hydrogen hydrogenase hydrogen metabolism hydrogen peroxide hydrogen sulfide hydrogeology hydrothermal hydrothermal redox pathway hydrothermal vent hydrothermal vent organisms hydrothermal vents hydroxylamine hyperion hypersaline hypersaline ecosystems hypersalinity hyperthermophiles hyperthermophilic ice ice age ice analogs icebite icebreaker ice chemistry iceland ice physics ices ice shell icy moons icy satellites idaho idps igneous rocks image processing impact impact chronology impact crater impact craters impact flux impact glasses impactites impact melt rocks impacts indirect planet detection inelastic scattering information technology infrared infrared astronomy infrared astrophysics infrared imaging infrared spectroscopy injection innovator of the year inorganic inorganic methane in situ analysis in situ life detection instrumentation in situ pump insoluble organic matter instrument instrumentation instruments integrative astrobiology interdisciplinarity interdisciplinary meeting interdisciplinary symposium international space station international year of astronomy interplanetary dust particles interstellar interstellar chemistry interstellar dust interstellar ice interstellar ices interstellar ices. interstellar medium interstellar molecules interviews in vitro evolution in vitro selection io iodp ionizing radiation ion microprobe iron iron -sulfides iron-sulfur 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lassen volcanic national park late accretion late bombardment late heavy bombardment ldn 673 left-handed lefty level of analysis lexen program life life and environment life detection life elsewhere in the universe life in extreme life in our solar system life in the solar system life in the universe life on land life on mars ligase light light environments lightning li isotopes limits of life linda billings lipids liquid liquid chromatography mass spectrometry liquid hydrocarbons lithic clasts lithium lithophiles living in the microbial world: summer teacher enhancement - august 1999 lmt low-mass low-mass stars low albedo deposits lu-hf isotopes lunar-like satellites lunar evolution lunar exploration lunar impacts lunar samples lysis mafic maghemite magma ocean magnesite magnesium magnet magnetic field magnetic fields magnetic fields - stars magnetite magnets main belt asteroids main belt comet main belt comets maine malawimonas jakobiformis maldi-mass spectrometry mantle mantle convection mantle rocks maps marco polo marine marine; pyrosequencing; diversity; bacteria; archaea; eukaryotes marine ecology marine sediments eukaryotes markers mars mars. mars analog mars analog. mars analogs mars analog site mars analogue mars analogues mars atmosphere mars drill mars environmental chamber mars exploration mars express mars glaciers mars global surveyor mars habitability mars life mars maps mars methane mars on earth mars orbiter mars reconnaissance orbiter mars rovers mars sample return mars science laboratory mars time mars water martian analog martian analogues martian atmosphere martian channels martian dynamo martian meteorite martian meteorites martian oceans mass extinction mass extinctions mass spectrometry mathematical modeling maven mbcs mcmurdo dry valleys m dwarf m dwarfs m dwarf stars media membranes mer mercury messenger metabolic chemistry metabolism metabolism first metabolisms metagehomics metagenome metagenomics metal isotope fractionation metal limitation metalloenzyme evolution metals metal sulfides metamorphism metaphysics metazoans meteor meteorite meteorites meteoritic organics meteors meterite meterorites methane methane cycle methane seeps methanococcus methanogen methanogenesis methanogens methanopyrus methodology mexico micro-oxic environment microbes microbial microbial communities microbial community microbial community population structures microbial diversity microbial ecology microbial ecosystem microbial ecosystems microbial evolution microbial evolutionary processes. microbial geochemistry microbialite microbialites microbial life microbial mat microbial mats microbial mineralization microbial organisms microbiolites microbiology microfluidics microgravity microlensing micrometeorites microorganism microorganisms microrna microscopy migration mike russell miller-urey miller-urey experiments mineral biosignature mineral biosignatures mineral catalysis mineral evolution mineralogy minerals miniature mass spectrometer mirs missions mitochondria mixed cation carbonates mixing mo modeling model interface models modern analog modified minerals mojave molecular-level computer simulations molecular beam molecular biology and evolution (journal) molecular cloud molecular clouds molecular evolution molecular fossils molecular hydrogen molecular mechanics molecular orbitals molecular phylogeny molecular spectroscopy molecular weight molecules molecules of life molybdenum molybdenum isotope fractionation monocarboxylic acids mono lake monterey bay montmorillonite moon moon and planets moons moon to mars morocco mrna mro msl msl (mars science laboratory) m star m stars multi-realizable processes multicellularity multiple-planet system murchison music mutualism mycobacterium tuberculosis mysql mssbauer n-body simulations n/a nad nai nai ames team nai arc team nai asu team nai berkeley team nai cal team nai ciw team nai cub team nai gsfc team nai har team nai hawaii team nai iptai team nai mbl team nai minority institution research support nai mit team nai montana team nai msu team nai postdoctoral fellow nai psu team nai seti team nait-mit nai ua team nai ucb team nai ucla team nai uh team nai university of wisconsin team nai uri team nai uw team nai virus focus group nai vpl nai vpl at jpl nai vpl at jpl team nai vpl at uw team nai wisconsin team nano-fibers nano-satellite nanoparticles nanosatellite nanosatellites nanosats narl nasa arc nasa history nasa jpl nasa ocean biogeochemical model nasa tv nasda national parks native american research laboratories nature (journal) ndvi variations near near earth asteroid rendezvous nebular organics neoproterozoic neptune neteritics and planetary science (journal) new horizons new planets new york times nitrate nitrate reduction nitrification nitrite nitrite reduction nitrogen nitrogenase nitrogen cycle nitrogen cycling nitrogen fixation nitrogen isotopes nitrogen reduction non-el nio non-lte effects nostoc ccmp 2511 nostoc sp. pcc 7120 novel proteins npr ntiric oxide nucleic acids nucleobases numerical simulations nutrient availability o/oreos obituary observations ocean ocean-bottom ocean/atmosphere oxygenation ocean biogeochemical model ocean crust ocean drilling program ocean models ocean redox oceans odyssey olympus mons ophiolites opportunity optical microscopy optimality orbital evolution orbital light curves oreos organic organic-mineral surface interactions organic extraction organic geochemistry organic molecules organics organic synthesis organic templates origin of animals origin of ion channels origin of life origin of ocean origin of transmembrane proteins origins of life origins of protein function orion nebula-like osmium isotopes osmosis outer solar system outgassing outreach oven ovens oxidation oxidative stress oxides oxidize acetate anaerobicallly oxygen oxygenation oxygenation of the atmosphere oxygenic photosynthesis oxygen isotopes ozone ozone production p-t extinction p-t mass extinction pah 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