Displaying items by tag: GCA

The Goddard Center for Astrobiology (GCA) is a NASA center focusing on astrobiology research themes.

• Did delivery of carbon-containing molecules and water to the early Earth enable the emergence and evolution of life?
• If so, how did it happen?
• What were the processes involved in the creation of such molecules?

These are some of the driving questions behind the research that is performed at the Goddard Center for Astrobiology. Our scientists focus on various aspects of exogneous materials, from the formation of complex organic materials on ice grains to the delivery of those primordial materials to the Earth, starting in the early bombardment period and continuing until today.

A critical assessment requires investigations of very diverse topics. Our research encompasses four themes: each focusing on a different aspect of how life emerges from cosmic and planetary precursor (Goal 3 of the NASA Astrobiology Road Map).