NASA Astrobiology Program Archives - Astrobiology

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from SciX blog post By Jenny Koch (SciX Digital Librarian) and Jennifer Lynn Bartlett (SciX Project Scientist for Astrophysics) Keeping track of scientific publications sounds straightforward – until you’re working in a field as interdisciplinary as astrobiology. Astrobiology sits at the intersection of astronomy, geology, chemistry, biology, and planetary […] Th…

Search for Life Instrument Study Identifying Scientific Knowledge and Technology Gapshttps://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/pesto-astrobio-report-final-draft.pdf?emrc=eaa475 Draft for Community Feedback Foreword Study Background and Scope The search for life beyond Earth remains one of the most compelling scientific priorities identified in the 2023 Planetary Science and Astrobiology Dec…

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) has released a new Request for Information (RFI) entitled, Private Sector Activities in Astrobiology, Planetary Protection, and Space Biology, seeking expressions of interest from U.S. private sector, academic, nonprofit, and government organizations interested in potential partnerships in astrobiology, planetary protection, and space biology. This RFI is …

This week from AGU astrobiology special edition: Icy worlds get new planetary protection guidelines AGU News AbSciCon26 – Next week 17-22 May!Next week, the Astrobiology Science Conference will convene in Madison, Wisconsin, hosting 900 scientific posters, talks, town halls and plenary lectures. Reporters and press officers interested in press registration should email AGU Media Relations at news…

Date/Time: Monday, May 18th, 2026, 7:00–8:30 pm CDT Please join us Monday evening, May 18th, for the NASA Astrobiology Community Update at AbSciCon 2026, featuring updates from the NASA Astrobiology Program and NASA-DARES Task Force 2. This two-part session will begin with a programmatic update from NASA Headquarters covering current activities, organizational updates, and upcoming […] The post N…

This media advisory is available online at: https://news.agu.org/press-release/abscicon26-tipsheet-1-exoplanet-earth-evolution-biosignatures-habitable-worlds/ Astrobiology Science Conference 2026 Monona Terrace Community and Convention CenterOne John Nolen DriveMadison, Wisconsin 5370317 – 22 May 2026 Press contact:Sean Cummings, +1 (202) 777-7373, news@agu.org WASHINGTON — The 2026 Astrobiology …

This media advisory is available online at: https://news.agu.org/press-release/abscicon26-tipsheet-2-technosignatures-life-in-space-existential-questions-robot-explorers/ Astrobiology Science Conference 2026 Monona Terrace Community and Convention CenterOne John Nolen DriveMadison, Wisconsin 5370317 – 22 May 2026 Press contact:Sean Cummings, +1 (202) 777-7373, news@agu.org WASHINGTON — The 2026 A…

The “NASA definition” enjoys broad popularity among scientists, particularly in the astrobiology community: life is “a self-sustained chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution.” Imprecise and difficult to implement, it nevertheless captures important features of life interesting to researchers and public audiences. A product of the Exobiology Discipline Working Group, it received a four-sent…

The Science Discovery Engine (SDE), NASA’s centralized, search capability for all open-source science data and information, recently released a major upgrade to its backend infrastructure. Shifting to OpenSearch, an Amazon Web Services (AWS)-native system, now provides NASA’s SDE team with more design control to better align the platform with NASA’s long-term technology roadmaps and commitment [……

The Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon) is an international conference that brings together scientists, researchers, students, and other professionals to disseminate the results of NASA funded research and to update the broader community on its past, present, and future missions that have astrobiological relevance. AbSciCon has evolved from an event accommodating only NASA-funded researche…

NASA’s Science Mission Directorate has an immediate need for one or more scientists with expertise in planetary science to serve as Program Scientists in the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC. The Division is responsible for the scientific exploration of our solar system and for improving our understanding of planets. These opportunities […] The post NASA Headquart…

The NASA-funded Infiniscope project is developing a new technology-enabled framework to empower education outreach by astrobiologists, aligned with NASA planetary exploration missions. The framework is built around two key technologies advanced by the Infiniscope team: Torus, a new open-source adaptive learning platform developed in collaboration with the Open Learning Initiative of Carnegie Mell…

The Gerald A. Soffen Memorial Fund is pleased to announce the Spring 2026 Travel Grant application opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing studies in fields of space science and engineering. The Travel Grants enable student recipients to attend professional conferences to present their research. Recipients may use the Grant for either virtual or in-person […] The post Gerald …

The NASA Astrobiology Program is pleased to announce the upcoming NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA-DARES) Community Webinar Series, marking the next phase of open community engagement in the development of NASA’s Astrobiology Strategy.  There is no cost to participate but registration is required in order to receive connection information.   The webinar series wil…

Time: February 11th, 8AM PDT/11AM EDTJOIN https://cuboulder.zoom.us/j/96506145424#success Join the 2026 LIFE NASA RCN Seminar Series! This month’s speakers are Dr. Martina Preiner and Oskari Lehtinen, MSc. Dr. Martina Preiner, head of a Max Planck research group at the Microcosm Earth CenterTitle: Coenzymes as connection between mineral-based and enzymatic catalysis en route to protometabolism Th…

In 2025, NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) released the annual Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES) solicitation in July rather than February, the traditional target release date. For simplicity, consistency, and to maintain the annual schedule, SMD plans to release ROSES-2026 in July again this year rather than February. ROSES-2025 will continue solicit […] The post …

The discovery of a biosphere on another planet would transform how we view ourselves, and our planet Earth, in relation to the rest of the cosmos. We now know Earth is one planet among eight circling our sun; our sun is part of a swirling galaxy of over one hundred billion other suns; and our […] The post Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO): Living Worlds Community Working Group: The Search for Li…

The Science Mission Directorate Science Activation Program encourages all people to actively participate in science through activities and resources developed by a collaborative network of project teams drawing on NASA SMD assets (science content, experts, data, etc.). The Science Activation program element (F.6 SciAct) of ROSES-25 solicits a portfolio of projects that together cover the […] The …

How does NASA prepare to explore the Moon, Mars and Ocean Worlds? For scientists like Bethany Theiling, it starts by venturing into Earth’s most extreme spots. Join us Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. EST (2000 UTC) as NASA experts take you behind the scenes in Iceland — where we study icy volcanoes, lava fields, […] The post Webinar: Inside NASA’s Prep For The Moon, Mars, And The Search For life ap…

To the NASA Science Community, Now that NASA SMD has returned to normal operations, we are working to reset the proposal deadlines for ROSES-25 programs that were impacted by the recent funding lapse. This includes both deadlines that were changed to “TBD” and other near-term deadlines that are no longer viable. Our goal is to […] The post NASA SMD: Resetting ROSES Due Dates After the Government …