How did the first self-replicating polymers, the precursors of life, come to form on the early Earth around four billion years ago? None None None
Computing the Origin of Life The mystery of life's origins could one day be solved thanks to that modern antithesis of life — the computer. 01/04
Meta Musings on the Origins of Life The quest to discover life's origins has grown mighty perplexing. 02/04
Water on Mars: The Story so Far Prospects for Mars water in the planet's past and present. 03/04
Found - Our Nearest Exoplanet Neighbor Candidate planet Proxima b orbits in the habitable zone around Proxima Centauri. 04/04
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An Introduction to the 2016-2017 Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology Jan. 24, 2017
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Workshop Without Walls: Serpentinizing Systems Science Jan. 23, 2017
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Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon)
April 24–28, 2017 in Mesa, Arizona
An artist’s impression of what Mars might have looked like with water, when any potential Martian microbes would have evolved.
Microbes Could Survive Thin Air of Mars Jan. 18, 2017
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Messy Chemistry, Evolving Rocks, and the Origin of Life Jan. 17, 2017
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Dives Show Us the Extreme Life in Hydrothermal Environments Jan. 13, 2017
Upcoming Events / Funding Opportunities
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Date
Title
Location
January 31–February 03 2017
Early Registration Deadline: Dec. 01, 2016 Registration Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017 Abstract Submission Deadline: Dec. 01, 2016
Ushering in the New Age of Microlensing from Space
Pasadena, CA, US
February 01 2017
Are We Alone? Ocean Worlds: Missions to Icy Moons and Dwarf Planets
Riverside, CA, US
February 08–10 2017
Registration Deadline: Jan. 31, 2017
3rd landing site workshop for the 2020 Mars Rover mission
Monrovia, CA, US
February 16–20 2017
2017 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting
Boston, MA, US
February 22–23 2017
33rd MEPAG Meeting
Monrovia, CA, US
Application deadline
Details
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January 31 2017 New
Best Student Paper in Planetary Sciences Pellas-Ryder Award
Education
February 01 2017
AGU Congressional Science Fellowship
Research
February 01 2017
Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology
Research
February 01 2017
NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program
Research
February 03 2017
L'Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowships
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NASA MISSIONS Exploring the Red Planet

The rovers and spacecraft we’ve sent to Mars have found evidence the planet was warmer in the past, with lakes and rivers. Was there life there? Future exploration may find evidence for that as well.

The facts and figures — 37%

The gravity on Mars is only 37 percent of Earth’s gravity. Not only could you leap three times higher on Mars, but this lower gravity is one reason why Olympus Mons became the biggest volcano in the solar system.

Learn more