NASA announced this week the creation of the Nexus for Exoplanet Systems Science network that will study planets beyond our solar system for habitability and other features tapping the expertise of researchers at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies , Goddard Space Flight Center and other locations.
The goal is to take a comprehensive look at known exoplanets and lay the groundwork for interpretation of data from future missions. This includes studies on how chemicals critical to habitability are delivered to planets, how these chemicals are processed by planetary interiors, how the chemicals are released into a planetary atmosphere and escape, how the chemicals combine with the physical and astronomical properties of a planet and the star it orbits to produce a habitable climate, and what we can learn about these processes based on current and future observations.
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