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Astrobiology in Missions
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Flyby
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Outer Solar System
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Space Telescope
Current missions
ACE
Mission name
Advanced Composition Explorer
Purpose to Astrobiology
Observing solar, interplanetary, interstellar, and galactic origins.
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ALMA
Mission name
Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
Purpose to Astrobiology
The most powerful Earth observatory in history
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Chandra
Mission name
Chandra X-Ray Observatory
Purpose to Astrobiology
NASA's flagship mission for X-ray astronomy.
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Europa Clipper
Mission name
Europa Clipper Mission
Purpose to Astrobiology
Europa Clipper will conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter's moon Europa and investigate whether the icy moon could harbor conditions suitable for life.
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Gaia Space Observatory
Mission name
Gaia
Purpose to Astrobiology
Capturing a three-dimensional map of our Galaxy
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Gemini Observatory
Mission name
Gemini North and Gemini South
Purpose to Astrobiology
Exploring the Universe, Sharing its Wonders
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Hubble Space Telecope
Mission name
Hubble Space Telecope
Purpose to Astrobiology
Hubble has provided observations of everything from distant galaxies to nearby planets in our own Solar System.
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Webb
Mission name
James Webb Space Telescope
Purpose to Astrobiology
Webb will be used to hunt for solar systems capable of supporting habitable planets.
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Juno
Mission name
Juno
Purpose to Astrobiology
Juno will improve our understanding of the solar system's beginnings by revealing the origin and evolution of Jupiter.
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JUICE
Mission name
JUpiter ICy moons Explorer
Purpose to Astrobiology
JUICE (JUpiter ICy moons Explorer) will explore Jupiter and three of its icy moons in depth.
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LRO
Mission name
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
Purpose to Astrobiology
Map the Moon's surface like never before.
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Mars 2020
Mission name
Mars 2020 Mission
Purpose to Astrobiology
The Mars 2020 mission's Perseverance Rover will provide details about the potential for life on Mars, both past and present.
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MAVEN
Mission name
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution
Purpose to Astrobiology
MAVEN is studying how atmospheric loss triggered the disappearance of liquid water on the surface of Mars.
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Mars Odyssey
Mission name
Mars Odyssey
Purpose to Astrobiology
Mars Odyssey provides detailed maps of Mars that are used to determine the evolution of the Mars environment and its potential for life.
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MRO
Mission name
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Purpose to Astrobiology
A Mission to Study the History of Water on Mars
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MSL
Mission name
Mars Science Laboratory
Purpose to Astrobiology
MSL’s Curiosity rover is studying whether or not Mars ever had environments capable of supporting microbial life.
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NASA IRTF
Mission name
NASA Infrared Telescope Facility
Purpose to Astrobiology
Provide vital and unequaled capabilities in planetary research while supporting NASA’s flight missions and Strategic Goal for Planetary Science
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New Horizons
Mission name
New Horizons
Purpose to Astrobiology
The First Mission to the Pluto System and the Kuiper Belt
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OSIRIS-REx
Mission name
Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security, Regolith Explorer
Purpose to Astrobiology
OSIRIS-REx is NASA's first sample return mission to an asteroid.
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SPHEREx
Mission name
Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer
Purpose to Astrobiology
An All-Sky Spectral Survey
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Spitzer
Mission name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Purpose to Astrobiology
The Spitzer Space Telescope provides observations relevant to the search for habitable worlds around distant stars, and the study of astrobiology targets in our own solar system.
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HPF
Mission name
The Habitable Zone Planet Finder
Purpose to Astrobiology
Highest precision measurements of infrared signals from nearby stars.
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TESS
Mission name
Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite
Purpose to Astrobiology
The first-ever spaceborne all-sky transit survey.
