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As we prepare for the next planetary mission charged with finding life beyond Earth, the Astrobiology community must continue to improve its understanding of what constitutes a biosignature, through the use of planetary analog samples. The study of these collected and generated samples is expanding our knowledge of what constitutes habitable environments, what life is capable of, and importantly, how to make biosignature detections within compositionally complex samples - aiding in the development of life detection instrumentation. And yet the full potential of these samples remains untapped. While the Astrobiology community possesses an incredible inventory of planetary analog samples, some incredibly precious, these are scattered across the country in individual freezers with varying degrees of documentation, curation practices, and contamination control. We, as a community, need to change the status quo of how we approach planetary analog research. One of the biggest actions we could take over the next 10 years to change that paradigm would be the creation of a sample repository for Astrobiology relevant materials, providing a centralized, well-curated, wealth of precious sample

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will map sources in multiband colour--variability space. We present a prototype coherence-based framework for astrobiology and technosignature searches, in which candidates are treated as structured departures from natural astrophysical manifolds rather than isolated photometric outliers. We illustrate the framework with three simulated cases: five Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) surface/activity states, a grid of 649 synthetic exoplanet spectra with vegetation-red-edge-like (VRE) perturbations, and 500 synthetic multiband light curves, each projected into LSST-like observable space and analysed through colour geometry, chromatic variability, and cross-band coherence. Key results include a full-colour Mahalanobis distance $D\approx5.1$ for the weak-coma KBO state (${\sim}5σ$ in the five-dimensional colour vector), an indicative VRE coherence threshold at $f_{\rm crit}\approx0.13$, and an idealised stacking forecast reaching $5σ$ under optimistic assumptions. We show, using a small Gaia~DR3 stellar sample, that stellar colour and photometric stability may inform the prioritisation of Galactic regions for applying such coh

Executive Summary: The Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) is the first astrophysics flagship mission with a key cross-divisional astrobiology science goal of searching for signs of life on rocky planets beyond our solar system. The Living Worlds Working Group under the Science, Technology, and Architecture Review Team (START) was charged with investigating how HWO could characterize potentially habitable exoplanets orbiting stars in the solar neighborhood, search for signs of life, and interpret potential biosignatures within a false positive and false negative framework. In particular, we focused on (1) identifying biosignatures that have spectral features in the UV-Vis-NIR wavelength range and defining their measurement requirements, (2) determining additional information needed from the planet and planet system to interpret biosignatures and assess the likelihood of false positives, and (3) assembling current knowledge of likely HWO target stars and identify which properties of host stars and systems are most critical to know in advance of HWO. The Living Worlds atmospheric biosignatures science case is considered one of the key drivers in the design of the observatory. An addit

This paper examines four case studies of life-detection claims in astrobiology, covering both biosignatures and technosignatures: the 1877 "canals" on Mars, the 1976 Mars Viking landers experiments, the 2020 phosphine detection on Venus, and the 2020 Breakthrough Listen Candidate 1 (BLC1) signal. We analyse the process of discovery for each case, including how they were detected, the media reception, the ensuing scientific debate, the correction processes, and the time it took until an expert consensus was reached. We identify lessons learned while providing scientists, the scientific community, and science communicators with recommendations for approaching future claims of astrobiological discoveries. To avoid potential cognitive biases and mitigate premature conclusions, we stress the need for clear communication of uncertainties, as well as thorough debate and verification processes among the scientific community. These responsible approaches can strengthen the credibility of scientists, cultivate a supportive scientific community, and help astrobiology flourish as a field.

This study examines the communication of astrobiology and the Search for Life Elsewhere (SLE) in academic papers, press releases, and news articles over three decades. Through a quantitative content analysis, it investigates the prevalence of speculations and promises/expectations in these sources, aiming to understand how research results are portrayed and their potential impact on public perception and future research directions. Findings reveal that speculations and promises/expectations are more frequent in news articles and press releases compared to academic papers. Speculations about conditions for life and the existence of life beyond Earth are common, particularly in news articles covering exoplanet research, while promises of life detection are rare. Press releases tend to emphasize the significance of research findings and the progress of the field. Speculations and promises/expectations in news articles often occur without attribution to scientists and in quotes of authors of the studies, and slightly less so in quotes of outside experts. The study highlights the complex dynamics of science communication in astrobiology, where speculations and promises can generate publ

In recent decades, artificial intelligence (AI) including machine learning (ML) have become vital for space missions enabling rapid data processing, advanced pattern recognition, and enhanced insight extraction. These tools are especially valuable in astrobiology applications, where models must distinguish biotic patterns from complex abiotic backgrounds. Advancing the integration of autonomy through AI and ML into space missions is a complex challenge, and we believe that by focusing on key areas, we can make significant progress and offer practical recommendations for tackling these obstacles.

