Rethinking the boundaries of astrobiology

In her inaugural lecture, Professor Karen Olsson-Francis will explore her work relating to the survivability of microorganisms and how her interdisciplinary approach has led her to rethink the boundaries of astrobiology.

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Abstract

‘Are we alone in the Universe?’ is one of the most fundamental questions of our time and is the driving force behind the field of astrobiology. To address this question, we must first understand how microorganisms survive, and thrive, in extreme environments on Earth. These environments include those that are analogous with assumed habitable extra-terrestrial locations and so can inform our understanding of habitability and the signs of life (bio-signatures) when exploring beyond Earth.

In this lecture, Karen will discuss her work relating to the survivability of microorganisms, including those found at some of the most extreme environments on Earth and those that have been used in exposure experiments onboard the International Space station in low Earth orbit. She will demonstrate how the novel approach of combining analogue work with modelling and simulated laboratory experiments, which has been developed at The Open University, has fed into our understanding of habitability beyond the Earth.

Karen will describe how this approach has resulted in a step-change in astrobiological research, including the formation of AstrobiologyOU, of which she is Director. This unique group brings together scientists, social scientists, governance experts and educators to address the challenges associated with astrobiology and to rethink the discipline’s boundaries.