Dr. Christopher E. Carr
@c_e_carr
Search for extreme life on Earth & beyond; origin of life, biodiversity, metabolism, aging, and optimality in biological systems. RT ≠ endorsement.
Stay tuned for more updates soon! We’ll be field testing the primary science payload next month as part of our NASA-funded PSTAR study led by @GeorgiaTech and working with our science team led by @ProfSaraSeager.
Preparing for Venus 🚀 Our engineers installed a NASA-designed heat shield on a private spacecraft that will study the clouds of Venus for signs of life. This woven heat shield is designed to protect the craft from temperatures of up to 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit.…
In low earth orbit, on the moon, out to Mars, and far beyond, Georgia Tech engineers are helping humans push deeper into space. We're creating robots and electronics for extreme environments & the systems astronauts will need for long-duration spaceflight. b.gatech.edu/3TIOESt
#Artificial cell-like systems have been created that mimic metabolism, reproduction, and evolution, offering new insight into how life could originate from simple, non-biological molecules. @HarvardResearch @PNASNews doi.org/g9mnpj phys.org/news/2025-07-c…
A future of autonomous drones, air taxis, and other new aircraft means more crowded skies in urban areas — and much different flying conditions. Marilyn Smith in @GTaerospace is creating tools to predict these tricky conditions & plan for safe flying. b.gatech.edu/4557F6U
.@GovNuclear will you be advocating for DRACO to be restored or for another test program to realize this vision? How will you and other agencies be supporting the fundamental and applied research required?
Nuclear thermal propulsion rockets can reduce travel times to Mars by up to 25% and, more importantly, limit a flight crewʼs exposure to cosmic radiation 🚀⚛. Learn more: energy.gov/ne/articles/6-…
1/ 🚨 Our new paper is online in @Nature ! As its first author, I’m enthusiastic to finally share it with you all!🎉 🧠 We discovered a mechanistic link between cellular energy metabolism and the control of the need to sleep 💤 👉 nature.com/articles/s4158… @OxfordDPAG 🧵👇
In an open letter, current and former NASA employees spoke out against proposed budget and staff cuts. eos.org/research-and-d…
149 NSF employees have signed a statement expressing concern over “a series of politically motivated and legally questionable actions by the Administration that threaten the integrity of the NSF." eos.org/research-and-d…
The Astrobiology Spectral Database (ASD) virtual workshop is quickly approaching! It will take place on July 23rd from 10am to 4pm CT. Registration is free but required to receive a meeting link. More information can be found in the link below: hou.usra.edu/meetings/asd20…
Future Leaders of Ocean Worlds (FLOW) will be hosting an astrobiology early career resources and information meeting on July 29th at 2PM ET. Tune in to meet other early-career astrobiologists and learn about different resources available to you! Zoom Meeting ID: 915 3925 6030
Is it time for the Orion-Shenzhou Test Project?
50 years ago today, a US Apollo spacecraft and USSR Soyuz spacecraft docked during the first joint venture in space between the United States and the Soviet Union: the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. 🖼️: Artist rendering of the ASTP docking
One day will a backyard scope be able to pick up the lights from Ganymede City? Only time will tell.
On my best photo of Jupiter you can see some the surface detail on its largest moon: Ganymede Absolutely incredible what’s possible with backyard scopes these days
Bridging the Gap: Using Machine Learning Force Fields to Simulate Gold Break Junctions at Pulling Speeds Closer to Experiments #machinelearning #compchem dx.doi.org/10.26434/chemr…
Biologist from @UMDscience Sean B. Carroll won his third Emmy this month for outstanding science documentary filmmaking for "Hunt for the Oldest DNA.” But his latest win felt different because he helped capture science unfolding in real time, with no guarantee of success. The…
We of @MissionToPsyche are happy and proud to have enabled @esa in their first-ever deep space optical link, using the DSOC instrument on our spacecraft! DSOC was built and is operated by the brilliant @NASAJPL engineers. esa.int/Enabling_Suppo…
Wood has great potential as a sustainable aerospace material. See the article below from @AGU_Eos on Kyoto University’s LignoSat. We are also working on the challenges and opportunities for wood in space @GTaerospace, stay tuned!
As more and more satellites populate Earth’s orbit, scientists have recognized the need for spacecraft materials with a lower environmental footprint. Could wood be the answer? eos.org/articles/a-new…
Congratulations to Professor Elizabeth Qian on receiving the National Science Foundation (@NSF)'s Faculty Early Career Development Program Award! 💻: bit.ly/44FgQdX | #GTaerospace
PSI in the News: VERITAS, a planned Venus orbiter, could be defunded or canceled under the White House's proposed budget. PSI's Darby Dyar, the VERITAS deputy principal investigator, explains what's at stake: planetary.org/articles/scien…
Not on my bingo card
The new "interim" @NASA Administrator is the current @USDOT Secretary - and former MTV reality star - Sean Duffy @SecDuffy #EmbraceTheChallenge
This has never happened before. Every living former NASA Science Chief united to sign a joint letter to Congress, urging them to reject a devastating 47% cut to NASA’s science budget. Led by our board member and former NASA Associate Administrator of Science John Grunsfeld, we…