page_title: NASA Astrobiology Institute
section_title: Teams
hierarchical_section_title: NASA Astrobiology Institute / Teams
caption_attribution_description: English: Dr Jake Maule and Dr Jan Toporski use LOCAD-PTS (bottom of image) in the crater of Mutnovsky Volcano in Kamchatka, far east Russia. These tests were performed as part of a joint Russian-NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) expedition to study microbial life in extreme environments.
context_page_description: The NASA Astrobiology Institute was established in 1998 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration "to develop the field of astrobiology and provide a scientific framework for flight missions." In December 2019 the Institute activities has been suspended.
  The NAI is a virtual, distributed organization that integrates astrobiology research and training programs in concert with the national and international science communities.
context_section_description: As of 2018, the NAI has 10 teams including about 600 researchers distributed across ~100 institutions. It also has 13 international partner organizations. Some past and present teams are: 
  Arizona State University
  Carnegie Institution of Washington
  Georgia Institute of Technology
  Harvard University
  Indiana University
  Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  Johnson Space Center
  Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  Marine Biological Laboratory
  Michigan State University
  Montana State University
  NASA Ames Research Center
  NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
  Pennsylvania State University
  Rutgers University
  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  Scripps Research Institute
  SETI Institute
  University of Arizona
  University of California, Berkeley
  University of California, Los Angeles
  University of California, Santa Cruz
  University of Colorado, Boulder
  University of Hawaii, Manoa
  University of Rhode Island
  University of Washington
  University of Wisconsin
  Virtual Planetary Laboratory
caption: Joint Russian-NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) expedition studying microbial life in extreme environments in the crater of Mutnovsky Volcano in Kamchatka, far east Russia.
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