Advances in machine learning over the past decade have resulted in a proliferation of algorithmic applications for encoding, characterizing, and acting on complex data that may contain many high dimensional features. Recently, the emergence of deep-learning models trained across very large datasets has created a new paradigm for machine learning in the form of Foundation Models. Foundation Models are programs trained on very large and broad datasets with an extensive number of parameters. Once built, these powerful, and flexible, models can be utilized in less resource-intensive ways to build many different, downstream applications that can integrate previously disparate, multimodal data. The development of these applications can be done rapidly and with a much lower demand for machine learning expertise. And the necessary infrastructure and models themselves are already being established within agencies such as NASA and ESA. At NASA this work is across several divisions of the Science Mission Directorate including the NASA Goddard and INDUS Large Language Models and the Prithvi Geospatial Foundation Model. And ESA initiatives to bring Foundation Models to Earth observations has le

This white paper was submitted to NASA's Search For Life Science Analysis Group (SFL-SAG): To ensure that the first mission designed to seek signs of extant life since 1976 is able to produce an unambiguous biological interpretation, the SFL-SAG is tasked with identifying the most high-confidence, agnostic biosignatures which are targetable, detectable, and measurable in Martian subsurface mid-latitude ice. To aid in this effort, this white paper highlights three examples of target materials or phenomena, along with associated instrument concepts, which the SFL-SAG shall prioritize in its efforts to define the appropriate astrobiological strategy. These include 1) polyelectrolyte informational biopolymers, 2) macromolecular biological homochirality, and 3) chiral-specific metabolic reactions. The Agnostic Life Finding Association (ALFA) and University of Florida (UF) support the development of instrumentation that seeks these high-confidence biosignatures.

Introduction and Objective. Assuming the need to rethink Education and its function as an element of social transformation and generator of a profound ethical change and promoter of other ways of being on planet Earth, this study seeks to understand the possible dialogues between Earth Pedagogy and Astrobiology in the construction and proposition of continuing education processes for science teachers. Methodology. A mini-course was promoted aimed at teachers and an attempt was made to report the construction process of the training process and, using Content Analysis, to analyze the contributions pointed out by the participants to their training and teaching practice. Results and Conclusion. The dialogue between knowledge in the continuing education of teachers contributes with fundamental elements to teaching practice, covering cognitive, emotional, individual and collective aspects, as well as highlighting the role of the university in promoting initiatives that bring Education and Complexity together.

"Traditional SETI is not part of astrobiology" declares the NASA Astrobiology Strategy 2015 document. This is incorrect. In this white paper, I argue that SETI$-$seen as the search for technosignatures characteristic of the future of life in the universe$-$is a neglected complement to the search for biosignatures in NASA's astrobiology portfolio, and may offer the more fruitful avenue to the discovery of life elsewhere in the universe, as recognized by the Astro2010 decadal survey. I rebut six erroneous perceptions that may contribute to the field's absence from NASA's astrobiology strategy, and argue that since SETI is, quite obviously, part of astrobiology, SETI practitioners should at the very least be expressly encouraged to compete on a level playing field with practitioners of other subfields for NASA astrobiology resources.

Icy moons with subsurface oceans of liquid water rank among the most promising astrobiological targets in our Solar System. In this work, we assess the feasibility of deploying laser sail technology in precursor life-detection missions. We investigate such laser sail missions to Enceladus and Europa, as these two moons emit plumes that seem accessible to in situ sampling. Our study suggests that GigaWatt laser technology could accelerate a $100$ kg probe to a speed of $\sim{30}\, \mathrm{km\, s^{-1}}$, thereupon reaching Europa on timescales of $1$-$4$ years and Enceladus with flight times of $3$-$6$ years. Although the ideal latitudes for the laser array vary, placing the requisite infrastructure close to either the Antarctic or Arctic Circles might represent technically viable options for an Enceladus mission. Crucially, we determine that the minimum encounter velocities with these moons (about ${6}\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$) may be near-optimal for detecting biomolecular building blocks (e.g., amino acids) in the plumes by means of a mass spectrometer akin to the Surface Dust Analyzer onboard the \emph{Europa Clipper} mission. In summary, icy moons in the Solar System are potentiall

Solar system exploration provides numerous possibilities for advancing technosignature science. The search for life in the solar system includes missions designed to search for evidence of biosignatures on other planetary bodies, but many missions could also attempt to search for and constrain the presence of technology within the solar system. Technosignatures and biosignatures represent complementary approaches toward searching for evidence of life in our solar neighborhood, and beyond. This report summarizes the potential technosignature opportunities within ongoing solar system exploration and the recommendations of the "Origins, Worlds, and Life" Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey. We discuss opportunities for constraining the prevalence of technosignatures within the solar system using current or future missions at negligible additional cost, and we present a preliminary assessment of gaps that may exist in the search for technosignatures within the solar system.

