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NASA announced this week that Penelope Boston will head the organization’s Astrobiology Institute, located at the NASA Ames Research Center, starting in May
Boston is a researcher who has spent the last 14 years working as associate director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute in New Mexico, where she studied organisms that thrive in extreme environments. She participated in a study testing the feasibility of humans using underground caves on the surface of Mars during space exploration, and gave a TED talk on the likelihood of alien life on Mars.
NASA’s Astrobiology Institute studies the origins and evolution of life in the universe, which includes searching for life on celestial bodies within the solar system and beyond. The research done by the institute provides support for future robotic and human space missions.
“Dr. Boston is a leading astrobiologist and science explorer with a proven track record of leadership,” John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator at NASA, said in a statement. “I’m energized by her passion for NASA’s mission to seek signs of life in the solar system and beyond.”
Boston replaces Carl Pitcher, who retired from the institute in 2013 and has been serving as an interim director part-time since April 2014.
