Many colleagues have decided to create a Contact Group dedicated to Astrobiology, which is a very new research theme, well developed in the US and in some countries of the EU, but not very mature in our country.
Astrobiology is the study of the origin, the evolution and the distribution of life in the Universe. It is a multidisciplinary research aiming to a better understanding of how life may appear and evolve on Earth and on other planets. Astrobiology is closely related to life science, paleontology, geology, chemistry, geophysics, as well as space science exploration, astronomy and astrophysics and even law and philosophy.
In order to develop the synergies between these disciplines, the different communities involved must have the occasion to meet and to understand the language of the other disciplines. We have therefore decided to ask for the creation of a new Contact Group "astrobiology", which would be an ideal platform for such an exchange and would favor a better collaboration with the federal network COEX (Complexity and Exobiology) presently in development.
This initiative has received a lot of enthusiast answers. A first meeting was held at the SCKCEN headquarters on June 13th, 2006, with 30 participants.

This Contact Group of FRS-FNRS has been created in 2006 and re-named in 2009 as Groupe de Contact FRS-FNRS « Astrobiologie : des étoiles et planètes à la vie extrême ».
We are thankful to the FRS-FNRS for providing us this opportunity.

Emmanuelle Javaux (President) and Veronique Dehant (Secretary)