NAI
2013 Annual Science Report
Reporting | SEP 2012 – AUG 2013
Letter from the Director: 2013 NAI Annual Science Report
Kepler, Mars Science Laboratory, MAVEN – these, and many other space missions, exemplify the integrative role that astrobiology plays in NASA’s science program. It has been my great privilege to serve as acting director of the NAI this past year, and see from this perspective the passion and energy that continue to grow within the astrobiology community. I’ve experienced this excitement in the online discussions of our Workshops Without Walls, in the presentations of our Astrobiology Postdoctoral Fellow Alumni and, perhaps most strikingly, in the enthusiasm of the Astrobiology Graduate Conference organizers. Through all of these activities, and many ...
Continue reading.This Year At a Glance
15
Teams
149
Project Reports
574
Publications
91
Field Sites
Breakdown of Top Journal Publications
- 16Science
- 12PNAS
- 23Nature
Team Reports
- Arizona State University
- Carnegie Institution of Washington
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- 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 Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- University of Southern California
- 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