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NCCA

planets

The NASA Center for Computational Astrobiology

The principal objective of the NASA Center for Computational Astrobiology (NCCA) at the Ames Research Center is to advance our understanding of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the Universe, using theoretical and computational tools. NCCA, adopting the multidisciplinary spirit of Astrobiology and Systems Biology, will synthesize diverse methods and viewpoints. The Center draws on scientists with different backgrounds and interests across different organizations at Ames. The Center's capabilities are greatly leverage by Ames' status as the Lead Center in astrobiology, fundamental biology, and information technologies.

Benefits

Life is a central theme that unifies NASA's vision and mission. A golden age has begun, an age in which science and technology will benefit enormously from a fundamental understanding of the full potential of living systems. NASA researchers, and their collaborators, are beginning to achieve a better understanding both of our own world, and also of potential habitable worlds and life beyond Earth. This is an agenda for inspiring the next generation of planetary explorers and stewards to sustain the NASA vision and mission.

Astrobioinformatics

The strategic plans of NASA demand that a new approach toward integrating biological information to produce knowledge be undertaken. This can be accomplished best through a dedicated bioinformatics facility that provides a uniform platform for bringing together data and knowledge in a manner that is easy to use for biologists. Bioinformatics has been identified as enabling technology because of its essential role in interpreting experiments on International Space Station and, in the future, on free flyers and microsatellites. Furthermore, this project will support all NASA Space Science Research Focus Areas that involve studies of extant or extinct organisms and their interactions with the biosphere. The NASA Center for Astrobioinformatics has made its suite of bioinformatics tools available online. NASA scientists and their collaborators are using the Center's Linux cluster to analyze gene expression data from mice flown in space, and to perform comparative genomic studies of microbes that are important in the study of the origin of life.. The URL for the NCA web site is: genome.nasa.gov.

Research Spotlight: The Frequency of Habitable Planets in Habitable Orbits