Research

Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe —its origins, evolution, distribution, and possible future. It is an incredibly diverse and interdisciplinary field where biologists, geologists, physicists, planetary scientists and engineers intersect and work together to understand the conditions for early life, prebiotic chemistry, habitability and the coevolution of life, or the lack thereof, on planetary bodies in our solar system. Astrobiology plays a central role in NASA's planetary exploration, driving the search for biosignatures on Mars, Jupiter's moon Europa, Saturn's moon Titan, and many other worlds.

At the SETI Institute, astrobiologists seek to answer some of the most fundamental science questions of humankind, such as: "Are we Alone in the Universe?" and "How did we get here?" We address these basic unknowns by studying not only the fundamentals of biotic and abiotic processes elsewhere but also by a deep search for knowledge about the workings of our planet, particularly those that serve as analogs for environments on other planets.

Salar de Atacama

This work encompasses exciting and challenging projects in some of the Earth's harshest places, from studying the uniquely strange and very old microbial communities (stromatolites) living under ice-covered lakes in Antarctica to the toughest microbes we know of with amazing powers of radiation and desiccation-resistance that find shelter in rocks and soils in the driest deserts on our planet. Our scientists in many of these locations collaborate with robotics engineers and AI/ML experts to design and test pioneering instruments and planetary exploration strategies for NASA and private industry to adapt and deploy on missions to the moon, Mars and the furthest reaches of our solar system someday.