NAI
2012 Annual Science Report
Reporting | SEP 2011 – AUG 2012
Letter from the Director: 2012 NAI Annual Report
We are very pleased to publish the NAI 2012 Annual Report covering the period September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012. A major activity of the year was the 6th competition for new research teams. The five teams selected span a broad range of astrobiology research. They will help ensure close coupling between the NAI and NASA flight programs as well as advance the fundamental science of astrobiology. Three of the teams are closely identified with teams selected in the 4th competition, whose 5-year Cooperative Agreements expired last October, and two of the teams are entirely new to the Institute ...
Continue reading.This Year At a Glance
14
Teams
172
Project Reports
855
Publications
79
Field Sites
Breakdown of Top Journal Publications
- 18Science
- 15PNAS
- 22Nature
Team Reports
- Arizona State University
- Carnegie Institution of Washington
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Montana State University
- NASA Ames Research Center
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Icy Worlds
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Titan
- Pennsylvania State University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- University of Hawaii, Manoa
- University of Wisconsin
- VPL at University of Washington
Browse by Roadmap Objectives
Based on the 2008 Astrobiology Roadmap- Goal 1
- 1.1Formation and evolution of habitable planets.
- 1.2Indirect and direct astronomical observations of extrasolar habitable planets.
- Goal 2
- 2.1Mars exploration.
- 2.2Outer Solar System exploration
- Goal 3
- 3.1Sources of prebiotic materials and catalysts
- 3.2Origins and evolution of functional biomolecules
- 3.3Origins of energy transduction
- 3.4Origins of cellularity and protobiological systems
- Goal 4
- 4.1Earth's early biosphere.
- 4.2Production of complex life.
- 4.3Effects of extraterrestrial events upon the biosphere
- Goal 5
- 5.1Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in microorganisms
- 5.2Co-evolution of microbial communities
- 5.3Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments
- Goal 6
- 6.1Effects of environmental changes on microbial ecosystems
- 6.2Adaptation and evolution of life beyond Earth
- Goal 7
- 7.1Biosignatures to be sought in Solar System materials
- 7.2Biosignatures to be sought in nearby planetary systems