The three main questions that NASA’s astrobiology research effort seeks to answer are how does life begin and evolve, does life exist elsewhere in the universe, and what is the future of life on Earth and beyond? The NASA Astrobiology Roadmap guides researchers studying space, Earth, and biological sciences on key areas of investigation.

“The roadmap takes into account the many snippets of knowledge and discovery we’ve accumulated to date, and proposes a direct–and very much refined–route to furthering our understanding of life in the universe,” says journal editor, Sherry L. Cady, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at Portland State University.

The Roadmap defines seven main scientific goals: understanding the scope of environments in the universe that might support life; discovering such environments in Earth’s solar system; gaining knowledge about the emergence of life; determining how early life on Earth interacted and evolved with its changing environment; understanding the mechanisms of evolution; determining what principles will shape life in the future; and recognizing signs of life on early Earth and in other worlds. For each of these goals, the Roadmap outlines specific, short-term scientific objectives.

Examples of the scientific objectives include developing models to investigate the formation and evolution of habitable planets, conducting astronomical studies to observe habitable planets outside of Earth’s solar system, and exploring Mars through orbital and surface missions. Other objectives focus on characterizing possible sources of the materials needed for life to emerge and investigating how early life forms may have developed and changed, enabling them to grow, divide, and convert nutrients into energy. Additional studies would examine environmental changes and how organisms and ecosystems adapt and evolve. Additionally, NASA provides guidance on how to recognize and interpret “biosignatures,” which are signs that some form of life could exist or might have existed in ancient times on other planets.

Astrobiology is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published quarterly in print and online. The journal provides a forum for scientists seeking to advance our understanding of life’s origins, evolution, distribution and destiny in the universe.