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Finding out that we are alone in the Universe or a suburb of a huge village of other star folk - either alternative is mind boggling.
Gaining insight into the origin, evolution, distribution, as well as the future of life on Earth and elsewhere in the Universe - that's the assignment of astrobiology researchers now busy at work around the world.
This effort received a major push June 24 with the announcement that NASA's Astrobiology Institute (NAI) has strengthened its roster of study groups delving into a range of cosmic topics.
A dozen newly selected teams, half of which are NAI founding members, now join four NAI lead teams that were selected in 2001. That brings to 16 the number of NAI teams engaged in studying, from the ground up to the stars, quite literally.
Across disciplines and distance
The NAI, founded in 1997, is a partnership between NASA, 16 major U.S. teams and five international consortia. NAI's goal is to promote, conduct, and lead integrated multidisciplinary astrobiology research and to train a new generation of astrobiology researchers.
"We started this as an experiment. Now, five years later, astrobiology is an established field, said Michael Meyer, astrobiology senior scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
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