Astrobiology

Astrobiology is a vibrant field that focuses on the study of the origins, distribution and evolution of life in the universe.

Two of the eight interdisciplinary research teams selected by the NASA Astrobiology Program to inaugurate its Interdisciplinary Consortia for Interdisciplinary Research program are located at  the University of Arizona. Led by Betül Kaçar and Dániel Apai, the teams were selected from a pool of more than 40 proposals. The breadth and depth of the research of these teams spans the spectrum of astrobiology research, from cosmic origins to planetary system formation, origins and evolution of life, and the search for life beyond Earth.

Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary field that combines astronomy, geology, biology and chemistry. At the University of Arizona, there are six academic departments that participate in the astrobiology program.

The University of Arizona offers one of the few astrobiology minor programs in the United States. Some of the questions we seek to answer include:

• How did life emerge?
• How did the first metabolic networks and organisms evolve? 
• How did the translation machinery emerge and evolve?
• Can we provide insights into RNA world?
• Is life deterministic or repeatable? 
• What is the likelihood that life comparable to our own has arisen elsewhere in the universe?

 

Center for Astrobiology

Center for Astrobiology

The Department of Planetary Sciences is one of the departments participating in the College of Science Center for Astrobiology. The center fosters interdisciplinary research and education in astrobiology by providing an organizational framework for the astrobiology community. The Center builds on the heritage of the Life and Planets Astrobiology Center, an earlier NASA Astrobiology Institute node, and combines cutting-edge research from astronomy, planetary sciences, chemistry, geo- and biological sciences.

MUSE: Metal Utilization & Selection Across Eons

We explore the natural selection of elements. MUSE is a NASA Interdisciplinary Consortia for Astrobiology Research at the University of Arizona.

 

Project EOS

Earths in Other Solar Systems is a NASA-funded astrobiology research program aiming to understand how and where habitable, Earth-like planets with biocritical ingredients (volatiles and organics) form.