Astrobiology

Entry requirements

Minimum 2:1 (or equivalent) in a relevant subject (e.g. education, engagement, communication, humanities, sciences, depending on the project offered).

Months of entry

October

Course content

AstrobiologyOU is research group of over 50 staff and students who work together to understand how, and where, life might be found beyond Earth and the scientific and ethical challenges faced by astrobiology-related exploration missions.

AstrobiologyOU work across four key themes:

• Finding evidence of life – identifying habitable environments, signatures that life may leave behind, and ethical implications of looking for, and finding life.
• Planetary protection – the science and regulation involved in protecting the Solar System from contamination.
• The Earth as an analogue – using locations on Earth, their chemistry and biology to understand potential for life beyond Earth, similar to those in space, investigating terrestrial microbial communities in extreme environments, and understanding and regulating the impact of this work on the local human communities.
• Societal impacts – including understanding the impact of our work on local human communities, and the application of AstrobiologyOU’s research to meet societal needs.

These themes are addressed through dedicated, interdisciplinary teams with expertise in biology, chemistry, physics, Earth and environmental sciences, social science, geography, education and law.

Our research funding is from Research England, The Science and Technology Facilities Council, the UK Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the European Union and the Leverhulme Trust.