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Life, Here and Beyond

Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe.

Artists depiction of planets in an arc from bottom to top

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.

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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
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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?”

Astrobiology in the News

More Astrobiology News
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NASA Research Examines the Multicellular Behavior of Unique Bacteria

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NASA’s Curiosity Rover Detects Largest Organic Molecules Found on Mars

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Is There Potential for Life on Europa? We Asked a NASA Expert:…

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6 Min Read

NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals Mix of Life’s Ingredients

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NASA’s Apollo Samples Yield New Information about the Moon

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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 Perseverance Rover

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 Illustration

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.

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Exoplanets

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited…

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