Investigating Ocean Worlds (InvOW)
Five-year (2026–2031) nasa-funded ~$5M research project led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; 16-laboratory U.S. consortium integrating ocean, polar, and space sciences. Successor to the prior NASA-funded Exploring Ocean Worlds (ExOW) initiative.
Three-domain framework
InvOW splits the ocean-world organic-carbon problem across three sequential domains and tracks how biosignatures are modified at each interface:
- Rocky subseafloor — production of organic molecules in seafloor hydrothermal systems.
- Ocean — physical, chemical, and biological transformation in transit.
- Icy cryosphere — final preservation/obscuration before detection by missions like europa-clipper.
Central problem
On distant ocean worlds where energy for biology is scarce, non-biological organics may dominate, inverting Earth’s high-consumption signal-to-noise regime. This is a false-positive class explicitly targeted by InvOW.
Leadership
- PI: chris-german (WHOI senior scientist)
- Deputy PI: tori-hoehler (Director, center-for-life-detection, nasa-ames-research-center)
- Co-Is: Susan Lang (WHOI), Brandy Toner (Univ. of Minnesota Soil/Water/Climate)
Mission timing
InvOW explicitly times itself to europa-clipper’s 2030 Europa arrival, building interpretive groundwork for any organics it detects.