New grant funding will support CSUN Professor of Biology Chhandak Basu in a project to identify “fingerprints” of microbial life — chemical and physical markers that future exploratory missions to other planets can use to look for extraterrestrial life.
The grant provides a total of $316,000 to HALOQUEST (Halobacterium Astrobioloigical Laboratory for Observing and Questioning Extraterrestrial Signatures and Traits), a joint project between Dr. Basu and a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher. Funds will support student researchers and training experiences, including opportunities for CSUN students mentored by Dr. Basu to work at JPL.