Astrobiology & Synthetic Biology: Dr. Lynn Rothschild
Senior Scientist, NASA Ames Research Center | Adjunct Professor, Brown & Stanford University
Dr. Lynn Rothschild is a pioneer in the study of life’s origin and evolution. While her roots are in protistology, she has spent the last two decades defining the field of Synthetic Biology for NASA—engineering life not just to understand its past, but to enable our future among the stars.
The “Legacy” Interview: Defining Astrobiology
Originally conducted for the Science Careers Web project.
What exactly does an astrobiologist do?
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, and future of life writ large. We are interested in how these processes take place in a planetary context. We are interested in general principles governing life in the hope that we will understand its origin on Earth, if it occurs elsewhere and, if so, what is it like, and what will happen to life in the future.
What has been the most challenging part of your job?
The most difficult part is also the best part, which is the license to cross traditional disciplines. This means that I am constantly trying to get up to speed in areas far outside of my initial training. Those who cross disciplines are vulnerable to charges of being a dilettante, but intellectual cross-fertilization is what leads to the “ahas!” of our field.
Where do you see the future of this field?
With the completion of the International Space Station and the increasing miniaturization of biological analyses, we should be able to test more of our hypotheses of how life survives and evolves in a space environment. Advances in molecular biology will surely have an enormous impact on our understanding of life and will provide technological breakthroughs that can be applied to Astrobiology experiments.
2026 Perspective: Mycotecture & The Future of Habitats
Since this interview, Dr. Rothschild’s vision of “technological breakthroughs” has become a reality. In 2024–2026, she has led the Mycotecture Off Planet project (a NASA NIAC Phase III initiative).
Instead of hauling heavy bricks to Mars, her team is researching how to “grow” habitats using fungal mycelia. By sending dormant spores that can be “fed” and grown into structural materials upon arrival, NASA is revolutionizing how we think about planetary colonization.
Modern Resources for Astrobiologists
- NASA Astrobiology Official Hub – The primary resource for current missions like Perseverance and Artemis.
- NASA NIAC: Mycotecture Project – Explore Dr. Rothschild’s work on fungal habitats.
- iGEM Competition – The international synthetic biology competition where Dr. Rothschild frequently mentors the Stanford-Brown team.