The logo for NExSS in black against a white background. Letters are in square, capital letters apart from the 'x', which is composed of two swooping lines representing orbits with one Earth-like planet following along one of the paths.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.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.
Assessment of NASA’s NExSS Research Coordination NetworkFindings of the assessment of the Nexus for Exoplanet System Science (NExSS) have been released.01/03
Submit your Abstract for AbSciCon24Abstracts are due January 10, 2024.02/03
NASA Selects Cross Divisional Teams for Astrobiology ResearchNew teams join the Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) program.03/03
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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.

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