SETI Talks: Virtual Edition. Extremophiles: Extreme Life on Other Worlds?

SETI Talks

Tags: SETI Talks, Astrobiology, Solar System

Time: Wednesday, Mar 25, 2020 -

Location: Online

We have an exciting SETI Talks planned for March 25, but due to concerns about COVID-19, we will be offering an online event instead of gathering in person. On a positive note, this will allow those of you who don’t live in the Bay Area to join us!

Extremophiles are organisms that live in extreme environments on Earth. Scientists have investigated their ability to survive to high temperatures, UV radiation, salty environments and places that are inhospitable for humans and most creatures on Earth. By studying conditions under which life can thrive, we hope to understand life elsewhere – where to look for it and what it could look like -- or simply to hypothesize if it would be possible for life to evolve and survive on other planetary bodies.

We invited two scientists to discuss the role of extremophiles in astrobiology and the search for life beyond Earth:

  • Jon Rask is a research scientist in the Office of the Center Director at NASA Ames Research Center whose research focuses on human and robotic space exploration
  • Jared Broddrick is a biologist at the Exobiology Branch at Ames Research Center applying systems biology techniques to questions of interest to the astrobiology community

 

Both researchers have explored the type of extremophile life that lives in hot springs, which led to significant findings on how life can adapt to unusual environmental niches. They will tell us about their research and how it relates to the search for life elsewhere in the universe. 

SETI Talks Virtual Edition will be offered at no cost, but registration is required. We will send people who register log in credentials along with instructions for asking questions during the Q&A portion of the discussion.

Jon Rask

Jon Rask is a Scientist in the Office of the Center Director at NASA Ames Research Center. His research focuses on enabling human and robotic space exploration, and the search for life on other planets and moons. Jon has characterized the toxicity and abrasiveness of Apollo lunar dust specimens and supported development of novel brick-like biocomposite technologies made from lunar and Mars regolith simulants. Jon has also developed and tested life science hardware and biological experiments that flew aboard the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. Rask has performed experiment operations aboard the NASA C9B parabolic aircraft and been a test subject in hypergravity experiments aboard NASA Ames centrifuge facilities. Rask has served as a Principal Investigator for a human study conducted on the Human Performance Centrifuge, was a Co-Investigator for the University of North Dakota Space Studies’ Inflatable Lunar and Mars Habitat Module, and served as the Director of the NASA Space Life Sciences Training Program. 

Throughout his career, Jon has also been involved in desert, hydrothermal, and polar field work that has included expeditions to the Mars Desert Research Station, the Mojave desert, the Empty Quarter Desert of the Middle East, the Pilbara of Western Australia, the Atacama Desert of Chile, Hot Springs in Idaho and New Zealand, the relic glacial landforms and badlands of North Dakota, and the Arctic on Svalbard. Rask has also carried out investigations in Antarctica, where he has tested prototype space suit technology, operated the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station’s Food Growth Chamber, and explored the polar plateau. 

Rask recently completed the NASA Ames Project Excellence Program in Life Detection, and currently serves as the Director of Astrobiology Operations at the NASA Astrobiology Institute.

Jared Brodderick

Jared Broddrick is a NASA postdoctoral fellow in the Exobiology Branch at NASA Ames Research Center, applying systems biology techniques to questions of interest to the astrobiology community. In this position Jared has combined field site exploration, next-generation sequencing and computational biology to characterize the metabolism of microbial communities in Yellowstone National Park. Jared is also leading an initiative to integrate systems-level analysis into origins of life research and the habitability of planetary bodies inside and outside our solar system. Additionally, he supports the NASA Astrobiology intern program by leading expeditions into Lassen National Park where high school students learn about astrobiology and perform biological and geochemical experiments in the field.

In addition to his research at NASA, Jared is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserves where he provides intelligence support to space operations at Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Jared has a Ph.D. in Systems Biology from the University of California San Diego, a Master’s degree in Biochemistry from UC San Diego and he is a Distinguished Graduate from the United States Air Force Academy where he earned a Bachelor’s, also in Biochemistry.