Website
Sponsor
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Science Mission Directorate (SMD)
Sponsor ID: NNH14ZDA001N-EXO (Re-issue of NNH13ZDA001N-EXO)
Amount
The award amount is unspecified. Expected program budget for first year of new awards is approximately $3 million. Number of new awards pending adequate proposals of merit is approximately 20. Maximum duration of awards 4 years; shorter term proposals (1-3 years) are typical; fourth year must be explicitly and scientifically justified.
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Requirements
Academic Institution
Commercial
Government
New Faculty/New Investigator
Nonprofit
Ph.D./M.D./Other Professional
Small Business
Citizenship or Residency
Unrestricted
Activity location
Unrestricted
Abstract
The goal of NASA’s Exobiology is to understand the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the Universe. Research is centered on the origin and early evolution of life, the potential of life to adapt to different environments, and the implications for life elsewhere. This research is conducted in the context of NASA’s ongoing exploration of our stellar neighborhood and the identification of biosignatures for in situ and remote sensing applications. For further information on the science scope of Astrobiology — within which exobiology is located– please refer to the Astrobiology roadmap.
The areas of research emphases in this solicitation are as follows:
– Prebiotic Evolution: Research in the area of prebiotic evolution seeks to understand the planetary and molecular processes that set the physical and chemical conditions within which living systems may have arisen. A major objective is determining what chemical systems could have served as precursors of metabolic and replicating systems on Earth and elsewhere, including alternatives to the current DNA-RNA-protein basis for life. This would also include models of early environments on the Earth in which organic chemical synthesis could occur. Laboratory and theoretical, as well as related data-analysis, studies will be considered.
Topics not included are the formation and stability of habitable planets, the formation of complex organic molecules in space and their delivery to planetary surfaces. Proposals on these topics should be submitted to C.2 Emerging Worlds.
– Early Evolution of Life and the Biosphere: The goal of research into the early evolution of life and the biosphere is to determine the nature of the most primitive organisms and the environment in which they evolved. The opportunity is taken to investigate two natural repositories of evolutionary history available on Earth: the molecular record in living organisms and the geological record. These paired records are used to: (i) determine when and in what setting life first appeared and the characteristics of the first successful living organisms; (ii) understand the phylogeny and physiology of microorganisms, including extremophiles, whose characteristics may reflect the nature of primitive environments; (iii) determine the original nature of biological energy transduction, membrane function, and information processing, including the construction of artificial chemical systems to test hypotheses regarding the original nature of key biological processes; iv) investigate the development of key biological processes and their environmental impact; v) investigate the evolution of genes, pathways, and microbial species subject to long-term environmental change relevant to the origin of life on Earth and the search for life elsewhere; and vi) study the coevolution of microbial communities, and the interactions within such communities, that drive major geochemical cycles, including the processes through which new species are added to extant communities.
In addition to the above, the Exobiology Program is particularly interested in research that has the potential to significantly advance our ability to utilize Earth’s sulfur isotope record to improve our understanding of the history of Earth’s atmosphere. NASA’s Astrobiology Program co-organized with the National Science Foundation (NSF) a 2011 workshop that highlighted promising areas for future research along these lines.
– Evolution of Advanced Life: Research associated with the study of the evolution of advanced life seeks to determine the biological and environmental factors leading to the origin of eukaryotes and the development of multicellularity on Earth and the potential distribution of complex life in the Universe. This research includes studies of the processes associated with endosymbiosis and the origin and early evolution of those biological factors that are essential to multicellular life, such as developmental programs, intercellular signaling, programmed cell death, the cytoskeleton, cellular adhesion control and differentiation, in the context of the origin of advanced life.
Proposals aimed at identification and characterization of signals and/or properties of extrasolar planets that may harbor intelligent life are not solicited at this time.
– Biosignatures and Life Elsewhere: Research in this area focuses on relating what is known about the origin of life on Earth to the potential for the origin and establishment of life under conditions prevailing on other planetary bodies and basic research on the formation and retention of biosignatures under non-Earth conditions (e.g., Mars, Europa). This includes studies that constrain or extend concepts of possible chemical evolution relevant to the origin, evolution, and distribution of life. As part of the focus on biosignatures, this area includes research on the forms in which prebiotic organic matter formed on planetary surfaces has been preserved and the range of planetary environments amenable to life.
Biosignature studies of samples from Earth sites thought to be analogues of other planetary environments that might potentially harbor life will be considered as part of NASA’s broader interest in the search for life in the Universe.
CFDA 43.001
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Keywords
- Exobiology
- Astrobiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Biosphere
- Planetary Environments
- Planetary Atmospheres
- Planetary Studies
Upcoming Deadlines
Date
What’s Due
Notes
14 Apr 2014
Confirmed
Stage 1 Application
Sponsor deadline – required
Step-1 Proposals are due.
03 Jun 2014
Confirmed
Stage 2 Application
Sponsor deadline – required
Step-2 Proposals are due.
