The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) supports Research and Analysis programs that solicit proposals from the research community. Scientists and engineers who plan to propose or have submitted a proposal to a research solicitation from SMD can find more information through Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES), found at: https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations. The solicitations for programs that include astrobiology research are found below.

For all of us, for many reasons, 2020 has been a tough year and its impacts will be felt in many ways in 2021 and beyond.

NASA’s Planetary Science Division solicits Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research (ICAR) to support the goals of the NASA Astrobiology program in the study of the origins, evolution, and distribution of life in the Universe. Principal Investigators selected as a result of proposals to this program element will become members of the Astrobiology Program Research Coordination Networks that are relevant to their selected research.

Supports research into the origin and early evolution of life, the potential of life to adapt to different environments, and the implications for life elsewhere.

Carries out research using knowledge of the history of the Earth and the life upon it to determine the processes which create and maintain habitable environments, search for ancient and contemporary habitable environments, and explore the possibility of extant life beyond the Earth.

Conducts research centered on understanding the formation and early evolution of the Solar System (the Sun’s family of planets, satellites, small bodies and rings), as well as planetary systems in general.

These programs are structured to ease the full development and maturation of instrument technologies. PICASSO will support instruments Technical Readiness Levels (TRLs) 1 through 3, and MatISSE will support instruments TRLs 4 through 6.

Promotes the responsible exploration of the solar system by implementing and developing efforts that protect the science, explored environments, and Earth.

Conducts integrated interdisciplinary field experiments on Earth in order to develop a sound technical and scientific basis to conduct planetary research on other solar system bodies.

Maximizes the scientific return from samples provided by missions through development of laboratory instrumentation and advanced analytical techniques required for the complete analyses of the samples.

Increases the amount and quality of digital information and data products available for planetary science research and exploration, and to produce tools that would enable or enhance future scientific investigations.

The programmatic structure of the NASA Astrobiology Program includes virtual collaboration structures called “research coordination networks” (RCNs). These RCNs are designed to enable the research community to self-organize, collaborate, communicate, and network across organizational, divisional, and geographical boundaries. The RCNs will not themselves be a source of research funding for the community. Instead, participation in an RCN is voluntary and open to awardees funded under the established research programs in Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) found above.

Members of the Prebiotic Chemistry and Early Earth Environments (PCE₃) Consortium are striving to transform the origins of life community by breaking down language and ideological barriers, and enhancing communication across the disciplinary divide between early earth geoscientists and prebiotic chemists. The objective is to provide a network of communication and intellectual cooperation that fosters innovation across the community and gives rise to novel research avenues and encourages out-of-the-box thinking.

Researches the determination of compositions, dynamics, energetics and chemical behaviors of extrasolar planets, and the detection and characterization of other planetary systems. (shared with the Astrophysics Division)

Members of the Network for Life Detection (NfoLD) will investigate life detection research, including biosignature creation and preservation, as well as related technology development. This RCN will support the next step in PSD’s strategy for life detection in building and managing the Ladder of Life Detection and will be responsive to the Congressionally mandated 2018 NAS study on NASA’s strategy in the search for life. This network has the potential to expand to include research funded by the Science Mission Directorate (SMD)’s Earth Science as well as the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE).

NASA has formed the Network for Ocean Worlds (NOW) to advance comparative studies to characterize Earth and other ocean worlds across their interiors, oceans, and cryospheres; to investigate their habitability; to search for biosignatures; and to understand life—in relevant ocean world analogues and beyond. The network is designed to accelerate ocean worlds research by facilitating communication among active research teams funded across NASA divisions and by expanding community-wide engagement.

Below are programmatic elements of the NASA Astrobiology Program that are no longer active. These sites are for archival purposes and are no longer updated or maintained.

The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) was a virtual institute dedicated to collaborative interdisciplinary research across a geographically dispersed community, addressing all aspects of astrobiology in concert with the national and international science communities. An archive of the NAI website is available here.