Studying and Exploring

Photo: NASA

In our work studying and exploring space and extreme environments, we are exploring all aspects of these environments themselves.

We are interested in what the conditions, climate and weather are like on planets beyond our solar system, as well as exploring the potential existence of extra-terrestrial life. We want to understand more about the stars, planets, moons and meteoroids in the observable universe and beyond. We are also learning about what data and information we can obtain from space, helping us to better understand the context, nature and origins of our planet, as well as of our future lives in space.

We are asking similar questions in our mission to observe and learn from extreme environments closer to home, such as exploring the origins of life at deep sea hydrothermal vents and exploring the phenomenal importance of microbial life in all of the planet’s extremes. Learning about extreme ecosystems or the fortitude of extremophiles, as well as even humans and their communities in extreme environments, helps us to better understand adaptation, resilience and vitality in the face of our different extreme futures. Many of these extreme environments on earth, such as deserts, volcanoes and deep ocean, also provide us with vital analogues and comparators for piloting new tools and techniques for study in outer space.

We are also interested in learning all there is to know about the existing and changing morphology, geology, climate, biochemical makeup and conditions of all extreme locales, knowing that this will provide us with valuable baseline data and information about our past, present and future interactions with these ever-increasingly accessible and threatened spaces.