01971nas a2200181   4500008004100000245008500041210006900126260005200195520137400247100002101621700002101642700001801663700002101681700001301702700002001715700002001735856003401755       2020                        eng d00aFollowing the Astrobiology Roadmap: Origins, Habitability and Future Exploration0 aFollowing the Astrobiology Roadmap Origins Habitability and Futu  aNorfolk, United KingdombCaister Academic Press3 a<p>Astrobiology asks three fundamental questions as outlined by the NASA Astrobiology Roadmap: 1. How did Life begin and evolve?; Is there Life elsewhere in the Universe?; and, What is the future of Life on Earth? As we gain perspective on how Life on Earth arose and adapted to its many niches, we too gain insight into how a planet achieves habitability. Here on Earth, microbial Life has evolved to exist in a wide range of habitats from aquatic systems to deserts, the human body, and the International Space Station (ISS). Landers, rovers, and orbiter missions support the search for signatures of Life beyond Earth, by generating data on surface and subsurface conditions of other worlds. These have provided evidence for water activity, supporting the potential for extinct or extant Life. To investigate the putative ecologies of these systems, we study extreme environments on Earth. Several locations on our planet provide analog settings to those we have detected or expect to find on neighboring and distant worlds. Whereas, the field of space biology uses the ISS and low gravity analogs to gain insight on how transplanted Earth-evolved organisms will respond to extraterrestrial environments. Modern genomics allows us to chronicle the genetic makeup of such organisms and provides an understanding of how Life adapts to various extreme environments.</p>1 aO'Rourke, Aubrie1 aZoumplis, Angela1 aWilburn, Paul1 aLee, Michael, D.1 aLee, Zhi1 aVecina, Marissa1 aMercader, Kysha  uhttps://www.caister.com/astro