Alexandra Pontefract

Dr. Alexandra Pontefract is an astrobiologist interested in understanding the phase space of habitability and the limits of life. Her research focuses on microbial communities in hypersaline planetary analog environments, exploring how ionic strength and water activity influence the habitability of the system, as well as the stability of biosignatures on Mars and ocean world relevant brines. She is also interested in habitat generation through impact bombardment, understanding the positive effects of impact cratering, as well as understanding the role these events may have played with regard to prebiotic chemistry and the origins of life in our solar system, specifically on the early Earth, Mars, and Titan. Dr. Pontefract is currently working on developing and testing instrumentation for in situ life detection and also serves as assistant project scientist for Dragonfly.