Astrobiology is concerned with the origin, distribution, and destiny of life in the universe.
It is a vast multi-disciplinary field, which encompasses exobiology and bioastronomy. Astrobiology is concerned with the study of terrestrial microorganisms, biochemical fossils, biominerals and other biomarkers. Astrobiology is also concerned with the nature and characteristics of putative microfossils in ancient Earth rocks and astromaterials of ancient microbial life. Astrobiology is also concerned with the discovery of extrasolar planets and the search for evidence of water on planets and other bodies in the cosmos. The terrestrial extremophiles reveal that the spatial, temporal, environmental, and physical boundaries that constrain the survivability and viability of microbial life on Earth are much broader than previously thought possible.