Astrobiology - NASA Science

The Astrobiology Strategy

Astrobiology research sponsored by NASA focuses on three basic questions: How does life begin and evolve? Does life exist elsewhere in the Universe? How do we search for life in the Universe? Over the past 50 years, astrobiologists have uncovered myriad clues to answering these Big Questions.

Europa

OUR ALIEN EARTH

The NASA Astrobiology Program is proud to present a brand new episode of Our Alien Earth, a documentary series that follows teams of astrobiologists to the most extreme environments on Earth, to better understand the nature of life and how to find it elsewhere in the Universe.

Watch the full series on NASA+

The Search for Life in the Universe

How did life begin on Earth? Does life exist beyond our home planet? How do we search for it? These are the really tough questions astrobiologists want to answer by studying life as we know it. Credit: NASA

astrobiology

Join the Search for Life

Want to help answer some of humanity's biggest questions? Our graphic novel,"Becoming an Astrobiologist" is your step-by-step guide! Download this comic-book-style guide to explore different paths for contributing to NASA's search for life, from what to study in school to career tracks.

Download the graphic novel

The image shows the cover of Issue 9 of the Astrobiology Graphic History to the left and a two-page spread from the issue to the right that features the discipline of biology. The cover shows a series of planet-like objects representing disciplines of astrobiology (geology, icy ocean worlds, cellular biology, chemistry molecular biology, etc.) The biology pages feature organisms from bacteria to multicelluar life (humans, trees, etc.). A scientist looks in a microscope while others gather samples from a bubbling hot spring. An underwater vehicle looks at hydrothermal vents beneath the ocean. Stromatolites and fossils of ediacaran biota are also present, as well as molecules like DNA and proteins.

Issue 9 of the Astrobiology Graphic History answers one of the biggest questions of all… “How do I become an astrobiologist?”

NASA/Aaron Gronstal

Astrobiology in the News

More Astrobiology News

Article

4 min read

NASA: Mystery of Life’s Handedness Deepens

Article

2 min read

NASA-Funded Study Examines Tidal Effects on Planet and Moon Interiors

The largest portion of the Europa's surface can be seen at the highest resolution from Galileo.

In the style of comic art, Europa clipper flies toward Europa, which appears as a quarter circle in close-up in the bottom left. A cutaway of the moon's surface reveals it's icy shell and an ocean beneath. Hydrothermal vents are visible. An altered image of Jupiter looms large in the background.

2 min read

NASA’s New Edition of Graphic Novel Features Europa Clipper

Article3 weeks ago

4 min read

NASA’s Perseverance Captures ‘Googly Eye’ During Solar Eclipse

Article3 weeks ago

6 min read

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Looks Back While Climbing Slippery Slope

Article3 weeks ago

NASA Missions Supporting Astrobiology Research

Europa Clipper
Earth's first mission to conduct a detailed investigation of Jupiter's moon Europa, where scientists predict a salty ocean beneath its icy crust may hold the building blocks necessary to sustain life.
Mars 2020: Perseverance
This rover and its aerial sidekick Ingenuity were assigned to study the geology of Mars and seek signs of ancient microbial life, and collect samples of rock and soil for their possible return to Earth.
OSIRIS-REx
OSIRIS-REx delivered to Earth material from asteroid Bennu, which may offer clues to whether asteroids colliding with Earth billions of years ago brought water and other ingredients for life.