Astrobiology is the interdisciplinary field that explores the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.

Mars is the most promising candidate for harboring extraterrestrial life due to its proximity to Earth, geological similarities, and evidence of past water activity.

The Habitable Zone is the region around a star where liquid water can exist on the surface of a planet or moon.

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the molecule that contains the genetic instructions for an organism.

Abiogenesis is the process by which organic molecules are formed from inorganic molecules under conditions similar to those found on early Earth.

The Miller-Urey Experiment demonstrated that organic molecules could be formed from inorganic molecules under conditions similar to those found on early Earth.

Evolution is the process by which life adapts to its environment over time.

Panspermia is the theory that proposes that life on Earth originated from organic molecules that arrived from space.

SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is the term used to describe the search for extraterrestrial life.

The Kepler Space Telescope is designed to search for exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system.

An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star other than the Sun.

The Viking Program was the first to successfully land on Mars and search for signs of past life.

Cosmochemistry is the study of the chemical composition of extraterrestrial objects.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover is designed to return samples of Mars to Earth for analysis.

The Singularity is the hypothetical point in the future when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence.