At the United States Embassy in London

on 30 May 2001, the United Kingdom

Astrobiology Forum formally announ-

ced its affiliation to the NASA Astrobiology

Institute. This significant co-operation builds

on a variety of existing UK–US links related to

the field of astrobiology and research into the

limits of life on Earth. The Director of the NAI,

Nobel Laureate Prof. Baruch Blumberg (now

also the Senior Advisor for Life Sciences to the

Administrator of NASA) welcomed the UKAF,

whose response was given by the UKAF Chair-

man, Dr Charles Cockell of the Antarctic

Astrobiology Project at the British Antarctic

Survey, Cambridge.

Seeds for UK–US collaboration were sown in

1997 by an invitation from the German Aero-

space Institute in Köln for the British Antarctic

Survey (BAS) to participate in the ROSE Con-

sortium Response of Organisms to Space Envi-

ronment for Space Radiation experiments (PI

Dr G Horneck) aboard the International Space

Station (ISS) (Horneck et al. 1999). This

extended existing BAS research on the effects

of enhanced UVB on the survival strategies of

photosynthetic microbes (Wynn-Williams

1994) to include UVC with implications for the

microbial evolution and survival on early Earth

and perhaps early Mars. These microbes

(mainly cyanobacteria, formerly known as

“blue green algae”) survive at the limits of life

in polar deserts within the ozone hole discov-

ered by BAS scientists (Farman et al. 1985),

either shielded inside rocks or screened by pig-

ments in the free-living state. NASA Ames sci-

entist Dr R Mancinelli was also invited to con-

tribute his research on the UV-tolerance of

halophilic microbes, including cyanobacteria,

which survive in the salt-rich habitats of inter-

tidal zones. This habitat (Darwin’s “warm little

pond”) might have accelerated, if not initiated,

microbial evolution. This is an early example

of UK–US collaboration, mediated by the ISS.

Lodging this ISS proposal with the British

National Space Centre revealed that the BAS

was the sole research group in the UK to be on

record as having exobiological (later astrobio-

logical) interests. This was patently not accu-

rate as emerged from the UK Exobiology

Workshop convened at the Royal Society in

September 1998 which was attended by 50 sci-

entists and elicited 26 oral contributions

(Wynn-Williams and Murdin 1998). At this

meeting, Paul Murdin of the BNSC encouraged

the astrobiological community to set up a net-

work and seek support and funding from UK

universities and research councils. He recom-

mended the creation of a steering committee to

coordinate astrobiological research within the

UK and to foster international collaboration

with Europe and the USA.

The steering committee for UK Astrobiology

Network was inaugurated as the UK Astrobiol-

ogy Forum (UKAF), comprising six scientists

with diverse expertise. This expertise covered

extremophile microbiology (Chairman, Dr D A

Cowan, University College, London), organic

geochemistry (Prof. G Eglinton, FRS), mete-

orites (Dr M M Grady, Natural History Muse-

um), extra-solar planets (Dr A Penny,

Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory, Didcot),

planetary life-signatures (Dr R Wolstencroft,

Royal Observatory, Edinburgh) and Antarctic

desert habitats (Dr D D Wynn-Williams, British

Antarctic Survey, Cambridge). This initial

group was later augmented by two more spe-

cialists, in chemistry/spectroscopy (Prof. H G

M Edwards, University of Bradford) and solar

radiation (Dr C S Cockell, BAS, with an inter-

face to NASA Ames Research Center). While

obtaining the support of UK research councils

and producing the UK Astrobiology Report to

launch the discipline to universities, institutes

and funding agencies, the UKAF sought inter-

national collaboration to share expertise.

Antarctic Treaty

The Antarctic Treaty is an existing example of

the value of international research collabora-

tion, despite political differences. Its frame-

work facilitated the participation of British

Antarctic Survey scientists in fieldwork at the

US National Science Foundation (NSF) Long

Term Ecological Research (LTER) site in Taylor

Valley in the McMurdo Dry Valleys region of

Antarctica. This site is operated by the US

Antarctic Program (USAP) and is used by sci-

entists funded by NSF and NASA (Prof. D

Wall, Colorado State University and Dr P

Doran, University of Illinois at Chicago) for

studying microbial life in extreme terrestrial

environments with astrobiological implica-

tions. The BAS–USAP collaboration enabled

the collection in 1995/96 of sandstone samples

from the Trans-Antarctic Mountains. These

flank the polar plateau and contain microbes

(especially cyanobacteria) at the limits of life in

the endolithic habitat within porous translu-

cent rock. They will be included in the ISS UV-

stress experiments along with mats of

cyanobacteria from Alexander Island off the

Antarctic Peninsula, the other side of the conti-

nent but also within the annual ozone hole. The

Astrobiology

5.20 October 2001 Vol 42

Why astrobiologyneeds collaborationDavid Wynn-Williams reports on the current state of astrobiological affairs in the UK,

strengthened by national and international collaboration.

Antarctic astrobiological research

has benefited from the

affiliation of the UK Astrobiology

Forum (UKAF) to the NASA

Astrobiology Institute (NAI). NAI

funding of a miniature Raman

spectrometer for the

characterization of biomolecules in

Antarctic cold deserts as a prelude

to its space qualification for a future

Mars lander/rover mission is a

practical example of collaboration

between the UK and USA fostered

by this agreement. Research by the

British Antarctic Survey into

cyanobacterial communities under

stress from UV, desiccation, salinity

stress and low temperature features

in joint studies associated with

NASA Ames Research Center,

Montana State University and the

International Space Station.

LTER link has also provided a core from the

cyanobacterial mat community at the bottom

of ice-capped Lake Hoare, which is an ana-

logue of the ultimate water bodies that would

have existed on the surface of Mars before

water retreated into the moisture within the

endolithic rock niche. Whether photosynthetic

microbes ever colonized these potential habi-

tats on Mars is a key question that will require

the international sharing of expertise to answer.

In furthering UK–US collaboration, the BAS

Antarctic Astrobiology group has extended its

research into the Raman spectroscopic signa-

tures (Wynn-Williams and Edwards 2000) to

establish a technological link with Montana

State University, Bozeman (MSU). This com-

prises the development of a miniature confocal

microscope/Raman spectrometer system for

potential use on a future Mars lander (Dicken-

sheets et al. 2000, Wynn-Williams et al. in

press a). MSU has NASA funding and opto-

electronic expertise (miniature Confocal

Microscope and Raman Spectrometer develop-

ment, CMaRS). This group is backed by engi-

neering facilities provided by Detection Limit

Inc. of Wyoming (Raman spectrometer special-

ists) and Micron Optical Systems Inc. of Nor-

folk, Virginia (near-IR InGaAs detector spe-

cialists). The BAS group provides Antarctic

desert material with environmental data (such

as year-round UV radiation data from a Ben-

tham spectro-radiometer at Rothera Station,

68°S) and expertise with the cyanobacteria

which are the prime photosynthetic colonists

of these extreme habitats, analogous to those

of early Mars (Wynn-Williams and Edwards

2000). Their research is integrated with the

expertise of Prof. H G M Edwards (University

of Bradford) in the Raman spectroscopy of

biomolecules and their mineral environment

(Edwards and Newton 1999).

Cyanobacterial research at BAS has also led

to formal collaborations established with the

research groups of Drs C P McKay and L

Rothschild at NASA Ames Research Center

and associated groups at the nearby SETI Insti-

tute on the same campus. Comparative studies

of contamination of meteorites found in

Antarctica and the indigenous microbes of

Antarctic endolithic rock communities (Steele

et al. 2000) have led to collaboration with the

NASA meteorite group led by Dr D McKay at

Johnson Space Center, Houston. Raman spec-

troscopy of the Nakhla meteorite by Bradford

and BAS has added another dimension to this

collaboration (Edwards et al. 1999). These

examples, of which there are others in other

UK research groups, show that collaboration

across the Atlantic has been developing rapid-

ly as astrobiology gained increasing public

attention and scientific support. The creation

of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) was

a milestone in the escalation of this official

support for the discipline. Research by BAS

into extreme habitats has also led to co-author-

ship of papers with geomorphologists from

NASA Ames Research Center and other US

institutes to explore similarities between

halophilic and shocked habitats and Antarctic

desert analogues (Cabrol et al. in press, Wynn-

Williams et al. in press b).

Making plans

Shortly after his appointment as Director of

the NAI, Nobel Laureate Prof. Baruch Blum-

berg visited Sir Robert May (Government

Chief Scientific Advisor at the time) and Sir

Martin Rees (Astronomer Royal) with the

Director of NASA Ames Research Center, Dr

Harry McDonald, to discuss US–UK collabo-

ration in astrobiology. Prof. Blumberg has a

long-term interest in UK research as he was

Master of Balliol College, Oxford, for five

years. The UKAF was able to meet him on this

occasion and initiate plans for some sort of UK

membership of the NAI. The UK AstrobiologyReport produced under the direction of the

UKAF chairman, Dr D A Cowan of University

College, London, was a major step in this

direction. Dr Wynn-Williams attended the first

Astrobiology Science Conference, organized by

the NAI at NASA Ames Research Institute in

spring 2000 and represented the UKAF at an

NAI Council meeting and General Meeting, at

which the formal letter of application for mem-

bership of NAI was received. At this meeting,

Prof. Juan Perez-Mercer, Director of the Cen-

tro de Astrobiologia, Madrid, which is already

associated with the NAI, welcomed the UK bid

that has now been ratified. This is a milestone

for both the UK and the US as both nations

have a wealth of expertise to share.

The UK was also represented on a steering

group with France, Germany and Switzerland

to coordinate exo/astrobiology within Europe.

Now, 20 European nations are part of a Euro-

pean Network, whose Executive Council

includes the new chairman of the UKAF, Dr

Charles Cockell, and Dr David Wynn-Williams,

who is Vice-President with responsibility for

international liaison. This European Network

will interface with the NAI, and it is hoped that

the UK and Spain will be able to broker even

closer links, with joint missions, shared tech-

nology and cross-fertilization of ideas.

Astrobiology, whether by robotic missions or

manned expeditions, is too big a research chal-

lenge for any one country to tackle. Apart from

the technical difficulties and the need to share

resources, there is too much chance involved to

guarantee life detection (fossil biomolecules,

preserved dormant cells or active life) without

replicating and diversifying missions. We need

inspiration and resources from many nations

to promote success. This is an area of research

we should be tackling as a whole planet. The

new Affiliate Membership of the UK Astrobi-

ology Network in the US NASA Astrobiology

Institute is a step in the right direction. �

Dr D D Wynn-Williams, Project Leader, AntarcticAstrobiology, British Antarctic Survey, NaturalEnvironment Research Council, High Cross,Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET. E-mail ddww@bas.ac.uk

ReferencesCabrol N et al. in press Icarus.Cowan, D. A., et al. 1999 Report, Astrobiology in the UK, BNSC.Dickensheets D L et al. 2000 J. Raman Spectrosc. 31 633–635.Edwards H G M and E M Newton 1999 The search for life on Marsed. J A Hiscox, British Interplanetary Society, 83–88.Edwards HGM et al. 1999 Planet. Space Sci 47 353–362.Farman JC et al. 1985 Nature 315 207–210.Horneck G et al. 1999 Proc. 2nd Symp. on the Utilisation of theInternational Space Station, ESA SP-433, 459–468.Steele A et al. 2000 Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 35 237–241.Wynn-Williams D D 1994 Ultraviolet Radiation in Antarctica:Measurements and Biological Effects eds. C S Weiler and P APenhale, American Geophysical Union, 243–257.Wynn-Williams D D and P Murdin 1998 Astron. Geophys. 39 29.Wynn-Williams D D and H G M Edwards 2000 Icarus 144486–503.Wynn-Williams D D et al. in press a Proceedings, First EuropeanExo/Astrobiology Workshop, ESRIN Frascati, May 2000, ESA SpecialReport Series.Wynn-Williams D D et al. in press b Astrobiology.

Astrobiology

5.21October 2001 Vol 42

An Antarctic dry valley analogous to putative former habitats on Mars and a site of US–UK cold-desertresearch collaboration.