The Virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL)

The Virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL) is an international astrobiology research project focused on understanding how to identify life on planets beyond our Solar System. Its scientists develop advanced models of planetary climates, atmospheres, and biosignatures to predict how potentially habitable worlds may appear in telescope observations.

VPL also studies false signs of life, helping researchers distinguish biological activity from non-living chemical and geological processes. By combining laboratory experiments, computer simulations, Earth science, and astronomical observations, the project supports missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA’s future Habitable Worlds Observatory.

Now based at the SETI Institute, VPL continues to build the scientific tools needed to assess exoplanet habitability and search for reliable evidence of life beyond Earth.