Astrophysics advances in the 1990s identified the first extrasolar planet (or exoplanet), i.e. a planet orbiting a star outside of the solar system. Today, almost 6000 exoplanets have been identified and there may be more than 100 billion of them just in our Milky Way galaxy.

Recently, in 2021, the most powerful exoplanet-studying telescope ever built was deployed – the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). With it comes a giant leap in the characterization of exoplanets. Detailed exoplanet information will allow space microbiologists to test microbial survival under exoplanet-like conditions, bridging astrophysical knowledge and microbial experimental design to advance our knowledge of exoplanet habitability.

How?

Microbial extremophiles can provide valuable information on the limits of life as we know it. New exoplanet data will feed novel microbiology studies of survival and adaptation spanning these new extraterrestrial conditions. This will fundamentally impact our knowledge of the limits of life and can possibly expand the concept of habitability. Furthermore, the continuous exploration of our Universe (with telescopes, probes, rovers), will help identify irrefutable signs of extraterrestrial life – biosignatures. 

Therefore, there is a need to bridge astrophysics and microbiology. How can we best design microbial experiments that efficiently test survival and growth under exoplanet-like conditions? How can we best take advantage of Earth’s extremophiles to understand the potential for habitability or worlds beyond? And how can microbiology help develop efficient biosignature-detection strategies in future space missions looking for extraterrestrial life?