Astrobiology Strategy
NASA sponsored Astrobiology research 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. Why is Earth habitable? How, when, and why did it become habitable? Are, or were, any other bodies in our Solar System habitable? Might planets orbiting other stars be habitable? What sorts of stars are most likely to have habitable planets?
NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy
NASA‑DARES (Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy) is NASA’s next roadmap for studying the origins, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
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2015 NASA Astrobiology Strategy
This 2015 Astrobiology Strategy identifies questions to guide and inspire astrobiology research on each of these topics—in the lab, in the field, and in experiments flown on planetary science missions—over the next decade. The strategy also identifies major ongoing challenges that astrobiologists tackle as they attempt to answer these universal questions.
- Identifying abiotic sources of organic compounds
- Synthesis and function of macromolecules in the origin of life
- Early life and increasing complexity
- Co-evolution of life and the physical environment
- Identifying, exploring, and characterizing environments for habitability and biosignatures
- Constructing habitable worlds
2019 NASEM Astrobiology Strategy
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) released An Astrobiology Science Strategy for the Search for Life in the Universe in 2019. Requested by NASA, this study offers a science strategy for astrobiology that outlines key scientific questions, identifies the most promising research in the field, and indicates the extent to which the mission priorities in existing decadal surveys address the search for life’s origin, evolution, distribution, and future in the universe. This report makes recommendations for advancing the research, obtaining the measurements, and realizing NASA’s goal to search for signs of life in the universe.
Other Relevant Strategic Documents
- 2023 Origins, Worlds, and Life: A Decadal Strategy for Planetary Science and Astrobiology 2023-2032 (NASEM)
- 2018 Exoplanets Science Strategy (NASEM)