NASA's Ask An Astrobiologist

Our guest is Dr. Natalie Batalha, astrophysicist and professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, specializing in detecting and characterizing exoplanets, including potentially habitable alien worlds! Dr. Batalha was the Co-Investigator and Mission Scientist for the Kepler Space Telescope, and today uses the world’s most powerful ground-based telescopes to identify planets suitable for further study with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode:

Our guest is Dr. Geoff Wheat, professor of geological oceanography at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks! Dr. Wheat studies processes that influence the cycles of elements in the oceans, following the transport of materials through the oceanic crust in a variety of settings, including hydrothermal systems. Geoff has also participated in 79 ocean expeditions, including 49 submersible/ROV based endeavors. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/52/

Our guest is Prof. Abel Méndez, a planetary astrobiologist and Director of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo! His research focuses on the habitability of Earth, the Solar System, and extrasolar planets. Prof. Méndez is best known for developing the Earth Similarity Index, the Visible Paleo-Earth Project, and maintaining the Habitable Exoplanets Catalog, a database of potentially habitable worlds. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/51/

Our guest is Dr. Alfonso Davila, an astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center! His research focuses on the biological and biosignature potential of terrestrial environments considered to be analogous to extraterrestrial environments, and using that knowledge to develop strategies to search for evidence of life beyond Earth. His current research involves instrument testing in the Atacama desert and Antarctica to inform drilling techniques for the icy regions of Mars. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/50/

Our guest is Dr. Heather Graham, organic geochemist and research associate from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Dr. Graham's research focuses on the scientific development of tools and techniques that can help us identify “agnostic biosignatures” – evidence of living systems that may not share common biochemistry with life on Earth. Dr. Graham is also involved in studying the asteroid samples returned by the Hayabusa 2 mission. In addition to her work as an astrobiologist, she also co-wrote and directed an experimental rock opera about "Hidden Figures" Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughn, more than 2 years before Hollywood. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/49/

Please join us for a special panel episode all about the OSIRIS-REx mission, which just left asteroid Bennu with asteroidal material on its way back to Earth! This episode's guests are all collaborators on the OSIRIS-REx mission: Drs. Eve Berger, Jason Dworkin, and Scott Sandford. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/48/

Our guest for this episode is Dr. Jen Blank, an astrobiologist at the NASA Ames Research Center and a Research Scientist at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science. Jen has been a member of the Mars Curiosity science team and studies Mars analog environments on Earth, focusing on the potential of water-rock interactions to support microbial life. Dr. Blank is also the Principle Investigator of BRAILLE (Biologic and Resource Analog Investigations in Low Light Environments), a NASA PSTAR project to characterize life in lava tubes and use robots to look for signs of life there, on Earth, Mars, and other worlds. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/47/

Our guest for this episode is Dr. Cynthia Phillips, a planetary geologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory! She serves as a project staff scientist and the project science communications lead for the Europa Clipper mission, as well as the deputy project scientist for the Europa Lander mission concept. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/46/

This is a special Mars 2020 panel episode featuring Dr. Kennda Lynch, Dr. Frances Rivera-Hernandez, and Dr. Svetlana Shkolyar! The Perseverance rover is on schedule to arrive on Mars on February 18th, and we'll be discussing all the incredible science and exploration to come. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/45/

Our guest is Dr. Melissa Trainer, a Deputy Principal Investigator (PI) for the Dragonfly mission to Saturn's moon Titan, and lead for the Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS), an instrument supporting the Dragonfly investigation of Titan's surface composition and characterization of potential prebiotic chemistry! She has spent more than a decade characterizing the chemical and physical properties of Titan and early Earth organic aerosol analogs. Check out our website for the full transcript of this podcast, plus the full YouTube version of this episode: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astrobiologist/episodes/44/