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The Network For Life Detection (NFoLD)

Screenshot of the table of the Ladder of Life Detection. In this screenshot, the text within the table is too small to read. The column headings are: RUNG, FEATURE, MEASUREMENT, TARGET, LIKELIHOOD, INSTRUMENTAL CRITERIA, and CONTEXTUAL CRITERIA

The goal of NFoLD is to promote communication, coordination, and synergy among researchers in the fields relevant to life detection. The diverse expertise needed to develop and implement strategies to search for evidence of life beyond Earth is distributed across multiple science and technology disciplines, some of which are not primarily focused on astrobiology questions. NFoLD aims to build a cohesive life detection community whose research and expertise becomes integral to all stages of astrobiology-themed solar system and exoplanet mission activity, from inception to operations.

Organizational Structure

Current co-Leads:

  • Alfonso Davila, NASA Ames Research Center
  • Heather Graham, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Brook Nunn, University of Washington

Early Career Chairs:

  • Erin Gibbons, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  • Ashley Hannah, University of Maryland
  • Osama Alian, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • Taylor Plattner, Georgia Institute of Technology

Important Documents

A space to store documents from NFoLD that we need to provide access to for the community.

Advancing Life-Detection

NFoLD has played a key role in advancing knowledge of the interconnections between life-detection science and technology through coordinating events like workshops and seminars. NASA Astrobiology maintains a page dedicated to resources that have been developed to benefit scientists working on life detection missions and technology.

Click here to visit the Resources for Life Detection Missions about Advancing Life-Detection
The logo shows a series of nested cubes drawn in thin green lines on a black background with stars. The text read N Fo L D in white letters, and below in small text 'NETWORK For LIFE DETECTION'

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