The Astro- and Solar-System
Physics Program conducts research that
relates to a wide variety of cosmic issues,
especially those pertaining to the exciting
fields of astrochemistry, astrobiology,
and planetary science. We study the origins
and compositions of organic and inorganic
molecules found between the stars, as well
as those on the moons and planets of the
Solar System, by creating and manipulating
laboratory simulations of these cosmic
materials. We are also building new kinds
of instruments and preparing for their
use on other worlds such as Mars and Europa
in order to analyze the minerals and organic
materials on such planetary bodies. We
are also searching for evidence of how
life appeared early in the history of Earth.
(Recently, we have discovered the organic
remains of the earliest known life on Earth,
some 3.5 billion years old.)