Astrobiology is a scientific discipline that studies life in the Universe. We call it a discipline and not a science because some authors have cast doubts over its epistemological status by calling it 'a science without an object of study'. As with astrophysics, the scientific nature of astrobiology is related to historical-narrative sciences and nomothetic sciences. This discipline also integrates complex methodological and conceptual problems which originate from the methodological and epistemological differences that exist between physics and biology. This is why it is so important to evidence the different philosophical approaches from which its results are interpreted. After a brief historical introduction, we will consider the problem of life and we will analyse the influence that different philosophical approaches have on astrobiology. Subsequently, we will introduce ontological and epistemological questions that originate from interdisciplinarity, for example, their role in a physicalistic type of reductionism and in teleology.

Astrobiology, the study of life as a planetary phenomenon, aims to understand the fundamental nature of life on earth and the possibility of life elsewhere. To achieve this goal, astrobiologists have initiated unprecedented communication between the disciplines of astronomy, biology, chemistry, and geology. The Astrobiology Primer has been created as a reference tool for those who are interested in the interdisciplinary field of astrobiology. The field incorporates many diverse research endeavors, but it is our hope that this slim volume will present the reader with all he or she needs to know to become involved and to understand, at least at a fundamental level, the state of the art. Because of the great diversity of material, each section was written by a different author with a different expertise. The Primer was constructed collaboratively. Ninety researchers from around the world contributed information with regard to what they expected from other astrobiologists and what they would like to know themselves but still had difficulty understanding (see Contributors). Those submissions were read and considered by the Editors who produced a list of seven general categories of knowl

In this study, we combine bibliometric techniques with a machine learning algorithm, the sequential Information Bottleneck, to assess the interdisciplinarity of research produced by the University of Hawaii NASA Astrobiology Institute (UHNAI). In particular, we cluster abstract data to evaluate Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge subject categories as descriptive labels for astrobiology documents, assess individual researcher interdisciplinarity, and determine where collaboration opportunities might occur. We find that the majority of the UHNAI team is engaged in interdisciplinary research, and suggest that our method could be applied to additional NASA Astrobiology Institute teams in particular, or other interdisciplinary research teams more broadly, to identify and facilitate collaboration opportunities.

Galaxies represent the main form of organization of matter in our universe. Therefore, they are of obvious interest for the new multidisciplinary field of astrobiology. In particular, to study habitability of galaxies represents one of the main emerging challenges of theoretical and numerical astrobiology. Its theoretical underpinnings are, however, often confused and vague. Here we present a systematic attempt to list and categorize major causal factors playing a role in emergent habitability of galaxies. Furthermore, we argue that the methodology of cosmological merger trees is particularly useful in delineating what are systematic and lawful astrobiological properties of galaxies at present epoch vs. those which are product of historical contingency and, in particular, interaction with wider extragalactic environment. Employing merger trees extracted from cosmological N-body simulations as a new and promising research method for astrobiology has been pioneered by Stanway et al. (2018). We analyse the general issue of applicability of merger trees and present preliminary results on a set of trees extracted from the Illustris Project. In a sense, this approach is directly compleme

The Astrobiology Graduate Conference (AbGradCon) is an annual conference both organized for and by early career researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and students as a way to train the next generation of astrobiologists and develop a robust network of cohorts moving forward. AbGradCon 2021 was held virtually on September 14-17, 2021, hosted by the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) of Tokyo Institute of Technology after postponement of the in-person event in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting consisted of presentations by 120 participants from a variety of fields, two keynote speakers, and other career building events and workshops. Here, we report on the organizational and executional aspects of AbGradCon 2021, including the meeting participant demographics, various digital aspects introduced specifically for a virtual edition of the meeting, and the abstract submission and evaluation process. The abstract evaluation process of AbGradCon 2021 is unique in that all evaluations are done by the peers of the applicants, and as astrobiology is inherently a broad discipline, the abstract evaluation process revealed a number of trends related to multidisciplinarity of the astro

The research of life in Universe is a ancient quest that has taken different forms over the centuries. It has given rise to a new science, which is normally referred as Astrobiology. It is interesting to research when this word was used for the first time and when this science developed to represent the search for life in Universe as is done today. There are records of the usage of the word "Astrobiology" as early as 1935, in an article published in a French popular science magazine. Moreover this article is quite remarkable because its portrayal of the concept of the subject is very similar to that considered today. The author of this paper was Ary J. Sternfeld (1905 - 1980), who was ortherwise known as a poorly respected great pioneer of astronautics. We provide a brief description of his life, which was heavily influenced by the tragic events of the 20th century history, from Poland and France to Russia. He was a prolific scientific writer who wrote a number of very successful scientific books and papers.

Astrobiology has been gaining increasing scientific prominence and public attention as the search for life beyond Earth continues to make significant headway on multiple fronts. In view of these recent developments, the fascinating and dynamic etymology of astrobiology is elucidated, and thus shown to encompass a plethora of vivid characters drawn from different continents, religions, ideologies and centuries.