Astrobiology
![Nucleic acids may not be the only biomolecules in the Universe capable of coding for life processes.[1]](/uploads/202501/12/ADN_animation0710.gif)
![It is not known whether life elsewhere in the universe would utilize cell structures like those found on Earth. (Chloroplasts within plant cells shown here.)[26]](/uploads/202501/12/Plagiomnium_affine_laminazellen0710.jpeg)
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe: extraterrestrial life and life on Earth. Astrobiology addresses the question of whether life exists beyond Earth, and how humans can detect it if it does (the term exobiology is similar but more specific—it covers the search for life beyond Earth, and the effects of extraterrestrial environments on living things).