NASA Digest, Vol 60, Issue 9

	May 09, 2018  MEDIA ADVISORY M18-076 Powers Appointed NASA Press Secretary   Megan Powers, NASA Press Secretary, May 9, 2018, NASA Headquarters in Washington. Credits: NASA/Bill Ingalls Megan Powers has been selected by NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine to be the agency's press secretary, working in the Office of Communications. As press secretary, Powers will act as a chief agency spokesperson, support Administrator Bridenstine's media requests, provide strategic communications planning and execution, and serve as a senior advisor for the administrator. "We're fortunate to have Megan join the NASA team," said Bridenstine. "Her experience is perfect to help us explain all the exciting missions and projects we're starting now for long-term exploration and development of the Moon, including returning astronauts to the surface." Prior to joining NASA, Powers served in the Executive Office of the President at the White House as the Senior Lead Press Representative. Her role at the White House involved traveling domestically and internationally on behalf of the president and the administration. Her responsibilities included representing the White House in press negotiations with external entities, facilitating coverage of and access to the president by the White House Correspondents' Association and shaping messaging strategy for events outside the White House. Powers is a graduate of New York University with a degree in Public Policy and Communications from the Gallatin School. For additional media points of contact for NASA's missions, programs and activities, as well as points of contact for media resources, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/news/media/info/index.html
	Press Contacts Bob Jacobs / Allard Beutel Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1600 bob.jacobs@nasa.gov / allard.beutel@nasa.gov

	May 09, 2018  RELEASE 18-030 NASA Awards Grants for Research into Life in Universe The NASA Astrobiology Institute has selected new teams to receive five-year grants. Credits: NASA NASA has awarded five-year grants, each approximately $8 million, to three research teams that will study the origins, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.  "With NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satelliteon its way to discover new worlds around our nearest stellar neighbors, Cassini'sdiscovery of the ingredients necessary for life in Enceladus'splumes, and with Europa Clipperand Mars 2020on the horizon, these research teams will provide the critical interdisciplinary expertise needed to help interpret data from these missions and future astrobiology-focused missions," said NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green. The interdisciplinary teams will become members of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), headquartered at the agency's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California. The selected teams are: Evolution of Nanomachines in Geospheres and Microbial Ancestors (ENIGMA) Rutgers University New Brunswick, New Jersey Led by Professor Paul Falkowski, the ENIGMA team will investigate how proteins evolved to become the catalysts of life on Earth by looking at prebiotic molecules and enzymes that are ancestral and common across many types of microbes. The Astrobiology Center for Isotopologue Research (ACIR) Pennsylvania State University, University Park ACIR, led by Professor Kate Freeman, will address how the features of elements within molecules reveal the origins and history of organic compounds, from compounds that arrived from planetary environments to those that were derived from metabolic systems, using cutting-edge observational and computational tools. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Pasadena, California Dr. Rosaly Lopes will lead research at JPL focusing on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, to address what habitable environments may exist on the moon and what potential signatures of life would be expected, using data from the Cassini-Huygens mission. These data cover a wide swath of the moon, from beneath its surface all the way up through its thick atmosphere.  "The intellectual scope of astrobiology is vast, from understanding how our planet became habitable and inhabited, to understanding how life has adapted to Earth's harshest environments, to exploring other worlds with the most advanced technologies to search for signs of life," said Mary Voytek, director of the Astrobiology Program at NASA Headquarters. "The new teams will complement our existing teams to cover breadth of astrobiology, and by coming together in the NAI, they will make the connections between disciplines and organizations that stimulate fundamental scientific advances." "We are delighted to welcome these three new NAI teams into the Institute family and look forward to the important work that they will accomplish over the time of their awards," said NAI Director Penelope Boston. "Our existing teams are waiting to explore overlapping interests with the new project teams and the potential for even greater exchange of information, inspiration, and synergy." The NAI serves a vital role in advancing the goals of the NASA Astrobiology Program, with a focus on seeking the answers to these fundamental questions: How does life begin and evolve? Is there life beyond Earth and, if so, how can we detect it? What is the future of life on Earth and beyond? For more information on the NASA Astrobiology Institute, visit: https://nai.nasa.gov/
	Press Contacts Felicia Chou / JoAnna Wendel Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0257 / 202-358-1003 felicia.chou@nasa.gov / joanna.r.wendel@nasa.gov Darryl Waller Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, Calif. 650-604-2675 darryl.e.waller@nasa.gov