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Voyager
Mission name
Voyager 1 and Voyager 2
Purpose to Astrobiology
Voyager Interstellar Mission
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Keck
Mission name
W.M. Keck Observatory
Purpose to Astrobiology
Exploring the local and distant Universe
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Future missions
Dragonfly
Mission name
Dragonfly
Purpose to Astrobiology
Flights of exploration across Saturn's moon Titan
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Roman Space Telescope
Mission name
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Purpose to Astrobiology
Studying dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics
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Exobiology on Mars (ExoMars) Rover
Mission name
Rosalind Franklin ExoMars Rover
Purpose to Astrobiology
Establishing if life ever existed on Mars
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Concept missions
No concept missions listed
Past missions
Apollo
Mission name
Apollo
Purpose to Astrobiology
Apollo 11 was the first crewed lunar landing and return to Earth.
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Cassini-Huygens
Mission name
Cassini-Huygens Saturn Orbiter and Titan Probe
Purpose to Astrobiology
Cassini-Huygens reveals new details about the potential for life on moons around giant planets.
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CGRO
Mission name
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory
Purpose to Astrobiology
Observing the high-energy Universe
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Dawn
Mission name
Dawn
Purpose to Astrobiology
Dawn provided new information about the early Solar System and formation of rocky planets by visiting protoplanets in the Main Asteroid Belt.
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Deep Impact
Mission name
Deep Impact
Purpose to Astrobiology
Mission to a Comet
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EPOXI
Mission name
Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI) and Extrasolar Planet Observation and Characterization (EPOCh)
Purpose to Astrobiology
Two intriguing investigations -- One flight-proven spacecraft
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GALEX
Mission name
Galaxy Evolution Explorer
Purpose to Astrobiology
Understanding how the galaxies were formed
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Galileo
Mission name
Galileo mission
Purpose to Astrobiology
Mission to Jupiter and its mysterious moons
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IPEX
Mission name
Intelligent Payload Experiment
Purpose to Astrobiology
Validating technologies for autonomous payload operations on a CubeSat
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InSight
Mission name
Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport
Purpose to Astrobiology
Insight into the early evolution of terrestrial planets.
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Kepler
Mission name
Kepler and K2
Purpose to Astrobiology
Kepler data is used to search for Earth-sized planets around distant stars.
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LADEE
Mission name
Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer
Purpose to Astrobiology
LADEE provided new data about the lunar atmosphere and air-born dust.
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LCROSS
Mission name
Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite
Purpose to Astrobiology
LCROSS identified water ice and a water cycle on the Moon, providing clues about how rocky bodies might become habitable for life.
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Mariner 4
Mission name
Mariner 4
Purpose to Astrobiology
Mariner 4 returned the first pictures of the martian surface, and changed the way astrobiologists thought about life's potential on Mars.
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MERs
Mission name
Mars Exploration Rovers
Purpose to Astrobiology
The MER rovers have shaped our understanding of Mars’ geology and past environments at the surface that may have been suitable for life.
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MESSENGER
Mission name
MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging
Purpose to Astrobiology
Unlocking the mysteries of planet Mercury
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O/OREOS
Mission name
Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses
Purpose to Astrobiology
O/OREOS studies how living organisms are affected by the space environment.
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Phoenix
Mission name
Phoenix Mars Mission
Purpose to Astrobiology
Phoenix was designed to study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian arctic's ice-rich soil.
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Pioneer Venus
Mission name
Pioneer Venus Orbiter
Purpose to Astrobiology
NASA's early missions to Venus helped to solidify the idea that Mars was a better place to look for potential past or present life.
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Stardust
Mission name
Stardust
Purpose to Astrobiology
NASA's comet sample return mission
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SOFIA
Mission name
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
Purpose to Astrobiology
SOFIA is making observations of new solar systems, complex molecules in space, and planets in our own Solar System.
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Viking 1 and 2
Mission name
Viking Project
Purpose to Astrobiology
NASA's Viking Project was the first mission to reach the martian surface and the first to search for evidence of life on Mars.
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