▁Ast ro bi ology ▁Institute ▁( NA I ) ▁and ▁connect s ▁more ▁than ▁fifty ▁research ers ▁at ▁twenty ▁institutions ▁together ▁in ▁an ▁inter dis cipl inary ▁effort . ▁ ▁V PL ▁is ▁also ▁part ▁of ▁the ▁N ex us ▁for ▁Ex op lan et ▁System ▁Science ▁( N Ex SS ) ▁network , ▁with ▁principal ▁investig ator ▁Victoria ▁M ead ows ▁leading ▁the ▁N Ex SS ▁V PL ▁team . ▁ ▁Research ▁ ▁Task ▁A : ▁Sol ar ▁System ▁Anal ogs ▁for ▁Ext ras olar ▁Planet ▁Observ ations ▁▁ ▁The ▁first ▁task ▁cons iders ▁observations ▁of ▁our ▁Sol ar ▁System ▁plan ets , ▁mo ons , ▁and ▁the ▁astero id ▁bel t ▁to ▁explore ▁processes ▁necessary ▁for ▁habit able ▁environments ▁and ▁for ▁ex op lan et ▁model ▁confirm ation . ▁Specifically , ▁observations ▁of ▁Europa , ▁Ven us , ▁Earth , ▁Mars , ▁and ▁the ▁astero id ▁bel t ▁have ▁helped ▁research ers ▁in ▁Task ▁A ▁address ▁their ▁goals . ▁ ▁Task ▁B : ▁The ▁Earth ▁Through ▁Time ▁▁ ▁Our ▁only ▁data ▁point ▁of ▁a ▁habit able ▁planet ▁today ▁is ▁Earth . ▁However , ▁our ▁planet ▁has ▁not ▁always ▁been ▁habit able . ▁The ▁Early ▁Earth ▁serves ▁as ▁an ▁example ▁of ▁an ▁ex op lan et . ▁The ▁V PL ▁research ▁has ▁contributed ▁to ▁the ▁understanding ▁of ▁our ▁early ▁planet . ▁Task ▁B ▁comb ines ▁ge ological ▁and ▁bi ological ▁data ▁with ▁e cos ystem ▁and ▁photo - chem ical ▁models ▁to ▁show case ▁how ▁planet ▁Earth ▁has ▁changed ▁throughout ▁its ▁history