NASA and university scientists will discuss at 2 p.m. EDT (18:00 UTC), Tuesday June 16, astrobiology research activities and technology that are advancing the search for evidence of habitability in our solar system and beyond. The briefing will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Briefing topics will include the quest for evidence of habitability and life on Mars, plans for exploring the habitability of Europa and Enceladus, and progress in identifying signs of habitability on exoplanets.

The briefing will be held during the 2015 Astrobiology Science Conference in Chicago June 15-19 in Salon A5 of the Hilton Downtown Chicago, located at 720 South Michigan Avenue.

Briefing participants:
* John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for Science at NASA Headquarters in Washington
* Vikki Meadows, professor of astronomy and principal investigator at the University of Washington’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory in Seattle
* Britney Schmidt, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and principal investigator for the NASA-funded project Sub-Ice Marine and Planetary Analog Ecosystems
* Alexis Templeton, associate professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and principal investigator for the NASA Astrobiology Institute Rock-Powered Life team

Media representatives not in attendance may submit questions to dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov.

Watch the briefing and conference sessions online at http://ac.arc.nasa.gov/abscicon

Contacts:
Dwayne Brown
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
+1 202-358-1726
dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

Linda Billings
National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, Va.
+1 703-635-9799
billingslinda1@gmail.com

More information about NASA’s astrobiology activities:
http://astrobiology.nasa.gov

NASA’s activities in the solar system and beyond:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solar system