Research

AstrobiologyOU researchers and professional services staff work together to understand how, and where, life might be found beyond Earth and the scientific and ethical challenges faced by astrobiology-related exploration missions.

AstrobiologyOU work across four key themes:

• Finding evidence of life – including identifying habitable environments, the signatures that life may leave behind, and the ethical implications of looking for, and finding life.
   
• Planetary protection - protecting the Solar System from contamination from Earth and protecting the Earth from anything that may be brought back from space.
   
• The Earth as an analogue – using locations on Earth similar to those in space, investigating terrestrial microbial communities in extreme environments, and understanding and regulating the impact of this work on the local human communities
   
• Societal impacts – including international development, engagement, education, ethics and inclusion, and the application of AstrobiologyOU’s research to meet societal needs.

These themes are addressed through dedicated, multidisciplinary teams, including PhD students, postdoctoral research assistants, independent research fellows, technical staff who support our laboratories and those working within them, and a Support Hub who provide day to day operational support for all members of AstrobiologyOU.

We have extensive Research Facilities including a suite of laboratories housing advanced analytical instrumentation, simulation and experimental facilities. We are also involved in international astrobiology related activities for example the NASA Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) the ESA ExoMars programme and the ESA Expose missions. In addition we are an affiliated member of the European Astrobiology Institute.

Our research is supported by funding from Research England, who provided £6.7 million to facilitate our expansion, as well as The Science and Technology Facilities Council, the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the European Union, the Leverhulme Trust, and commercial endeavours.

If you’d like to work with us, please get in touch!