The 'X-mas Planets' is a collage of computer generated images of potentially habitable worlds created by the Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL) over a section of an image of the De Mairan’s Nebula (Messier 43) taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.AbSciCon 2024 is written over the top of an artist representation of Enceladus. The silhouettes of a hydrothermal vent and submersible can be seen overlayed above Europa toward the bottom. A lander and orbiter are above the text toward the top.Aerial view from the southwest of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.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 programmatic infrastructure for the Astrobiology Program.A overhead view of the fossil site at Nilpena from an angle where hills and sky are visible. tracks and paths can be seen on bare earth with some small scrubs visible as the only plant life.
Astrobiology Workshop: Communicating Discoveries in the Search for Life in the UniverseApplication Deadline: November 15, 202301/05
Submit A Session Proposal for AbSciCon 2024Session proposal submissions are now open until September 20, 202302/05
Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library Of Congress Chair In Astrobiology, Exploration, And Scientific InnovationApplications are due by October 15, 2023.03/05
NASA Selects Cross Divisional Teams for Astrobiology ResearchNew teams join the Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) program.04/05
Australia's Nilpena Ediacara National Park: A Site for AstrobiologyDeep in South Australia's Flinders range lies a record of ancient life on Earth.05/05
NextPrevious
Go Explore
Astrobiology Field SitesResearch LocationsExplore Field Sites in More DetailExplore
Illustration of the Perseverance rover arriving on Mars.
NASA MISSIONSMars 2020

NASA's Mars 2020 mission is the next step in NASA's long-term robotic exploration of Mars. The rover Perseverance will provide important data relevant to astrobiology research, along with a vast amount of geological information about the landing site and the planet at large that will help put the astrobiological data into context.

Perseverance will not be looking for organisms living on Mars today. However, the rover will collect data that could be used to identify biosignatures of ancient microbial life.

What really sets this mission apart is that Perseverance will be collecting a suite of samples to be returned to Earth via a Mars Sample Return mission. The opportunity to bring back samples from another planet will allow our researchers to interrogate them with all of the sophistication and thoroughness that Earth-based instrumentation provides.

Learn more