Two scientists from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, Dave Brain and Dolon Bhattacharyya, have been selected to serve on NASA’s Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA‑DARES) Task Force 2.
NASA‑DARES is a multi‑year effort to develop a community‑driven strategy for astrobiology that will inform future NASA missions, research programs, and technology development priorities. Task Force 2 includes experts across planetary science, chemistry, biology, geology, astrophysics, and mission design who were selected through a highly competitive open call that drew more than 160 applications from across the scientific community.
“We’re proud to see LASP scientists helping to shape the nation’s long-term strategy for astrobiology,” said LASP Director Bethany Ehlmann. “It is a reflection of the connectedness of our scientific work and the depth of our expertise in understanding the behavior of stars like our sun, atmospheric evolution, planetary habitability, and the search for life beyond Earth.”
LASP researcher David Brain is chair of the Department of CU Boulder’s Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences. He studies the atmospheres and plasma environments of rocky planets, including Mars, Venus, Earth, and exoplanets, with a focus on how interactions between planets and their host stars alter atmospheres over time. His research seeks to understand why planetary atmospheres differ and which combinations of planetary and stellar characteristics may lead to habitable conditions. Brain leads a NASA‑funded team science center dedicated to determining how atmospheric escape influences planetary habitability. Brain was appointed to the task force’s Focus Area 3: Co‑Evolution of Biospheres, Worlds, and Planetary Systems, where his work on atmospheric evolution and star–planet interactions will contribute to understanding how habitable environments emerge and change over time.
Dolon Bhattacharyya is a research scientist at LASP whose work focuses on upper‑atmospheric escape and the long‑term evolution of planets and satellites in both the Solar System and exoplanetary systems. She has served as a science team member on NASA’s MAVEN mission and as a project scientist for the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory (CGO) mission. Bhattacharyya also explores how stellar radiation and activity shape the atmospheres of exoplanets across a wide range of stellar types and ages, with the goal of building a framework for understanding atmospheric evolution from the solar system to potentially habitable worlds beyond. She was appointed to Focus Area 4: Comparative Planetology to Understand Habitability, where her expertise in atmospheric escape and planetary evolution will help illuminate how different worlds develop and sustain environments that may support life.
The task force will lead a series of virtual workshops, public discussions, and community engagement activities to help NASA identify the most promising scientific directions for understanding the origins of life, the evolution of planetary environments, and the potential habitability of worlds across the solar system and beyond.
Founded a decade before NASA, the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder (LASP) is revolutionizing human understanding of the cosmos. LASP is deeply committed to inspiring and educating the next generation of space explorers. From the first exploratory rocket measurements of Earth’s upper atmosphere to trailblazing observations of every planet in the solar system, LASP continues to build on its remarkable history with a nearly $1 billion portfolio of new research and engineering programs.
