The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) was established in 1998 by the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it su ...

(NASA) "to develop the field of

astrobiology Astrobiology (also xenology or exobiology) is a scientific field within the List of life sciences, life and environmental sciences that studies the abiogenesis, origins, Protocell, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the univ ...

and provide a scientific framework for flight missions." In December 2019 the institute's activities were suspended. The NAI is a virtual, distributed organization that integrates astrobiology research and training programs in concert with the national and international science communities.

History

Although NASA had explored the idea of forming an astrobiology institute in the past, when the

Viking biological experiments In 1976 two identical Viking program landers each carried four types of biological experiments to the surface of Mars. The first successful Mars landers, '' Viking 1'' and '' Viking 2'', then carried out experiments to look for biosignatures of mi ...

returned negative results for

life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that ...

, the public lost interest and federal funds for

exobiology Astrobiology (also xenology or exobiology) is a scientific field within the life and environmental sciences that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe by investigating its deterministic condi ...

dried up. In 1996, the announcement of possible traces of ancient life in the

Allan Hills 84001 Allan Hills 84001 (ALH84001) is a fragment of a Martian meteorite that was found in the Allan Hills in Antarctica on December 27, 1984, by a team of American meteorite hunters from the ANSMET project. Like other members of the shergottite– n ...

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. 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 The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

. Gerald Soffen former Project Scientist with the

Viking program The ''Viking'' program consisted of a pair of identical American space probes, ''Viking 1'' and ''Viking 2'' both launched in 1975, and landed on Mars in 1976. The mission effort began in 1968 and was managed by the NASA Langley Research Cent ...

, helped coordinate the new institute. In May, NASA selected eleven science teams, each with a Principal Investigator (PI). NAI was established in July with Scott Hubbard as interim Director. Nobel laureate Baruch S. Blumberg was appointed the first Director of the institute, and served from May 15, 1999 – October 14, 2002.

Program

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. 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.

Teams

Jake Maule and Jan Toporski use LOCAD-PTS in crater of Mutnvosky Volcano

As of 2018, the NAI has 10 teams including about 600 researchers distributed across ~100 institutions. It also has 13 international partner organizations. Some past and present teams are:NAI Introduction and Overview
December 7, 2014.

International partners

NAI has partnership program with other international

organizations to provide collaborative opportunities for its researchers within the global science community.NAI, International Partners
. April 13, 2015.

Associate Partners

* Spain Astrobiology Center (CAB) at the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Madrid, Spain
Australian Centre for Astrobiology
(ACA) at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

Affiliate Partners

* Astrobiology Society of Britain (ASB)
Canadian Astrobiology Network
(CAN) at Centre for Planetary Science and Exploration (CPSX), at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

European Exo/Astrobiology Network Association
(EANA)
Helmholtz Alliance: Planetary Evolution and LifeInstituto de Astrobiología Colombia
(IAC)

(JABC), a partnership of the Earth-Life Science Institute and the National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Nordic Network of Astrobiology
*Russian Astrobiology Center (RAC)

(SOMA) * (SFE
UK Centre for Astrobiology
at The University of Edinburgh *

University of São Paulo The Universidade de São Paulo (, USP) is a public research university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, and the largest public university in Brazil. The university was founded on 25 January 1934, regrouping already existing schools in ...

(USP)

Research

Selected, significant topics of interdisciplinary research by NAI as of 2008: *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 Natural methane on Mars refers to reports of detection of methane (CH4) in Atmosphere of Mars, Mars’ atmosphere. The potential presence of methane in the atmosphere of Mars may indicate the presence of microbial Life on Mars (planet), life or Ge ...

Microbial mat A microbial mat is a multi-layered sheet or biofilm of microbial colonies, composed of mainly bacteria and/or archaea. Microbial mats grow at interfaces between different types of material, mostly on submerged or moist surfaces, but a few surviv ...

ecology *Modeling exoplanet biospheres *Origins of life *

Snowball Earth The Snowball Earth is a historical geology, geohistorical hypothesis that proposes that during one or more of Earth's greenhouse and icehouse Earth, icehouse climates, the planet's planetary surface, surface became nearly entirely freezing, fr ...

*Sub-seafloor life *The rise of oxygen and Earth's "middle age"