Issue #8 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe explores what astrobiologists are actually looking for when they search for life – what we call biosignatures. From patterns in ancient rocks to the chemical compositions of the atmospheres of other planets, astrobiologists study indicators of life’s presence, both now and in the past. This search includes identifying evidence left behind by biology that once survived on the ancient Earth, and extends to the search for life beyond our planet. Research into biosignatures also informs many of NASA’s biggest missions, from space observatories (like Hubble and JWST) to Mars Sample Return.

Issue #7 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe is now available in Japanese! This translation is provided courtesy of the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech). The digital version of the Japanese edition is available for download with permission from ELSI.

Issue #7 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe turns from telescopes to microscopes in order to examine the study prebiotic chemistry. Understand how life on Earth arose from chemical precursors is a core question of astrobiology, and essential in determining whether or not life could originate on other worlds. This issue delves into the rich scientific history of prebiotic chemistry, the role of NASA in supporting research since the early days of the agency, and the incredible discoveries that have been made in recent years.

Issue #6 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe reaches out beyond the Solar System to explore life’s potential on worlds that orbit distant stars. In recent decades, astronomers have discovered a huge number of such worlds, known as exoplanets. Astrobiologists are now trying to figure out if exoplanets could support life as we know it and, if so, how could we identify inhabited worlds when they are so far, far away.

Issue #5 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe explains how astrobiologists explore analog environments on Earth in order to better understand environments that could support life on other worlds like Mars. Earth is the only planet we know that is inhabited by life, and studying our home is the key to understanding life’s potential in the Universe.

Issue #4 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe features missions to locations in the outer Solar System. Mysteries await in the cold, dark expanse beyond the asteroid belt. Gas giants like Jupiter and Saturn are not habitable, but many of their moons raise questions about life’s potential far, far away from the warmth of the Sun.

Issue# 3 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe chronicles the multitude of missions that have explored the region of our solar system that rests inside the asteroid belt. Mars is not the only location in the Solar System that interests astrobiologists. From Mercury to Venus, from asteroids to comets, there are many objects near the Sun that can help astrobiologists understand life’s potential in the Universe.

Issue# 2 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe chronicles the ups and downs of our exploration of Mars. There were early successes, followed by NASA’s first foray into life-detection with Viking. After Viking, many countries struggled to get missions to Mars. But the ’90s saw a return to form, with many successes. The story concludes with exciting new missions to the red planet.


Read the 5th edition, with updates that include the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover!

Issue #1 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe is now available in Korean! This translation is provided courtesy of the Young Astronauts Korea (YAK), an international youth organization that focuses on science and technology. The digital version of the Korean edition is available for download with permission from YAK.

Issue #1 of Astrobiology: The Story of our Search for Life in the Universe traces the roots of Astrobiology from early cave paintings, through speculations of ancient Greek philosophers on the existence of other worlds, to contributions from more modern scientists such as Huygens, Galileo, Oparin, Haldane, Miller, Urey, Franklin, Watson, Crick, and Sagan. It goes on to explain how shortly after NASA was created in 1958, the NASA Exobiology Program, a research program supporting the search for life beyond Earth, came along. It would eventually morph into the Astrobiology Program in the mid-90’s.