Astrobiology consortium supported for additional five years

With the help of a new grant from NASA, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers are guiding the search for signs of life on distant planets — while keeping their feet firmly planted on Earth. The Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Consortium , led by geoscience Clark Johnson and including partners from across the U.S. and world, specializes in defining and identifying "biosignatures," fingerprints of ancient life that are preserved in the geological record. Renewed funding of $9 million over five years will fund the work of the Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Consortium. Photo: NASA Started in 2007, the WARC has focused on developing new tools and methods for detecting evidence of past life through its lingering effects on the geologic record, looking for the elements of life now locked up in minerals that persist in ancient rocks. This fall they received a second five-year grant, for $9 million, from NASA to continue as a member of the NASA Astrobiology Institute. As the Curiosity rover probes the Martian surface for signs of water and other features, the Wisconsin consortium is preparing for the next steps — identifying characteristics of potentially habitable environments and devising approaches and instruments to search for evidence of past or present life in those environments. Developing such approaches on Earth is critical for future success elsewhere.