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.
Team members will investigate the diversity of physical and chemical conditions on ocean worlds and how their evolution may support conditions suitable to sustain life by identifying ocean worlds, characterizing their oceans, evaluating their habitability, searching for life, and ultimately attempting to understand any life found there. NOW will also facilitate the development of future NASA missions to Ocean Worlds, beginning with Europa Clipper, and will create a network of scientists and technologists that will help accelerate NASA’s Ocean Worlds program by providing a forum for exchange of ideas and learning across the interdisciplinary spectrum of backgrounds and perspectives represented within the network of NASA-funded ocean worlds investigators.
