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NASA Astrobiology Institute

The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) was established in 1998 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)[1] "to develop the field of astrobiology and provide a scientific framework for flight missions."[2] In December 2019 the institute's activities were suspended.[3]

Abbreviation

NAI

1998

2019

NASA Ames Research Center

Penelope Boston

NASA

$16 million (2008)

nai.nasa.gov

The NAI is a virtual,[4] distributed organization that integrates astrobiology research and training programs in concert with the national and international science communities.[5]

History[edit]

Although NASA had explored the idea of forming an astrobiology institute in the past, when the Viking biological experiments returned negative results for life on Mars, the public lost interest and federal funds for exobiology dried up. In 1996, the announcement of possible traces of ancient life in the Allan Hills 84001 meteorite from Mars led to new interest in the subject. At the same time, NASA developed the Origins Program, broadening its reach from exobiology to astrobiology, the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.[1]


In 1998, $9 million was set aside to fund the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), an interdisciplinary research effort using the expertise of different scientific research institutions and universities from across the country, centrally linked to Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. Gerald Soffen former Project Scientist with the Viking program, helped coordinate the new institute.[1] In May,[5] NASA selected eleven science teams, each with a Principal Investigator (PI).[6] NAI was established in July with Scott Hubbard as interim Director.[5] Nobel laureate Baruch S. Blumberg was appointed the first Director of the institute, and served from May 15, 1999 – October 14, 2002.[7]

Program[edit]

The NASA Astrobiology Program includes the NAI as one of four components, including the Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology Program; the Astrobiology Science and Technology Instrument Development (ASTID) Program; and the Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) Program.[2] Program budgets for fiscal year 2008 were as follows: NAI, $16 million; Grants for the Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology Program, $11 million; ASTID, $9 million; ASTEP, $5 million.[5]

(CAB)[10] at the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Madrid, Spain

Spain Astrobiology Center

(ACA)[10] at the University of New South Wales

Australian Centre for Astrobiology

Comets in space and in the laboratory

Discovery of the ""

rare biosphere

Early habitability of Earth

Early

wet Mars

Exoplanet discovery and analysis

Life without the Sun

Metal isotope tracers of environment and biology

Methane on Mars

ecology

Microbial mat

Modeling exoplanet biospheres

Origins of life

Snowball Earth

Sub-seafloor life

The rise of oxygen and Earth's "middle age"

Selected, significant topics of interdisciplinary research by NAI as of 2008:[5]

Biever, Celeste (2003-07-05). "After a decade in the cold, SETI gets money from NASA". . 179 (2402). Reed Business Information Ltd: 8. ISSN 0262-4079. NASA Astrobiology Institute awarded the SETI Institute $5 million spread over five years for 10 projects, including one that feeds directly into the search for intelligent life. This project aims to target specific solar systems that are likely to support life, and will use telescopes to screen a type of star called an M-star

New Scientist

Dick, Steven J. (2005). . Rutgers University Press. ISBN 978-0-8135-3733-7.

The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology

Grymes, Rosalind A. (Jan–Feb 2002). "The NASA Astrobiology Institute: Reaching Within and Beyond". . 14 (1). National Space Society: 12. ISSN 1041-102X.

Ad Astra

Lawler, Andrew (2007-01-19). "Astrobiology Fights for Its Life". . 315 (5810). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 318–321. doi:10.1126/science.315.5810.318. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17234924. S2CID 154227924.

Science

Mecham, Michael (1999-06-14). "Astrobiology team taking shape at Ames". . 150 (24). McGraw-Hill: 211. ISSN 0005-2175.

Aviation Week & Space Technology

Sawyer, Kathy (1999). "Out of the Lab, And This World; Hands-On Nobel Laureate to Lead NASA Agency Studying Life's Origins". . p. A17.

The Washington Post